Business Insider debuts War Ready, a feature-length documentary that delivers a visceral experience from the point of view of enlisted soldiers and the officers commanding them. War Ready is part of Business Insider's "Boot Camp" video series, offering an unprecedented, immersive look at how US Army soldiers are training for a possible war with China.
The documentary was produced and directed by Business Insider's Chief Video Correspondent Graham Flanagan, who has been covering the inside story of how the military trains service members for six years.
War Ready is the follow-up to Flanagan's 2023 documentary Welcome To The J: Inside Army Jungle School, which became Business Insider's most-watched standalone video in 2023 with over 100 million minutes watched since it was published. The film was also selected for the 25th Annual Sidewalk Film Festival.
In November 2023, Flanagan returned to Hawaii to embed with the Army's 25th Infantry Division for a two-week training exercise with over 5,000 participants, including members of foreign militaries like the Royal Thai Army and the New Zealand Defence Force.
The annual event, known as the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC), pits the Army's 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Bronco Brigade or "Bluefor," against an opposing force, "Opfor," portrayed by another brigade of Army soldiers in a sprawling war-games exercise across the Hawaiian islands.
Flanagan follows the Bronco Brigade's Charlie Company as it braces for battle with Opfor on the desolate, lava-rock-laden Pohakuloa Training Area on the island of Hawaii. Charlie Company's ranking noncommissioned officer is 1st Sgt. Stewart Fletcher, an eccentric and seasoned combat veteran who now leads a new generation of soldiers who have yet to experience the reality of war.
Watch the documentary here.