The Savage War Assignment

The Savage War:

What worked for you?

The details really worked for me. The details really made me feel like I was there beside the main character. I felt the excitement and the horror of it all.

I liked the insightful descriptions of how the Taliban functioned. I also liked hearing about the inside functioning of the Canadian military and how their public image is managed on a journalism and public relations level.

I really enjoyed the tone of the book. It wasn’t a difficult read. Though it was long, it wasn’t difficult.

What didn’t work for you?

I found the book to be very long and I felt like I would never get through it at times. I felt that the chapters were dauntingly large and some things could have been edited out. At some points I was bored and trailed off and it was hard to stay focused.

What can journalists learn from this book?
From reading this book, I think journalists will learn that it is hard to desensitize yourself from the stories you are telling when they involve a different value system to that of your own.

In chapter two, Brewster discusses suicide bombings and what some of the globe and mail journalists found when arriving on the scene to see the remains of a suicide bomber. What they saw and had a deep impact on them.

Louie the photographer said, It’s Fucked, man. Why would anybody want to do that to themselves?”
Then Brewster writes none of us had any answers.

I also think Savage War will teach journalists that talking about situations and events is great but actually being there to see these situations unfold for puts a whole new meaning to truly understanding the story is being told.

On page 12 in chapter 2 Brewster writes:

It was the first time I actually felt like a hostage of the army. They could tell us as much or as little as they wanted, and they often chose the latter. In this case, they chose to say nothing, or next to nothing, which was probably worse. News, especially big news, abhors a vacuum.

How willfully inarticulate the Canadian military could be. Individual soldiers were, I found were wonderfully colourful and quotable, but the Canadian military as an institution seemed quite pleased to have a stranglehold on information and the movement of journalists.

What effect did the Savage War have on you?

It really made me see how Afghanistan is very much like its own operation. It made me really appreciate the dangers that journalist face when they are covering stories there. It made me imagine the stress that journalists would go through and how much they would sacrifice to get the story.

I think it made me see that not everyone could do this job and you really have to have an understanding of the culture and a respect for the customs to form effective relationships there.

How does this book compare with another non-fiction work about Afghanistan? Provide highlights of that other work?

I watched a documentary called Desert Lions by Lt. Col Mike Vernon. He came to visit journalism students in the Creative Communications program at Red River College to talk about his experience.

When I watched Desert Lions, I made a mental note to compare it to my experience reading The Savage War. What I liked about the documentary was that it was very visual and I knew exactly what I was seeing.

When I was reading The Savage War, much more was left to my imagination and interpretation of the written word. I liked seeing Afghanistan in a documentary because the footage seemed more real and raw.

I really liked seeing the footage of the soldiers when they were having their down time. It really made me see them as actual people and not trained machines. They too get super hot in the heat and sometimes needed to take their uniforms off and walk around in just their underwear.

I often wondered how soldiers could endure such hot temperatures and this showed me they had their breaking points to and they were human just like me.

I really saw the sense of urgency in the soldiers that were being filmed. When something went wrong, they immediately switched into soldier mode.

I also liked seeing how important a sense of humour was. In the documentary, the main fridge on the base was down and the soldiers were joking around saying they hoped they wouldn’t have tones of mayonnaise delivered that day. They all were able to laugh it out which made an awkward situation a bit more manageable. A sense of humour really shows a soldiers’ positive attitude.

I also thought it was interesting when the important attributes that a soldier should have was discussed. Patience for example, was the number one important skill because soldiers are constantly managing different demands. They are managing cultural demands, as well as demands from back home and finally, demands from higher ranks.

Another skill that was important for a soldier to demonstrate is restraint. When dealing in a different country with major language and cultural barriers, restraint would be the most important skill to hone. It is an important trait for a soldier to demonstrate restraint when conversing with Afghan soldiers specifically. This can be especially true when frustration builds and you are holding a loaded weapon.

I also thought it was interesting when the documentary described Afghan soldiers as being simple but effective. Other lines in the documentary that resonated with me were soldiers need to air, vent and grieve.

I thought this was an interesting because I would not have necessarily thought of the grieving part so much going hand and hand with the others. Primitive not offensive was another phrase I thought was insightful.

Finally, I thought it was very interesting when it was stated we are here to mentor them, not be and Afghan soldier. I thought that was very important to draw that line of distinction. I could imagine that it could at times become a grey area.