Documentary about Nevada troops at war gets multiple awards

When Tyler Elliott arrived in Afghanistan, he found out fast that his documentary project on 14 Nevada National Guard soldiers would be much more than filming them "guarding dirt and looking for ghosts," as one described it while sitting bored with his rifle on a barren ridge.

"I really got to know them in the first two days," Elliott said about the soldiers of Lima Troop, also known as "the Hooligans" scout platoon of Nevada's 1st Squadron, 221st Cavalry Regiment.

"We got ambushed at a polling station, hit by small arms fire and RPGs," he said, referring to rocket-propelled grenades, the weapon of choice of Taliban and insurgent fighters around Forward Operating Base Mehtar Lam in Afghanistan's rugged Laghman province.

The firefight began after the small polling station had closed after the 2009 Afghanistan presidential election. Although it lasted only 30 minutes, it was literally an eye-opening experience.

"I laid down because I hadn't slept for 36 hours. I was half asleep when I heard a really loud explosion," the 25-year-old videographer said Wednesday in an interview from Reno. "In a few minutes bullets started flying. I kind of lapsed out. I was in shock and couldn't concentrate. I thought I was going to get hit."

"It was a really big adrenaline rush, definitely the most scared I'd felt in my whole life."

That experience was the genesis of his award-winning film, "Hooligans at War," which was released this month as a DVD. It won the Golden Ace Award at the Las Vegas Film Festival; won best documentary at North Carolina's SkyFest V Film and Script Festival; and was nominated for best documentary at Florida's Tallahassee Film Festival.

For a month in the summer of 2009, he chronicled the Hooligans' combat tour from the boredom of life on the base to firefights, suicide bombing responses, presidential election patrols and humanitarian missions.

"The biggest thing I wanted to stay away from was the politics of war. Should we be there? Are they killing civilians? Are we doing our job?"

Elliott paid his own way to the war zone and "sacrificed a lot to get over there. I just wanted to preserve history. I was completely solo. I had to get equipment, body armor and war insurance."

His passion for military history stems from his father, Paul Elliott, a Vietnam War-era Air National Guard veteran, and his grandfather, Gordon Elliott, a World War II Navy veteran who set up beach communications during invasions of Sicily, Italy and southern France.

The documentary "is a testament to those that serve and sacrifice so much," he said.

"I'm humbled that I experienced what American soldiers go through. It makes you appreciate our freedoms."

Led by their overseas commander, Lt. Col. Scott Cunningham, the 730 soldiers of Nevada's 221st Cavalry Wildhorse Squadron returned home without anyone killed in action, but there were 47 Purple Heart medals awarded, including one to Staff Sgt. Shane Baldwin, a Hooligan platoon member from Cove, Ark., who lost a leg in a roadside bomb explosion on Jan. 19, 2010.

About half the Hooligans were Arkansas soldiers attached to the Nevada Guard. During a poignant moment when most of the soldiers returned to Las Vegas for a homecoming ceremony at Mandalay Bay, Baldwin stood from his wheelchair to hear the daughter of one of the troopers sing "God Bless America."

In the documentary, the 30-year-old Baldwin is depicted as motivated, caring man with compassion for his fellow soldiers and the people of Afghanistan.

"He is the most selfless individual I know," Elliott said.

The rest of the Hooligans are Anderson Munoz, a platoon sergeant; Victor Sanford, who suffered a broken back from an improvised explosive device, or IED; Christopher Owens, also injured by an IED; Gabe Boyd; Joseph "Da'Man" Jones; James Smith; Christopher Mancebo; Jessie Elizondo, Al Roberts; Eric Webb; Brandon Mathes; Alexander Davis and Josh Chase. Another soldier, Jason "Sgt. Mac" McPhetridge, went home early because of a previous IED injury.

Elliott said he was most impressed with commander Cunningham's support for the soldiers and the access he provided to the troops.

"He's strong, bold and a very kind man. What struck me is he fought for his troops, too. He was right there with the troops, humping those mountains and getting involved."

Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.