FRONTLINE presents BAD VOODOO'S WAR

PBS.org/Frontline ^ | 30 March, 2008 | PBS

[brityank]

FRONTLINE presents BAD VOODOO'S WAR

Tuesday, April 1, 2008, at 9 P.M. ET on PBS

"Here we are. It's about 2:30 in the morning on the 2nd of October. We have been on the road for a while. ... Wasn't too excited to get this change of mission. The stretch of road between Anaconda and Speicher, known as IED Alley, it's probably one of the worst stretches of road in theater."
-- Sfc. Toby Nunn, during his second Iraq deployment, to his personal mini-DV camera

FRONTLINE goes to war in Iraq with a band of California-based National Guard soldiers who call themselves the "Bad Voodoo Platoon" to tell their very personal story in Bad Voodoo's War, airing Tuesday, April 1, 2008, at 9 P.M. ET (check local listings). To record their war, from private reflections to real-time footage of improvised explosive device (IED) attacks on the ground, director Deborah Scranton (The War Tapes) creates a "virtual embed," supplying cameras to the soldiers of the Bad Voodoo Platoon and working with them to shape an intimate portrait that reveals the hard grind of their war. Says Scranton: "What compels me is telling a story from the inside out, to crawl inside their world with them to see what it looks like, feels like and smells like. It's really important to give soldiers the chance to press their own record button on this war."

Through their daily experiences, acting platoon leader Sgt. 1st Class Toby Nunn, originally from British Columbia and the father of three, and Spc. Jason Shaw, a 23-year-old from Texas, give us a firsthand look at the impact of the U.S. military's policy of multiple deployments to Iraq and how the Army's role has changed on the ground.

Spc. Shaw is on his third deployment to Iraq. After the invasion in 2003, he was awarded the Silver Star for valor during the battle for the Baghdad airport. Shaw volunteered for his third tour in Iraq, but is haunted by the loss of so many comrades during his earlier deployments. "I've had six of my good friends die," he explains. "When I lost all of my buddies, I just kind of lost hope. I used to be religious. My last deployment totally made me think otherwise. You know, you pray all the time to keep everybody safe, and then something happens."

Sfc. Nunn, responsible for the safety of the 30 men in his platoon, worries endlessly about their welfare. "I'm worried about my guys," he confides to the camera one night. "Right now I'm out here talking to you while they're inside sleeping because I can't sleep. Can't rest, you know." Riding with Bad Voodoo along treacherous roads at night, one convoy after another, one month after the next, we feel the soldiers' frustration, fatigue, and occasional terror. One foggy night, their convoy is hit by a road-side bomb on an infamous stretch of road known as "IED Alley." The bomb, Sgt.1st Class Toby Nunn is forced to conclude, was planted with the knowledge of the local Iraqi security forces--the same troops who are now being counted on to ensure the safety of the country.

Many of his men, highly trained veteran combat infantrymen, are deeply frustrated by their primary mission: providing security for convoys transporting supplies throughout Iraq to fuel President Bush's surge. "A lot of our guys don't like this mission," says Nunn. "We're used to kicking in doors, taking the fight to the enemy. Now you're driving on the road for hours and hours and hours and days, waiting to get blown up and not allowed to fight back."

The platoon is also struggling with a new relationship with the Iraqi security forces, whom the Americans depend on for their own safety. Nunn reflects: "I told myself last time I wanted to train the Iraqis the best I possibly could, because it was my ticket home. ... But here I am, three years later, saying, 'Will the Iraqi security forces enforce anything out there?' Every time I talk to these guys, you know, my trust meter isn't reading in the green all the time." This constant second-guessing, combined with the relentless monotony of the desert highway, the fear of deadly IEDs and the memories of lost friends, keep the soldiers in an unending state of anxiety. This is Bad Voodoo's war.

---

Bad Voodoo's War is a Clover & A Bee Films production for FRONTLINE and Independent Television Service (ITVS). The writer, producer and director is Deborah Scranton. FRONTLINE is produced by WGBH Boston and is broadcast nationwide on PBS. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers. Major funding for FRONTLINE is provided by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Additional funding is provided by the Park Foundation. ITVS is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people. FRONTLINE is closed-captioned for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers and described for people who are blind or visually impaired by the Media Access Group at WGBH. FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. The executive producer for ITVS is Sally Jo Fifer. The FRONTLINE executive producer for special projects is Michael Sullivan. The executive producer of FRONTLINE is David Fanning.

[brityank]

Riding with Bad Voodoo along treacherous roads at night, one convoy after another, one month after the next, we feel the soldiers' frustration, fatigue, and occasional terror. One foggy night, their convoy is hit by a road-side bomb on an infamous stretch of road known as "IED Alley." The bomb, Sgt.1st Class Toby Nunn is forced to conclude, was planted with the knowledge of the local Iraqi security forces--the same troops who are now being counted on to ensure the safety of the country.

Here's hoping that this turns out as well as the last one they did on Haditha. Again, there is a 11:00AM web meeting/discussion listed for Wednesday.

[woofie]

John D and Catherine T MacArthur sure wasted their money

[concretebob]

I have friends who are closely associated with some of the soldiers in Bad Voodoo Platoon.
They tell me it is well done.

[Cacique]

btt

[brityank]

I have friends who are closely associated with some of the soldiers in Bad Voodoo Platoon.
They tell me it is well done.

Thanks for that. I was surprised that the Haditha Frontline was as well done as it was, and the followup the next day was also illuminating, as it seems not everyone is buying into the MSM bias.

[Marine_Uncle]

Well at least at this point, there are growing numbers of well trained Iraqi forces, willing to take on assignments that will be critical to their success. For every bad apple perhaps a hundred good apples are now on board. We cannot expect every Iraqi that signs on the dotted line to end up being an asset to the over all goals.
After all. The coalition goal all along has been to trained sufficient numbers of Iraq to start taking charge in this SASO .
We are making positive headway.

[Girlene]

Just watched the documentary. Interesting. Shows the frustration of the newest phase in OIF. Winning hearts and minds.....Hmmmmm.

God bless all of these guys. It’s an extremely tough job our guys are doing.

[brityank]

It’s running an hour behind in my world.

Interesting point:

The sergeant in charge of his 30 men had a confrontation between a Muslim and a Christian Iraqi, and they wanted to know his religion to find his bias — he told them he was a Voodoo, so he had no preference to either of them. Good move!

Team picked that for their name. Cool !!

[balch3]

in the first 30 minutes they’ve trashed KBR, and showed a soldier who used to be a Christian but rejected God after seeing his friend killed on his last deployment. In other words, leftist propaganda.

[balch3]

still more leftist propaganda: the soldiers talk about ‘it’s totally pointless,’ ‘what are we doing here,’ ‘I hate it,’ etc. And more trashing of the private contractors.

[balch3]

now sowing distention between us and our Iraqi allies by blaming them for assisting the terrorists with IED attacks.

[brityank]

Thank you. You've just made valid the points of the old proverb: There are none so blind as those who will not see.