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This film picks up where RESTREPO left off; the same men, the same valley but a very different look at the experience of war. By explaining how war works, what it feels like and what it does to those who fight it KORENGAL goes one step further in bringing the war in Afghanistan into perspective.
Director: Sebastian Junger
Share this film. Consider hosting a screening and follow it up with a discussion.
Consider participating in The Wounded Warrior Project’s Believe in Heroes campaign. They work to help wounded veterans find their place in society once they have returned from the battlefield.
Support, like director Junger, the TAPS, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, which offers support to those who have lost a loved one in combat. There are many ways to volunteer or donate to their mission.
Watch the other two films in the trilogy: RESTREPO and THE LAST PATROL, as well as WHICH WAY IS THE FRONT LINE FROM HERE? THE LIFE AND TIME OF TIM HETHERINGTON.
Visit Save the Children’s website, the organization is actively providing humanitarian aid to children affected by the War in Afghanistan by offering education, fighting malnutrition, and more.
“Civilians don’t miss war. But soldiers often do. Journalist Sebastian Junger shares his experience embedded with American soldiers at Restrepo, an outpost in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley that saw heavy combat. Giving a look at the ‘altered state of mind’ that comes with war, he shows how combat gives soldiers an intense experience of connection. In the end, could it actually be ‘the opposite of war’ that soldiers miss? ”
Watch Sebastian Junger talk about this on TED.
“Last week the United States military pulled out of the Korengal Valley in eastern Afghanistan. Six miles long, sparsely populated and of dubious strategic value, the Korengal was the scene of some of the most relentless fighting of the Afghan war.”
Read the full article on The New York Times.
Want to fill in possible blanks in knowledge about the war in Afghanistan?
If so: check out this article on BBC.
“Reporting from war zones has always been a dicey proposition, but the last few years of covering conflicts have become a particularly dark and depressing time for journalists in conflicts. Two recent articles on the subject paint a rather bleak picture of a profession where death is ever present and glory is the only reward.”
Find out more on The Wire.
“Amid the revelry, did you notice that the U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan ended New Year’s Eve at midnight? Now that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are officially over—or merely “paused” as many in the Pentagon believe—it’s a fair time to check the meter to see how much these two conflicts cost the nation.”
Continue reading on Time Magazine.
“Probably every conflict is fought on at least two grounds: the battlefield and the minds of the people via propaganda.”
Find out more on Global Issues.
Soldiers often explain experiencing a rush of adrenaline during combat. But what is adrenaline, and how does it actually affect us? Find out here.
“For well over a decade — one might suggest over multiple decades — the U.S. has been engaged in war, yet so few in the public sphere seem willing to ask, as a Vietnam-era hit song did: ‘War, what is it good for?’ As the United States charges once more into war, little debate has centered on the actual utility of war. Instead, policymakers and pundits have focused their comments on combating the latest danger to our nation and its interests as posed by Islamic State militants.”
Continue reading on the Lost Angeles Times.
"This is a self-sustaining film, and a valuable portrait in its own right"
The Dissolve
"A welcome reunion"
The Boston Globe
"Those of us who haven't served on active duty can't know what it's like. Taken together, RESTREPO and KORENGAL bring us about as close to the experience as we can, or would want, to get."
The Arizona Republic
