Black Hawk Down is a 2001 American-British war film based on a series of articles published in The Philadelphia Inquirer which chronicled the events of a 1993 raid in Mogadishu by the U.S. military aimed at capturing faction leader Mohamed Farrah Aidid and the ensuing battle. When Aidid and his militia seize Red Cross food shipments causing UN forces to be pretty much powerless, a mission is planned to capture Omar Salad Elmi and Abdi Hassan Awale Qeybdiid, two of Aidid’s top advisors. They are able to successfully capture the two men, however, many of the other portions of the mission go wrong. At one point Black Hawk Super-Six One is shot down and crashes deep within the city resulting in the death of both pilots and injuries of two other crew members. As ground forces are rerouted to converge on the crash site, the Somali militia set up road blocks making reaching the crash impossible. As the ground forces attempt to break through, they sustain many casualties themselves, however, another unit is able to reach and set up a defensive perimeter around the site. Meanwhile, Super-Six Four is also shot down only a few blocks away. There are not nearly enough ground forces to reach the second crash site as well as reinforce the first and Aidid’s militia is about to launch a sustained assault on the trapped men at the first crash site. In the end, 19 American soldeirs were killed, with over 1,000 Somali militants and civilians dead.

This movie, similar to Saving Private Ryan, deals a lot with how far units should go to make sure that “no one is left behind.” In both of the movies the men go to extreme lengths in order to rescue others. Also in both movies the men were simply following orders. I believe that the main thought for the military is that they can’t not at least try. It is against there morals to simply desert the men and many of the soldiers see their fellow soldiers as brothers and couldn’t bare to leave them behind. The problem arrises when the men attempting to save the others face casualties in the process. It is impossible to predict whether men will be lost when trying to save others and it is simply a risk that the military and the soldiers serving are usually willing to make. Most of the men have already come to terms with the possibility of dying when they join the military. I believe that though it may not be right to order a mission to save others in order to save stranded or injured soldiers due to the risk it presents to those carrying out the rescue mission, it would be worse to simply turn a blind eye and leave the men who were just fighting for their country.

A Few Good Men is a 1992 American film revolving around the court-martial of two U.S. Marines charged with the murder of a fellow Marine and the tribulations of their lawyers as they prepare a case to defend their clients. During the court case there are many set backs and questions of whether the men were simply following orders and in which case should they still be responsible. The martial they supposedly murdered, Santiago, was judged as almost less than his fellow marines and had even had requested a transfer to another base. Colonel Nathan Jessup regards the transfer as almost equivalent to surrender and demands Santiago’s commanding officer to train him to be a better Marine. Dawson and Downey are the two Marine’s accused of murdering Santiago and while Lieutenant Commander JoAnne Galloway immediately expects that they were simply carrying out a “code red” order (a command to carry out a violent extrajudicial punishment) that went completely wrong. Unfortunately the case is instead given to Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee who has a tendency to plea bargain (something that Galloway resents). After the bargain negotiated is denied by Dawson and Downey, the case finally goes to trail where Kaffee calls Jessup to the stand. As the questioning goes on a Jessup begins to get more and more flustered, he finally reveals that he did in fact issue a “code red” order on Santiago. Jessup is then arrested for the murder while Dawson and Downey are cleared of the charge. The two Marines, however, are still found guilty of “conduct unbecoming a United States Marine” and are dishonorably discharged.

This movie touches on many topics that are often connected to the military. These include the morality of simply following orders as well as problems that arise when the military considers itself “better” than the population it serves. In this case, though the men in question are technically the ones who committed the murder, they are found innocent because they were simply following orders. When the military thinks that they are better than the population it serves they may also come to believe that they are above the law that governs that population as well. Originally Jessup believed that he would be able to outsmart the defense and be able to pass the blame off onto the other men because he is higher in rank than them. From the beginning of his testimony, he attempted to make it seem as though he was simply looking out for the well-being of Santiago when in reality, Santiago’s death was his fault. On the other hand, the two Marines pretty much got away with murder, but I suppose that was made right by their dishonorable discharge. Nothing good can come out of a military in which there are people-especially high ranking officers- that believe that they are better than the population they serve.

A Few Good Men (1992). Perf. Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Demi Moore. Castle Rock Entertainment/Columbia Pictures, 1992. Film.

“A Few Good Men.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 22 Mar. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Few_Good_Men>.

Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 film set during the Invasion of Normandy in World War II. When it is discovered that three of the four brothers of the Ryan family have been killed in action and that their mother is to receive all three telegrams on the same day it is ordered that the last son, Private James Francis Ryan who has been missing in action, is to be found and returned home. This task has been assigned to Captain John H Miller (Tom Hanks) who assembles six of his men to accompany him. Throughout the journey, the team of men face many hardships and after a short time, Caparzo is shot by a sniper and dies. Though the men are able to take down the sniper, the death takes a mental toll on the men. While they are under direct orders, now their men are dying to save one. The men also struggle with the fact that Private Ryan is missing in action and that they do not simply have to retrieve and deliver him home; they must first find him.

They do eventually find a Private Ryan, but it turns out to be the wrong one and they continue their search. As the men wage on they experience many other obstacles and attempt to continue to do what they can for the war at the same time. When they come in contact with German soldiers, a gun fight ensues and another one of the men, Wade, is fatally wounded. After the shooting has ceased, they discover a surviving German but Captain Miller saves him from execution. This causes many of the men to question Miller’s leadership and even pushes Reiben to consider desertion.

After many battles and close calls, Captain Miller and what is left of his team find Private Ryan defending a bridge in Ramelle. Upon learning of his brothers’ deaths, the deaths of the men sent to find him, and his dismissal from all duties, Ryan is distressed. He can’t believe he’s lost his brothers, but at the same time he does not think it’s fair that he should be dismissed. He decides to stay “with the only brothers [he has] left.”

Throughout the movie the men struggle with the orders they’re given and their instinct of self-preservation. They are risking their lives just to spare one man while also having to protect themselves from Germans throughout the entire journey. On the other hand, Private Ryan is pretty much “ordered” or at least granted the right to go home, but then does not obey and chooses to continue to risk his life. It’s easy to understand both perspectives. In the beginning of the journey Captain Miller and the team were being sent to discharge a soldier. They may have felt some sort of jealously towards Ryan and that they were risking their lives just so he could return home. From Ryan’s perspective, these men just risked their lives, all his brothers have passed away, and now he cannot desert the rest of them; he can’t just turn his back on everyone.

Saving Private Ryan. Perf. Tom Hanks, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Edward Burns. DreamWorks SKG, 1998. Film.