(Part 6 of 7) "You know, Iraqis don't really seem good at fighting, but they never really completely surrender either." - Person

And therein lies the difference between the Iraqi Republican Guard forces and the Fist Recon Marines: heart. Guess which side is lacking it?

The point is furthered even more when most of First Recon finds solace and happiness as they realize that their mission is over. M.R.E. milkshakes, Colbert's stash of Chef Boyardee, and an unopened issue of Juggs are the things that make people smile now.

So while everyone is celebrating the end, leave it to Brad to run around with his shirt off, giddy that Godfather is giving First Recon one more mission - one more chance to maybe, just maybe, do something remotely close to what they were trained for.

Gallery: Generation Kill

As this episode unfolded, I found myself strangely relieved that after next week, Generation Kill will be over. It's not that I haven't enjoyed the mini-series and, on top of that, I loved Wright's book. But it is taxing to watch. Every Sunday night, it's the same thing. Simply put, the ineptitude of people like Captain America stresses me out! As if this series isn't loud enough with all the guns and explosions, my neighbors and girlfriend are surely sick of me as well. Every thirty seconds, I'm bellowing various expletives at fools like Encino Man and Casey Kasem.

As the assault on Al Kut ended, most of First Recon realized that they were too late to the game and wouldn't be a part of the invasion on Baghdad. Godfather, and people like Colbert, felt otherwise. So the new target became Baqubah, a city north of Baghdad. The mission? Stop the Iraqi armor from moving south to the capital. The problem? First Recon's Delta Company had finally caught up to them. The Marine reservists. Great. A whole contingent of Captain Americas and Encino Men. Needless to say, I swore a lot during this episode.

Granted, I shouldn't be discounting some of the boneheaded moves that the everyday guys made. Garza was asking to be shot at when he put on that Iraqi helmet, and Casey Kasem had to have known that Fick would rip him a new one when he sent out a recon team after a bombed-out tank.

Casey Kasem ... we have to talk about him. Gunnery Sgt. Ray Griego. Encino Man's personal ass kisser. That's the thing. I don't think Ray is stupid, but he is hell bent on climbing the ladder no matter how ridiculous it makes him look. Plus, he uses Encino Man as some kind of shield. He really is a puppet master of sorts. Craig listens to him and does what Ray says. It's insane. But according to Captain America, you have to be insane to survive war ... so that's a good thing I guess.

More thoughts...

• I know I mentioned it already, but when Fick went off on Griego, I loved it. "I'm puttin' it down Gunny. You pickin' it up?" Classic quote.
• Wouldn't those milkshakes have been about 90° after sitting int the sun, in those thick M.R.E. wrappers? Gross.
• The creativity never ceases: Trombley is Whopper Junior. Whopper Jr. = Burger King = BK = baby killer. Wow.
• I'm trying to recall stuff from the book, but I think it's Kocher who eventually gets reprimanded for the way Cpt. America treated that prisoner. All because that idiot reservist filed a complaint. Kocher is one of the good guys and his ass gets screwed. Ain't right.
• I loved the scene when everyone started helping the Baghdad refugees. Great moment. They all got to be human for a brief second.
• And speaking of being human, Garza made the best point yet: in the real world, all this stuff would land every last one of them in jail.
• Combat shits. No fun.
• Miss the head, but you drive over the body. Brad is right: you can't win.
• I think one of the most surprising things from this episode was the newly-found zen adopted by Fick. No more questioning orders. He's just cool with everything, even going as far as justifying some of the stupid crap to his men. He's the last one I would have expected to give in like that. But this was before Godfather got them back in the game.
• It had to get political sooner or later: Wright made a good point: if they don't need to wear their MOPPs, then that means there are no WMDs. And if there are no WMDs, then why are they there?

Well, they'll find out what they're really there for when they get to Baghdad in next week's finale, "The Man Comes Around." It's all about crowd control. That is definitely not what they were trained for.