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Too much reality

Camp Hurricane Point, Ramadi, Iraq, Dec. 8, 2005

It’s hard to imagine, but the guys here are addicted to reality television.

Bootleg satellite feeds and hand-me-down televisions allow most of the Marines here to keep up with the shows back home. One of the most popular shows here with the staff NCOs is “Survivor.”

For hours preceding it, the guys were talking about it.

“Don’t forget ‘Survivor’ tonight,” one said.

“I hope it’s not a re-run,” another worried.

It’s true. Marines who every day dance with death when they exit the gates for a patrol in one of the most dangerous cities in Iraq are enthralled by a show that pits a group of self-centered wannabe movie stars in a make-believe scenario where surviving is just a matter of undercutting those around you.

But they love it.

One of those waiting with bated breath for the next installment was Sgt. John Brandon. He’d been ducking back and forth from the room in the back of the hooch, where his rack is, and into the front room where the TV is set up. The clock was ticking. It was almost time. Who would get voted off? Then the call came. Brandon had to go out on a mission. Damn! In full combat gear, Brandon waited until the last moment to leave on his mission. No sight of “Survivor” for him.

A few hours after the show aired, Brandon returned from his mission, dusty and tired. The first words out of his mouth.

“So who got voted off!?”

“Cindy.”

He wanted Rafe voted off, but was satisfied because Cindy was a loser, too, he thought.

Life in the real “survivor” zone.