ABC-TV Spotlights the People of U.S. Armed Forces
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2003 -- The men and women who make up
America's military will be featured on an ABC-TV production
entitled "Profiles from the Front Line" beginning Feb. 27.
The series will run at 8 p.m. EST Thursdays through April
6.
The Defense Department gave the producers of the show
access to operations in Afghanistan and around the world.
The show is part of ABC's entertainment division. ABC News
did not participate.
"Profiles" is cast as a "reality" show, but it's not a
"Survivor: Afghanistan." There are no contrived situations,
contests or actors.
"These are real people, doing real missions in a real war,"
said Vicente Ogilvie, deputy special assistant for
entertainment media in the Office of the Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.
The show also places a spotlight on America's "shadow
warriors" -- special operations forces.
Defense officials said they cannot remember the last time
any group was given such access to the world of special
operations. Special operations forces are called "shadow
warriors" for a reason: They try not to garner attention.
They feel working in the shadows helps them accomplish
their missions.
While the coalition bombing of Afghanistan helped the
Northern Alliance at the beginning of the conflict in the
country in October 2001, only when special operations
forces arrived on the ground did the tide turn against the
Taliban.
"The fight to topple the Taliban was waged on the ground by
less than 500 Special Forces personnel," Marshall
Billingslea, principal deputy assistant defense secretary
for special operations and low-intensity conflict, said
Oct. 16, 2002. "They mounted an unconventional warfare
effort tied closely to indigenous forces and linked with
the United States Air Force in a way that provided for a
rapid and crushing defeat of the Taliban's conventional
forces."
Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who did the movies
"Black Hawk Down" and "Pearl Harbor," and the television
show "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," is the executive
producer of the profile series. His group sent teams of
producers and cameramen to the front lines of the war on
terrorism.
The series started filming in April 2002 and wrapped in
October. At one point 16, three-man crews were working
around the world. In addition to covering members of the
3rd and 19th Special Forces groups in Afghanistan, the
teams also videotaped members of the 82nd Airborne Division
as they deployed to Central Asia.
They also caught sailors of the cruiser USS Hue City during
maritime intercept operations in the Arabian Sea,
submariners of the USS Salt Lake City, carrier operations
aboard the USS John F. Kennedy, medics at various
hospitals, and food service specialists.
Ogilvie said service members tell their own stories. While
the producers put some images to music, no scripts or
narrations were used in the series.
"This program highlights the dedication, professionalism
and patriotism of the men and women of the armed forces,"
he said.
Some critics have hammered the show because it highlights
patriotism, Ogilvie noted, but they're out of line in his
opinion. "There is nothing fake about the patriotism of the
American military," he said. "The program shows patriotism
because these men and women are patriots."
The Defense Department provided transportation to the film
crews and technical advice to the producers. Defense
officials worked with the crews to protect operational
security.
While some parts of the show may make senior leaders wince,
they're slices of the real military, department officials
said.
:silly:
Something tells me it will be only what the money makers think we want to see. :debil:
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 25, 2003 -- The men and women who make up
America's military will be featured on an ABC-TV production
entitled "Profiles from the Front Line" beginning Feb. 27.
The series will run at 8 p.m. EST Thursdays through April
6.
The Defense Department gave the producers of the show
access to operations in Afghanistan and around the world.
The show is part of ABC's entertainment division. ABC News
did not participate.
"Profiles" is cast as a "reality" show, but it's not a
"Survivor: Afghanistan." There are no contrived situations,
contests or actors.
"These are real people, doing real missions in a real war,"
said Vicente Ogilvie, deputy special assistant for
entertainment media in the Office of the Assistant
Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.
The show also places a spotlight on America's "shadow
warriors" -- special operations forces.
Defense officials said they cannot remember the last time
any group was given such access to the world of special
operations. Special operations forces are called "shadow
warriors" for a reason: They try not to garner attention.
They feel working in the shadows helps them accomplish
their missions.
While the coalition bombing of Afghanistan helped the
Northern Alliance at the beginning of the conflict in the
country in October 2001, only when special operations
forces arrived on the ground did the tide turn against the
Taliban.
"The fight to topple the Taliban was waged on the ground by
less than 500 Special Forces personnel," Marshall
Billingslea, principal deputy assistant defense secretary
for special operations and low-intensity conflict, said
Oct. 16, 2002. "They mounted an unconventional warfare
effort tied closely to indigenous forces and linked with
the United States Air Force in a way that provided for a
rapid and crushing defeat of the Taliban's conventional
forces."
Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who did the movies
"Black Hawk Down" and "Pearl Harbor," and the television
show "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," is the executive
producer of the profile series. His group sent teams of
producers and cameramen to the front lines of the war on
terrorism.
The series started filming in April 2002 and wrapped in
October. At one point 16, three-man crews were working
around the world. In addition to covering members of the
3rd and 19th Special Forces groups in Afghanistan, the
teams also videotaped members of the 82nd Airborne Division
as they deployed to Central Asia.
They also caught sailors of the cruiser USS Hue City during
maritime intercept operations in the Arabian Sea,
submariners of the USS Salt Lake City, carrier operations
aboard the USS John F. Kennedy, medics at various
hospitals, and food service specialists.
Ogilvie said service members tell their own stories. While
the producers put some images to music, no scripts or
narrations were used in the series.
"This program highlights the dedication, professionalism
and patriotism of the men and women of the armed forces,"
he said.
Some critics have hammered the show because it highlights
patriotism, Ogilvie noted, but they're out of line in his
opinion. "There is nothing fake about the patriotism of the
American military," he said. "The program shows patriotism
because these men and women are patriots."
The Defense Department provided transportation to the film
crews and technical advice to the producers. Defense
officials worked with the crews to protect operational
security.
While some parts of the show may make senior leaders wince,
they're slices of the real military, department officials
said.
:silly:
Something tells me it will be only what the money makers think we want to see. :debil:
