The Hard Human Realities that Follow the War

War on the Rocks

News, Politics

4.6 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 31 October 2017

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The bottom line of this episode is this: If you can identify with the experience of coming home from war or you want to better understand that experience, you should see the new film "Thank You For Your Service." When you go, be prepared for something powerful and heartbreaking, but also something necessary. In this episode, we hear from Jason Hall, the writer and director of the film, and Adam Schumann, the Army veteran played in the film by Miles Teller. The movie is based on the book of the same name by David Finkel and it tells the story of members of an Army unit once they've come home and left the military, only to do battle with the memories of their combat and the trauma of their experiences.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You are listening to War on the Rocks, a podcast on strategy, defense, and foreign affairs.
0:13.7	My name is Ryan Evans, I'm the editor-in-chief of War in the rocks.
0:16.8	In this episode I sat down with Jason Hall, the writer and director of the new film,
0:20.1	Thank you for your service, and Adam Schuman, the Army veteran, portrayed in the film by Miles Teller.
0:25.0	The movie is based on the book of the same name by David Finkel.
0:28.0	It tells the story of members of an Army unit once they've come home and left the military, only to do battle with the memories of their combat and the trauma of their experiences.
0:37.0	I spoke with Jason and Adam only hours after I saw the movie, and I can honestly recommend this is the most powerful film of the 9-11 Wars about the veteran experience.
0:47.0	It portrays post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury, and suicide, and stark, potent, and in the end necessary ways. So what was it like watching when you finally saw the film such a personal and very
1:08.4	intense experience played by other people but you know obviously it was in you've been in two books about
1:14.4	your experience but watching on the screen must have been very different it was I
1:18.9	only read one of the books the good soldiers because it it encompassed more of the guys and more about that deployment.
1:26.0	I never read thank you for your service.
1:29.0	It's like the worst period in my life. But watching it was so emotional it was to see that that work that was put in and to see that it wasn't just my story. I could look at it and see anybody that was in my position coming back under the same circumstances going through.
1:50.0	So it was a it was rewarding to see how well they portrayed that it wasn't just a
1:56.7	I guess like a pinpoint you know this is the only
2:00.5	know what the word I'm even looking for. It encompasses all of us. It wasn't just about me.
2:07.0	Yeah, it's about the experience of all these guys coming home.
2:11.0	I think if you can make something really personal
2:13.4	can become universal, you know, and so the experience of coming home is similar for a
2:17.8	lot of these guys in terms of, you know, not for everyone, but the guys that come
2:22.4	home and they've experienced some stuff,
2:24.4	and they're carrying that with them. They're carrying it on their backs.
	...

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