Morris also had to concern himself with the rigid rules of the military. Typically, a soldier would never be allowed to capture footage such as this, let alone distribute it commercially. Morris built good faith by making a 20-minute film for his unit during a 2006 deployment to the tiny North African country of the Republic of Djibouti.

“They were OK with everything,” Morris said. “I didn’t get stopped from doing anything I was doing. Everybody let me do pretty much whatever I wanted. Just so long as I was fulfilling my job.”

Morris may face hurdles when he does get to the point of releasing the film.  According to Lt. Geseki of the Marine Corps Motion Picture and Liaison Office, Morris’ film must follow strict criteria in order to clear Marine protocols and be made available to the public. The strictest being “representing the Marine Corps message in a positive light.”

Though he believes the military will have their misgivings, Morris is confident that the message of his film will shine through to even the staunchest of authorities.

“I think they’re probably gonna be shit-scared when they see the trailer,” Morris said. “They’re probably gonna be scared when they sit through the first couple minutes of it, and then I’m hoping that by the time they get to the conclusion they’ll see what I’m trying to say. This is the experience of a lot Marines on the ground, in the front. That’s what our experience is like… it’s honest and I think the military will see that.”

Morris has lost weight. His face is visibly slimmer than the man in the early stages of the film: able, willing but not quite ready to go to war. He still curses like a Marine.

Morris isn’t hoping to change the world or the war, just a few minds.