Having joined the Marines in 1992, my intent was to give back to my country, and do my part in a war with Iraq. A war that looked to be a long one. Truth be told, a part of me wanted to test myself...to test my mettle. Part of me wanted to earn my "Red Badge Of Courage"; and to earn myself some war stories.

At 16, I don't know how I came to the conclusion that joining the Marines was the best way to go. I am pretty sure the thought went "Fuck..the Marines are bad ass...and I want to be bad ass....sign me up!". That recruiter had me pegged long before I strolled my Rolly Polly ass into his office.

I was probably the most unlikely Marine Recruit anyone had ever conceived. 6' 3" 300lbs...undisciplined...un-ke­pt....lacking in common sense; I actually showed up to my ASVAB test wearing torn jeans, and a white tee-shirt with hot pink Russian hammer and sickles screen printed all over.

It was a hurried time. The military thought Iraq was going to be worse then it was. So much so, that I went from boot camp, to combat training, and directly to my first unit. No MOS (Military occupational specialty) school at all. The Marines figured, why bother. We need ground troops...not 2512 field wiremen. Why spend dollars on training, when these slew of new Marines would be out in the dessert pulling guard duty right away? And better yet...if they do get killed...at least we didn't have to spend the money on advanced training.

By the time I graduated Combat School, my unit was already coming back from the war. And I was relegated to cleaning gear, standing duty posts, and wrapping cables for the unit.

4 years active duty, almost 15 months of 29 Palms dessert training, and zero floats abroad...and I never got my war. Something I regret with a slight tinge of embarrassment.

Hind sight being 20/20...I know I was lucky to have never been deployed in a combat scenario. I learned enough by being out in the field and training 3 or so months at a time...that combat wasn't something to be longed for. Not in my day and age anyway; years of animalistic evolution aside.

It's hard for me to watch any military movie now. Particularly those depicting Marines. Particularly those depicting Marines in combat. I always feel like I should have been there. Covering my buddies back...or putting it all on the line for my battery; earning some war stories. But in the end, I still got sucked in to HBO's "Generation Kill". And I am happy I did.

I would never speak to being in War. My honorable service in the Marine Corps or not. I was lucky. I simply wasn't ever asked to go to a war zone. But I will say, that "Generation Kill"...at least from my perspective, depicted a number of characters I recognized from my own units.

Situations and scenarios that reminded me of a number of Desert Fire Exercises...the complete cluster fuck of large troop movements...the misappropriation of hardware and equipment....the insanity of some of our conversations after months of being in the field.

And most importantly, the comradeship of those I was serving with. I don't think "Generation Kill" is too far off base when heralding some of the more surreal challenges a number of Marines faced. I for one...instantly identified with that Devil Dog in the show, who was forced to trim away a mustache until he looked like a relic of the 3rd Reich. A number of Marines in my unit walked around looking like Hitler clones...as an act of passive rebellion against a Gunnery Sargent...who was all to eager to have us push, because of over grown mustaches, or haircuts older then 2 weeks.

And, I too...had a Master Gunnery Sargent and 1st Sargent...larger then life. And I mean that literally. If I was considered a lean mean massive Marine after a regular regimen of the daily seven...then these men were titans. Raspy voiced He-Man Dolls in fatigues that put the fear of God into us all. No one wanted to fuck with the Tops...and more importantly...no one wanted to disappoint them.

I read allot of the posting on this site...and I really am taken aback. I don't know that I look at "Generation Kill" as a slap in the face to anyone who served in the military, or in the war. I simply see it as a pretty good story with some accurate details and a hash exterior. If your looking to this show to find a reason to hate the Marines or the military...or support an archaic view of what a soldier is...then you were lost before this show even aired.

And if your watching this show just to get a glimpse of what war could be...and what the men and women who fight those Wars might face...you may be better off...but only slighty.

"Generation Kill" is what it is. A gritty, and harsh show that depicts a number of realities from someone who may have wrote and produced it to mock us....but fails to do so to anyone with an open mind....or who has ever stood on those yellow footprints at basic training. I think by delivering a sobering and unapologetic view of the Marines...what comes across is something we could all be proud of. Professional soldiers that accomplish a mission despite the arrogance and ineptness of those who would piss on the tools of democracy with a quill of righteousnesses provided to them by those very same soldiers.