We heard that some of you were watching movies at Christmas, and so we watched a war movie (with some strong Christmas movie overtones) — Sam Mendes' 2005 film Jarhead. Is it fascist? Well, it's definitely muscly and macho. But, as Nate, Francis, and Joe Kassabian (@jkass99) of the Lions Led by Donkeys podcast determine, there's a lot more going on beneath the surface. Sort of.

For our Patreon subscribers, this week's bonus features Francis' book review of Peter Van Buren's 'We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People.' Francis compares it to his own deployment experience and discusses the critical lack of follow-through that he observed on his own deployments. This is available to all Patreon subscribers at any tier: https://www.patreon.com/posts/book-review-we-23528252

*Veterans t-shirt notice* We have a new shirt available on our store. Did you know that VA disability is UBI for warriors? Well, you do now: https://teespring.com/deeply-conflicted-tee_copy_1#pid=387&cid=101810&sid=front

You can follow the show on Twitter here: @HellOfAWay Follow Nate here: @inthesedesertsFollow Francis here: @ArmyStrang