Lights, camera, military action!

• Author: Lewis, Andrea

Profiles from the Front Line is reality television, war movie, documentary video, and military propaganda all rolled into one. Set in Afghanistan with edgy musical accompaniment and no narration, the ABC series has promised to take viewers "to actual battlefields in central Asia" and to "bring home the danger faced every day by America's bravest in the war on terrorism." ABC also proudly states that "the Pentagon and Department of Defense lent their full support and cooperation to this unique production by [Hollywood producer] Jerry Bruckheimer and [Cops creator] Bertram van Munster, which will feature compelling personal stories of America's military men and women and the elite U.S. Special Operations Forces."

During the months when Profiles was filmed, "real" journalists weren't allowed anywhere near the front lines, and news organizations had to survive on a limited diet of highly coordinated military briefings. Meanwhile, Profiles camera crews were given nearly unlimited access to U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

"There's a lot of other ways to convey information to the American people than through news organizations," Rear Admiral Craig Quigley told The New York Times about Profiles last year when the show was in development. The gang at Profiles was, as Quigley described, "trooping around all over the countryside--flying on planes, going on ships, going on patrol with the 101st Airborne, [and] living a rugged life."

In the premiere episode of Profiles from the Front Line, we meet some of the soldiers Quigley spoke about. There is Colonel Abraham J. Turner, who emphatically tells his troops that "the American people expect you to be at the point of the spear" in the war on terrorism. Army Specialist Alvin Fields is loving his wartime assignment. "I couldn't think of any place I'd rather be than right here doing my job, knowing I'm doing my part to keep America free," the smiling soldier tells us not long after we see him excitedly handling a new bazooka-like anti-tank weapon.

Soon we meet the "elite soldiers" of U.S. Special Operations Forces. Master Sergeant Mark (first names only for the "Rambo Guys," as they're called) explains that his team's primary mission is to "find and kill Al Qaeda," but says that identification is a problem. "To us, everyone pretty much looks the same." Staff Sergeant Mike agrees: "It's frustrating because you can't kill the guys that need to be killed." At one point the three-man crew begins to drive off with...