I don't know how many really care much about what happens inside our military, but I believe that we need to take a different look at what really goes on behind the scenes. There is a 10 hour look into the real Navy starting tonight. I am enclosing a heads up email sent from the Chief of Naval Operations about the details of the showing so we could be watching and be ready to answer questions as they come up. I always enjoy real stories about the guys that are out there protecting us.
After reading a blog by Candy Henthorne- Spring Texas Real Estate I thought there might be people out there that would be interested in seeing "inside" our military.
Active and retired Flag Officers and SES's,
Beginning Sunday, April 27, PBS will air a reality-TV documentary entitled
"CARRIER", filmed while the production company was embarked during the
entire USS NIMITZ's 2005 deployment. The program will air over five nights
from Sunday, April 27, to Thursday, May 1, 2008, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET. Ten
hours of film will be aired, selected from almost 2,000 hours that were shot
over the course of a 6-month deployment to CENTCOM. I have viewed the
production and want to share context and some thoughts with you.
While "Carrier" shows the outstanding work our young Sailors do every day
and the opportunities the Navy offers, it also shows Sailors making mistakes
in their personal and professional lives. The snapshot is frank and may be
somewhat disconcerting to some who came int o the Navy some time ago.
However, that said, I believe it will also reso nate with a significant
segment of our country, especially potential recruits and young Sailors
serving today.
1. What we did. We provided unprecedented access to our Sailors, and this
production tells their story in a very personal way. There is no narrator
- the stories are told by the Sailors themselves. You get unvarnished views
from junior personnel about their hopes, aspirations, and challenges of life
in the Navy aboard the carrier. We did not get between the film crews and
the Sailors.
2. What we got. The production highlights the racial, gender, religious,
and socio-economic diversity of our Navy. The hard work our Sailors perform
and the remarkable feat of forging thousands of individuals on a carrier
into a truly unique team really shines through. Culling through hundreds of
hours of video, the producer s created a 10-hour reality-TV documentary that
shows selected aspects o f our Sailors' personal and professional challenges.
The cinematography is very high quality and the visuals and music are sure
to appeal to younger audiences.
3. What we did not get. We did not get a Navy "commercial" in the
traditional sense. "CARRIER" is very different from the hardware
documentaries we have supported in the past. This program focuses on our
people and the reality-TV approach gives it a sense of authenticity and
credibility. Since we did not monitor the individual interviews and ongoing
production, the program contains material that does not always and fully
represent the discipline, values and mission of the U.S. Navy. You will see
some Sailors making personal and professional mistakes, and expressing
opinions that are different from the Navy's. However, the production shows
that these are the exception, not the norm, and that leadership is engaged
to shape lives and appropriate outcomes. There are abundant examples of
how the Navy changed Sailors' lives for the better by giving them
opportunities and a disciplined environment.
4. Why did we agree to the project? This production, although not an
all-inclusive picture of the Navy, will give potential recruits and those
who influence them a glimpse of what life is really like in the Navy. We
want the American people to know, understand and appreciate the contribution
our Sailors make each and every day while deployed around the world. We
also want them to know us, not as a monolithic bureaucratic entity, but as a
diverse organization of individual Americans who have set aside the comforts
of home and have put themselves on the line to serve a greater cause. You
already know how inspiring our people are, but few in our Nation get to see
our people in an operational environmen t.
Some of you may be called upon to offer public comments about th is film to
the media or to community groups. We will soon distribute PA guidance to
support your efforts and will be putting additional information on
www.navy.mil in the near future. If you need any additional information,
please contact CHINFO, RDML Frank Thorp.
Thank you for all that you do.
All the best,
Gary Roughead
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