We have different politics, so we'll let that part lie to preserve decorum.
The thing that angers me about this movie the most is the violation of a long-standing code in the community. Special ops are supposed to be "silent professionals." That means, we do things behind the scenes without seeking personal glory or fame. The Department of the Navy appears to have recently changed their minds on this code of conduct. Using real operators will endanger them, their families, inadvertently shows our tactics, equipment, etc. I guess walking on the red carpet means more to them than the code and the community.
Maybe I'm just old-school and need to retire...the military is changing in ways that I don't like at all.
Paladine I can completely relate to your point of view and I respect where you're coming from with it.
I've spent some time in Coronado myself.
The Navy's goals and agenda with this movie may not be totally pristine... who knows maybe recruits and funding were thoughts being driven behind the scenes... I don't think they meant to undermine the code or the community.
We know there are real life missions that take place. Maybe letting the public in on some of this perspective insures a strong spec ops community for the future. When we raised the flag on Suribachi it was said it insured the future of the Corps for the next 500 years...
The spec ops community didn't even show pictures of Bin-Ladens dead body (although I for one would have liked to see them)... maybe a fictional account of Acts of Valor isn't so bad.
It is cool to show the public a view they might not realize otherwise.
I know I've read enough books about the community to realize this information is all already out there... but many people who might not read a book... will go see a 2 hour movie. There are some good reasons to see something that has a worthwhile message.