Marisa Kakoulas at the excellent tattoo blog Needles and Sins writes about Tattooed Under Fire, a documentary by Nancy Schiesari on the tattoos — and lives — of soldiers at Fort Hood. The film was created long before yesterday's mass shooting, and will air on public television stations around the country starting next week.
Fort Hood — the largest US military facility in the world — is a major center for soldiers being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and also houses the Army's Warrior Combat Stress Reset Program, which helps soldiers deal with post-traumatic stress when they return. In both cases, deployment and return home, soldiers work out heavy issues, and many seek tattooing as a way to express them or even see the process as therapy.
Tattooed Under Fire documents the young men and women at Fort Hood who seek solace at the tattoo studio, confessing fears, expressing anger, sharing secrets, and relaying personal war stories.
(Thanks, Susannah Breslin)
Related, on BB: An Insider's View of the Fort Hood Tragedy
