For the jarheads, Marjah has become the "bleeding ulcer" of this war. For Dayan, it was a chance to get close to the men and women who fight the longest and most intense war since Vietnam. The camera captures the ever-present tension that explodes into sporadic firefights, as well as some subtle similarities to the conflict Dayan covers at home. She succeeds where others fail: the Marines open their hearts to her, speaking about fear, loss and the scars of war.

Lance Corporal "Stag" has no doubt this war is worth fighting, but when asked by Dayan about the first thing he'll do when he returns home to New Orleans, he replies: "I'll look for the nearest bar and try to forget Afghanistan, one beer at a time". Neither of them could know then that the memories would become much more painful even before the film's debut.

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