Light It Up : The Marine Eye for Battle in the War for Iraq

Examines the U.S. Marines' visual culture of combat in the Iraq War. American military power in the War on Terror has increasingly depended on the capacity to see the enemy. The act of seeing--enhanced by electronic and digital technologies--has separated shooter from target, eliminating risk of bodily harm to the remote warrior, while YouTube videos eroticize pulling the trigger and video games blur the line between simulated play and fighting. Light It Upexamines the visual culture of the early twenty-first century military. Focusing on the Marine Corps, which played a critical part in the invasion and occupation of Iraq, John Pettegrew argues that U.S. military force in the Iraq War was projected through an "optics of combat." Powerful military technology developed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars has placed war in a new posthuman era. Pettegrew's interviews with marines, as well as his analysis of first-person shooter videogames and combat footage, lead to startling insights into the militarization of popular digital culture. An essential study for readers interested in modern warfare, policy makers, and historians of technology, war, and visual and military culture. Examines the U.S. Marines'visual culture of combat in the Iraq War.American military power in the War on Terror has increasingly depended on the capacity to see the enemy. The act of seeing—enhanced by electronic and digital technologies—has separated shooter from target, eliminating risk of bodily harm to the remote warrior, while YouTube videos eroticize pulling the trigger and video games blur the line between simulated play and fighting.Light It Up examines the visual culture of the early twenty-first century military. Focusing on the Marine Corps, which played a critical part in the invasion and occupation of Iraq, John Pettegrew argues that U.S. military force in the Iraq War was projected through an “optics of combat.” Powerful military technology developed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars has placed war in a new posthuman era.Pettegrew's interviews with marines, as well as his analysis of first-person shooter videogames and combat footage, lead to startling insights into the militarization of popular digital culture. An essential study for readers interested in modern warfare, policy makers, and historians of technology, war, and visual and military culture. Examines the U.S. Marines visual culture of combat in the Iraq War. American military power in the War on Terror has increasingly depended on the capacity to see the enemy. The act of seeingenhanced by electronic and digital technologieshas separated shooter from target, eliminating risk of bodily harm to the remote warrior, while YouTube videos eroticize pulling the trigger and video games blur the line between simulated play and fighting. Light It Up examines the visual culture of the early twenty-first century military. Focusing on the Marine Corps, which played a critical part in the invasion and occupation of Iraq, John Pettegrew argues that U.S. military force in the Iraq War was projected through an optics of combat. Powerful military technology developed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars has placed war in a new posthuman era. Pettegrews interviews with marines, as well as his analysis of first-person shooter videogames and combat footage, lead to startling insights into the militarization of popular digital culture. An essential study for readers interested in modern warfare, policy makers, and historians of technology, war, and visual and military culture. Cover -- Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction. Force Projection and the Marine Eye for Battle -- 1 Shock and Awe and Air Power -- Network-Centric Warfare, Sensors, and Total Situational Awareness -- Achieving Rapid Dominance in Iraq -- Kill Boxes, LITENING Pods, and the Third Marine Aircraft Wing -- ""Keep Your Eyes Out," Fair Fighting, and Memories of Killing -- 2 Of War Porn and Pleasure in Killing -- Pornography Is the Theory, and Killing the Practice -- Classic Hollywood Combat Films -- Marine Moto on YouTube -- The Iraq War on Television