Chain of Command (2018) TV

INSIDE THE WAR AGAINST TERRORISM Captain America Chris Evans narrates groundbreaking new doc on the US military and global terrorism
The US Pentagon grants unprecedented access to Nat Geo to show how America is fighting violent extremism

EXCLUSIVE
BY PAUL SIMPER
30th January 2018, 5:52 pm

How do you tell the stories of the US military’s fight against violent extremism in Chain of Command?

Chain of Command is really a collection of soldier stories. This is a very character driven series. It’s eight one hours told through soldiers – from the very highest levels of the US military to boots on the ground. We were able to first hand understand the commitment, the sacrifice, the passion. It’s everything through their eyes. As storytellers that was a great place to be.

This is the first time a documentary crew has ever been given access inside the Pentagon. Why do you think they gave you this now?

That’s a question I couldn’t answer, to be perfectly honest. I don’t know. The conversations between National Geographic and the Department of Defence were months and months – in fact years – in the making. With a project like Chain of Command and the really privileged spaces and worlds that we were allowed to film in that is a very slow process. All I know is they were very interested because we wanted to tell the story of the soldiers. This series isn’t necessarily about how an order starts at the top and goes all the way to the bottom – although that is obviously interesting. What’s more interesting to us is to tell the story of where they’re at and what makes them tick.

In ep 1 what were the most challenging scenes to film in Mosul where the US military and Iraqi security forces are fighting ISIS to liberate the city?

All of it. It was very challenging every single day. We sent in people who were the very best and most experienced in these environments and even for them this was extremely fraught and unpredictable. They had to be incredibly cautious and careful while they were trying to do their jobs.

Was the greatest danger when you were filming on the streets from ISIS snipers, VBIEDs (Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Devices) or customised drones with explosives?

At times we were on the front lines and there were several instances where there were VBIED attacks. The drones were also a constant threat for the crew. As were the snipers. Our crew was embedded in the front lines with the US military and Iraqi forces and we were filming them conducting this war. Inherently that comes with all the risks that you can imagine.

As a filmmaker were there particular moments when you realised you had TV gold?

Every place was unique. In some cases there were moments that were really unexpected. For example when the marines from Task Force South West are deployed to Helmand Province we had an opportunity to follow a handful of those marines preparing to leave North Carolina. In one particular case there was a husband and wife who were leaving their three children all of which were under five years old. It was incredibly emotional and they were gracious enough to let us be in the room. We were really surprised with this series at the range of scenes we were able to capture and how emotional at times they were.

What made Captain America’s Chris Evans the right man for the job to do the narration?

We had heard previous stuff that Chris had done and he came across as a wonderful storyteller. We were incredibly fortunate that he was available because he’s filming a ton of stuff for Marvel and extremely in demand. But it was a no-brainer for him. His immediate response was yes, let’s try and do something here. He had done work with the military before with organisations like the USO so he was very familiar with working with Servicemen and Women. You can tell right away that this is near and dear to his heart.

There are some very moving moments. In the first ep when one of the children is crying after being liberated from ISIS.

There are extraordinary moments in every single episode. That moment I just told you about with the parents leaving is in episode three. It’s an extraordinary time that we are all living in. Violent extremism affects everyone so to be able to provide these depths of stories is something we’re very proud to have done.

Chain of Command airs Tuesdays at 9pm on National Geographic.