Entertainment, Movies - Army Times

‘That would never happen’

When it comes to war movies, the toughest critics wear cammies.

Since its release Friday, “The Hurt Locker,” a new movie about an Army explosive ordnance disposal detachment in Iraq, has earned almost unanimous praise from film reviewers.

But EOD soldiers who saw the movie at a premiere in Washington, D.C., were more skeptical, according to an Army news release.

"It’s definitely Hollywood," Spc. Mike Wells, who served in Iraq with an EOD detachment, said of the plot, which follows a team of three soldiers: reckless Staff Sgt. William James, conscientious Sgt. J.T. Sanborn and shy Spc. Owen Eldridge.

Capt. Robert Busseau, with the 20th Support Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., said James would not have lasted long under his command:

“I would have fired James,” Busseau said. “The way he was poking around and fooling with the IEDs without knowing what they were is extremely dangerous. ... “I don’t think someone like Staff Sgt. James would do well [in the field]. We spend a lot of time training and practicing safety.”

The Army did not support production of the movie, which portrays soldiers swigging whiskey and fist-fighting in their barracks. In one scene, a colonel orders a soldier to assassinate a prisoner.

“That would never happen,” Busseau said. “A soldier would never do that.”

Still, Sgt. Charlie Perkins, also from the 20th Support Command, said he would recommend the movie: “I would tell others to go see it.”

Just be prepared to suspend your professionalism for a few hours.