What did Santa give you?
ABOARD USS BONHOMME RICHARD, At Sea (NNS) -- A short film about Navy/Marine Corps activities during Operation Enduring Freedom will be released to theaters nationwide in January.
The five-minute film features interviews with Sailors and Marines who participated in Enduring Freedom.
“The purpose of the film is to powerfully communicate to the American public what the Navy and Marine Corps team is and who we are,” said Lt. Col. James Kuhn, producer of the film. “It’s about the people wearing the uniform – from the 18-year-old rifleman in the middle of a hostile desert to the captain of a ship – their spirit, their sacrifice and their contribution to the defense of the United States.”
One of the Sailors interviewed was Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class (SW/AW) Brandy Sugden of USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6). “They asked me what my job was and what it was like to be deployed halfway around the world in support of our country,” she said.
For her shipmates aboard Bonhomme Richard, along with her friends and family, the answer was typical.
“My job is to defend my country, and there’s nothing I could say or do that would make me prouder than what I am doing right now.”
Although that line makes up only seconds of the short film, it made an impression on the film’s producer.
“(Bonhomme Richard’s) young petty officer’s comments represented well what I think all of us would like the American public to know,” said Kuhn. “I would have liked to put the rest of what she said in as well, but we only had four minutes.”
The rest of what she said echoed her own values of country and family. “I think that if you’re in the Navy, you should be patriotic. You have an important role – you protect people,” said Sugden. “Everyone has a role to play, and mine is my job. And I couldn’t see myself doing anything else, because I know I’m making a difference.”
The 23-year-old Sailor from Ashland City, Tenn., and the rest of the crew on Bonhomme Richard are currently preparing for another possible deployment – just months after returning from an extended deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Sugden’s thoughts are one of the central themes of the Enduring Freedom short film.
The film was tested in about 1,000 theaters nationwide, with audience polling results overwhelming positive. One of Sugden’s friends from the Los Angeles area was at one of those theaters and called Sugden after viewing it.
“They thought the film was good, and my friend said, ‘I heard the voice and then saw the face, and I stood up in the theater and yelled, ‘I know her.’ It’s a little scary to actually see yourself on film, but it makes me proud,” said Sugden.
The Enduring Freedom short film will be released to theaters across the nation after Jan. 1. To watch it online now, go to ENDURING FREEDOM