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| Home Front: WoT |
| Sgt. Kyle Hausmann-Stokes puts the soldierÂ’s life on film |
| 2007-06-20 |
| Peter Sudeman, National Review On a dusty landscape, camouflaged soldiers run in formation, then abruptly flatten themselves down on the ground to take cover and pop off shots from their rifles. A heavily armed chopper swoops overhead, and a man with a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher fires off a round into the air. In a flurry of speedy, MTV-style cuts, more tanks and soldiers whiz by, all set to the sounds of mid-‘90s heavy-metal acts Filter and Disturbed. No, it’s not a recruiting commercial, and it’s not a Hollywood production about Iraq (if only!). It’s a homemade combat video called “Stryker Combat Rotation” made by Army Sgt. Kyle Hausmann-Stokes, a young man who, at 24, has managed to be both a soldier and a filmmaker, and has made it his mission to tell troop stories on the big screen. And with a showing of one of his films at the recent G.I. Film Festival in Washington, D.C., and a coveted spot in the film-production program at University of Southern California (USC), he’s got a real shot. But first, he’s heading to the front. . . . Heading into his junior year, he’s got other plans. The military has him scheduled to go to Iraq. With a nod toward his contributions off the battlefield, the sergeant was given a deferment option, but he chose deployment. When he heads over, he’ll be working convoy security, making sure supplies make it safely from one point to another. But even this he thinks of as training. “Being a movie director is like being a sergeant. You have your men and you’re responsible for them. There’s a lot of barking commands.” And when he comes back, he’ll get his chance to put his battlefield experience to the test on the set: USC will be holding his place in the production program for him. . . . More of Sgt. Hausmann-Stokes' videos are available for downloading here, including the delightfully-named "Fun With Tanks." Also, check out his G.I. Film Festival short "Unwelcome Home." Hope we see him at the multiplex someday. |
| Posted by:Mike |