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Thrilling Doc War Game Workshops the Plausibility of a Military Coup—on U.S. Soil, for Once

Thrilling Doc War Game Workshops the Plausibility of a Military Coup—on U.S. Soil, for Once

As the flames of division are stoked among citizens and politicians alike, some might find comfort in the fact that governmental checks and balances are being stress-tested and scrutinized ahead of what’s certain to be a highly-contested election result in November. This is precisely the goal of the War Game explored by doc heavyweights Jesse Moss (Boys State, Girls State) and Tony Gerber (Full Battle Rattle), who use unobtrusive long lenses to intimately peer into the petty squabbling and split-second decisions that could supposedly save American democracy from internal insurrection. What might quell the anxiety of some viewers will likely ignite incredulity among others, particularly as the simulation concludes a bit too cleanly for our current moment of extremist rhetoric and action.

Coordinated by the non-profit, non-partisan military veteran organization Vet Voices, the unscripted exercise takes place in the alarmingly near future, on January 6, 2025. As congress convenes to certify the presidential election results, a concerted faction of U.S. military troops, pledging fealty to a far-right movement dubbed the “Order of Columbus” (clearly taking inspiration from Oath Keepers and, obviously, the January 6, 2021 capital riots), decide to stage a coup instead of allowing for a peaceful transition of power. While the domestic crisis that unfolds is purely hypothetical, the scenarios and potential solutions are supposed to hew closely to what would occur in real life.

The game’s participants are predominantly officials who’ve previously held office across five different presidencies, with former Montana governor Steve Bullock assuming the role of Commander in Chief. Playing the roles of his closest confidants are former North Dakota senator Heidi Heitkamp and former Alabama senator Doug Jones, who become increasingly pivotal to the plot as Bullock grapples with the prospect of invoking the Insurrection Act. Though the law has been enacted before by President Bush during the Los Angeles Riots and Waco siege, what’s particularly dicey this time around is that there’s no guarantee that the troops deployed to squash this unrest will even respond to presidential orders. “You don’t know which side your law enforcement partners are on,” offers Heitkamp with raised eyebrows.

As the bright red numbers on a prominent digital clock tick away, it appears that those playing for the insurrectionist team maintain a concerted upper hand. Playing these rogue militia leaders are Kristofer Goldsmith and Chris Jones, two veterans who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. “These threats are advancing in a way that the average American has no idea [about],” says Goldsmith about the very real possibility of a far-right coup. “Next January 6 is another inflection point. These insurrectionists have recognized that the certification of the next president is a vulnerability that can be exploited.” Through mock newscasts and social media posts, the Order of Columbus swiftly organizes against the election being “stolen” from the Trump-esque nominee, dubbed Robert Strickland in the game (and portrayed by actor Chris Coffey, rather than a politician). Soon, these players are able to take fictional hostages, a move that thoroughly rattles their opponents.

Moss and Gerber’s film almost exclusively focuses on the exercise (which the filmmakers only had one opportunity to capture during its single six-hour gameplay session), leaving little room for viewers to more deeply question the parameters of the simulation itself. All of the political figures involved are staunchly moderate across the aisle, meaning that the game doesn’t account for the religious zealotry and intense Trump-worship currently infecting the Republican party. Though players and members of Vet Voices share their own first-hand experiences with political violence—combat-induced PTSD, losing a loved one to extremist conspiracy theories and experiencing the unrest of the Iranian Revolution among them—there is little interrogation of this country’s intrinsically white supremacist roots. In other words, this rhetoric didn’t solely spawn from social media; what is the plan to deal with this increased vitriol before these individuals take it upon themselves to join the armed forces or put their body on the line for their political candidate of choice?

“Why the fuck was I shooting farmers in Afghanistan while you’re still breathing?” scoffs Goldsmith as he recounts his reaction to the storming of the capital back in 2021. This is easily the most jarring line of dialogue in War Game, as it inadvertently presents the irony of the insurrection issue: We have committed countless atrocities against civilians abroad in the name of American democracy, yet the same military force potentially has the power to massacre civilians and assume power on our own soil. For all of the coups and sieges of power the U.S. has orchestrated in the past, the idea that the same thing could happen here is somehow seen as unfathomable.

“The military is one of the last institutions in our society that has been, and should be, apolitical in the sense that it is supposed to be a space where everybody, regardless of their political backgrounds in private, will together to achieve a mission toward a common cause,” says Vet Voice’s Janessa Goldbeck as the War Game wraps up. But is it truly apolitical to kill in the name of imperialism? “We can either be afraid and do nothing, or we can continue our service to our country,” concludes Goldsmith. The undeniable threat of right-wing political violence certainly looms large at the moment, but are we really supposed to believe that adhering to our country’s status quo is the only viable solution here?

Directors: Jesse Moss, Tony Gerber
Release Date: August 2, 2024


Natalia Keogan is a freelance writer and editor with a concerted focus on independent film. Her interviews and criticism have appeared in Filmmaker Magazine, Reverse Shot, Backstage Magazine, SlashFilm, Blood Knife and Daily Grindhouse, among others. She lives in Queens, New York with her large orange cat. Find her on Twitter @nataliakeogan

 
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