“Meanwhile, though I don't share 365 Boots on the Ground's pro-war politics, I thought it was a terrific picture, easily the best of the weekend. When Kc Wayland joined the Army, he decided to mount a camera on his helmet and document his year-long deployment in Iraq. The result is a moving, funny, fascinating film that does exactly what a documentary ought to do: It documents something that most of the audience will never experience themselves. There's little in the way of gunplay here, though we do see a surreal battle of sorts on an Iraqi highway, in a sequence that feels more like a Hollywood car chase than a war movie. Instead we explore the lives, work, and personalities of the soldiers.”

Lessons from a conservative film festival

Jesse Walker | October 26, 2005

“365 BOOTS ON THE GROUND

    A unique, uplifting, and fascinating documentary, "365 Boots on the Ground," directed by Kc Wayland, was the first-person account, by an Army reservist, of a year in Iraq. Using a small camcorder and a self-designed helmet cam, Wayland draws you right into the middle of the action, both in training and combat, giving you a feeling of what its like to be in the army and exposing a reality that we never see on the TV news. What makes this film so special is the way Wayland conveys the genuine goodness and heartfelt sincerity with which the men and women in the Army approach their work. The film does a masterful job of showing that being a soldier is more than just fighting terrorists, its rebuilding schools and providing aid. It is easy to forget that the troops fighting in the Middle East are individuals with families and lives of their own. Through Wayland's interaction with his best friends and cohorts in his platoon, we see a more human side of the armed forces versus the caricatures drawn by the TV news media. “

Published on Tuesday, November 1, 2005

-Aintitcool.com

“KC Wayland’s 365 Boots on the Ground (58 min) offers America a close up view of life from inside Iraq’s Green Zone. Although Kc’s not a grunt (infantry), he delivers in less than an hour what the mainstream media hasn’t described in several years. Direct and poignant, Kc reminds us what today’s patriots are made of. Parental Advisory: some profanity. Directed by Kc Wayland, Produced by Kc Wayland and Tucker Tillman.”

-Clark Baker