Severe Clear

Severe Clear is a 2009 documentary film directed by American documentary maker Kristian Fraga, starring and using footage shot by First Lieutenant Mike Scotti of United States Marine Corps Bravo Company, 1st Battalion 4th Marines. The film explores the Marine drive to Baghdad during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Filming

The footage was shot as Mike Scotti fought on the front lines of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, he recorded what he saw on his personal mini-DV camera. The film was released at the South by Southwest Film Festival.

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Mike Scotti

Mike Scotti is a former U.S. Marine and author of The Blue Cascade: A Memoir of Life After War (Hachette/Grand Central). He is the subject, narrator and co-producer of the documentary film Severe Clear (released outside the U.S. as '"This is War). The film uses his personal combat footage to chronicle his time in Iraq.

Career

Scotti held the rank of First Lieutenant in Marine Corps Bravo Company, 1st Battalion 4th Marines.

Mike Scotti has appeared on various programs, including "Last Call" with Carson Daly. He is a recipient of the Fort Lee Film Commission’s Lewis J. Selznick Award for filmmaking, and he has also been a storyteller with NPR’s The Moth Mainstage.

His 2009 documentary film, Severe Clear, was directed by American documentary maker Kristian Fraga, starring and using footage shot by Scotti. The film explores the Marine drive to Baghdad during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Severe Clear achieved a Special Mention for Cinematic Excellence at the 2009 International Rome Film Festival. The film also received the Jury Prize at the Salem Film Fest.

Clear

Clear or CLEAR may refer to:

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Iraq War

The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began with the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition. The invasion regime toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. However, the conflict continued for much of the next decade as an insurgency emerged to oppose the occupying forces and the post-invasion Iraqi government. An estimated 151,000 to 600,000 or more Iraqis were killed in the first 3–4 years of conflict. The United States officially withdrew from the country in 2011 but became re-involved in 2014 at the head of a new coalition; the insurgency and many dimensions of the civil armed conflict continue.

The invasion began on 20 March 2003, with the U.S., joined by the United Kingdom and several coalition allies, launching a "shock and awe" bombing campaign. Iraqi forces were quickly overwhelmed as U.S. forces swept through the country. The invasion led to the collapse of the Ba'athist government; Saddam was captured in December 2003 and executed by a military court three years later. However, the power vacuum following Saddam's demise and the mismanagement of the occupation led to widespread sectarian violence between Shias and Sunnis as well as a lengthy insurgency against U.S. and coalition forces. The United States responded with a troop surge in 2007 to attempt to reduce the violence. The U.S. began withdrawing its troops in the winter of 2007–08. The winding down of U.S. involvement in Iraq accelerated under President Barack Obama. The U.S. formally withdrew all combat troops from Iraq by December 2011.

First lieutenant

First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces and, in some forces, an appointment.

The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations (see comparative military ranks), but the majority of cases it is common for it to be sub-divided into a senior (first lieutenant) and junior (second lieutenant) rank. In navies it may relate to a particular post rather than a rank.

United Kingdom

British Army

In the British Army and Royal Marines, the rank above second lieutenant is simply lieutenant (pronounced lef-tenant), with no ordinal attached.

Before 1871, when the whole British Army switched to using the current rank of "lieutenant", the Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers and fusilier regiments used "first lieutenant" and "second lieutenant".

Royal Navy

The first lieutenant (often abbreviated "1st Lt") in a Royal Navy ship is a post or appointment, rather than a rank.

Historically the lieutenants in a ship were ranked in accordance with seniority, with the most senior being termed the first lieutenant and acting as the second-in-command, unless the ship was complemented with a commander. Although lieutenants are no longer ranked by seniority, the post of "first lieutenant" remains. In minor war vessels, destroyers and frigates the first lieutenant is second in command, executive officer (XO) and head of the executive branch; in larger ships where a commander of the warfare specialisation is appointed as the executive officer, a first lieutenant is appointed as his deputy. The post of first lieutenant in a shore establishment carries a similar responsibility to the first lieutenant of a capital ship. Colloquial terms in the Royal Navy for the first lieutenant include "number one", "the jimmy" (or "jimmy the one") and "James the First" (a back-formation referring to James I of England).