[thebaffler]

I was a bit ticked when I initially headed this way for some neutral(-ish) perspectives and wanted to at least confirm with those I respect that I was justified in pointing out the distinction in terms. I hate that there's a hint of self-congratulation on my part (i.e. "been there, done that") and almost wish that I had presented myself as profession-neutral in my remarks to the webmaster and Pat.

On the flipside, however, who are these people?! From what I can tell about Pat Dollard's chronicling of events, he's cast himself in the lead role and is framing life over there as a hyper-reality of big guns and Hollywood stunts. If he truly sought to provide an accurate account of company-level life in a combat zone, why not step back behind the camera and let things unfold? Why include paragraphs on your website of self-aware nonsense like, "I co-owned a prosperous talent management firm, Relativity Management, lived in a four-story mansion, and somehow success*fully stumbled (often drunk and stoned) through the whorehouse called Hollywood." Why sell t-shirts on your website that say "Jihadi Killer" (incidentally, isn't it obvious to Pat that these shirts could be taken in two ways?)?

Additionally, I found another reference to Pat's "service" in the section exhorting us to buy t-shirts. Reproduced verbatim here:

"Help get out the message to support the war in Iraq and the troops there. Help the Marines who served have their story told. And help the families of the Marines I served with who were killed. I gave it all up, my life and my income, to serve my country in the War in Terror, with the one weapon a 42 year old civilian like me could use: a camera. " (italics mine)

I would respectfully mention that there is a "comments" area available on Pat's site for interested parties to provide their opinions. Thanks for all of your perspectives and kind words.