Military Perspective Quotes

What's always got me is the fact that when people talked on the telly about Iraq, before Afghanistan kicked off, you'd get only these public-school-type army officers talking about what was going on out there. I kept thinking, 'Why don't we get the true voice of the squaddie? Why don't we hear from the lads on the battlefield?'

Candidates for president are always leery of war, but presidents are also Commanders in Chief and have a different perspective…. Presidents are more martial and candidates more peace-loving.

When I read the script of 'The Wall,' I saw how much different the war looks from the point of view of a soldier fighting it.

I'm in regular contact with people who are still in the military-friends, family, people I served with, men and women I taught at West Point-and I look at every military issue through that lens. What they say or think weighs heavily on my mind.

In college, I actually did some work on a documentary project talking to Vietnam vets about the images of war and how it changed. When they grew up, it was like 'Sands of Iwo Jima' and there was this, you know - after Vietnam, there was a whole different way of looking at war.

Mainstream news covers war and gets everything wrong. I'd rather learn what's happening from soldiers with combat experience. It's like a former NFL player giving play-by-play. We bring the expert commentary.

I believe that the fighters know. It's just the people not actually fighting who need to understand more that we're putting our lives on the line.

Let us remember, when we are inclined to be disheartened, that the private soldier is a poor judge of the fortunes of a great battle.

If you polled the military in Afghanistan as to how many think we should be there or not, the numbers would probably be similar to what the U.S. population believes. That's not because they're watching the news. But, hey, they are out there risking their lives. No one likes to be criticized and it really sucks to be criticized when you're risking your life.

On October 18, 1941, I suddenly received a mandate from His Majesty to form a new cabinet. This was completely unexpected, and when I was summoned to the Imperial Palace I thought I would be questioned on the army's point of view.

The danger of having the military take over intelligence is that the military has a very different perspective on the world.

Film is a visceral experience so I think a good war movie is a valuable tool for making us understand what our military goes through, what the issues are, the good and bad sides of war and what we're asking our military to do.