ACG: On the recon patrol, one of the soldiers mentions the importance of having patience. Is this a metaphor for how we should view the United States’ role in Iraq?

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JR: I think it becomes apparent that there has been an effort on the part of the 1.5 million people who served overseas, (and) the Iraqi soldiers they’ve worked with, that an ongoing effort – for a lot of these Americans, 12 hour days, 6 days a week – and that’s why we are where we are in the war right now. The reason why we have the current level of success in Iraq is because a number of soldiers and Marines, Guardsmen, airmen sticking their hand out saying, “Hi, I’m Sergeant Smith. What can I do to help you?” – making that bond and that connection with the Iraqi people. I think where we’ve gotten in Iraq is great and I think if we just keep going the way we’re going, keep transitioning it to the Iraqi army, we have an opportunity to have a bright future over there.

ACG: You’ve been awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal for your work with the USO and Operation Iraqi Children. You’ve played memorable military characters. What message can you offer Americans on how we can better understand and support our men and women in uniform?

GS: I do not ever forget what happened on September 11th when 19 terrorists with box cutters took down two of the biggest buildings in the world and attacked the Pentagon and crashed a plane into a field in Pennsylvania that was surely bound for the White House or the Capitol, and I hope and pray that this determined enemy never gets hold of more serious weapons than box cutters. And if they, God forbid, ever did and if they ever got into an American city with some of those weapons; if that happened, everyone would be asking “How could we let this happen? Why didn’t we see this coming? Why didn’t we connect the dots? Why didn’t we stop this before a terrible tragedy happened?” The folks who are out there on the front lines trying to prevent that from happening are our volunteer military service members. And in these dangerous times, for me it’s important to support them because I never want to see that kind of thing happen in this country again.

ACG: There are a lot of messages to be gleaned from this film. What do you think is the most important?

JR: I think the portrait of the American war fighter that comes through the course of the telling of the story is one that in my mind would cause the audience to have a profound, renewed respect and appreciation for the people we have serving overseas.

An account of the challenges Rademacher had in chronicling the experiences of his brothers and others in the conflict is: Brothers at War Takes Audiences Behind the Headlines in Iraq at GreatHistory.com. For more information on the film, visit the Brothers at War Website.

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