Potential viewers who are considering watching this movie be aware - although the packaging suggests that this movie is full of action, it isn't. In fact, there really isn't much in the movie that could be considered action. Instead, it's a pretty serious drama concerning the going-ons at the title place. Nothing in theory wrong with that, but the execution is totally botched. The main problem with the movie is how unbelievably slow and boring it is. There's no feeling of building tension or any kind of spark that would keep a viewer interested. You'll be sorely tempted to hit the fast-forward button on your remote. To make matters worse, the movie looks extremely cheap and tacky, with horrible cinematography and next to non-existent production values. And who on earth though that strident musical score was appropriate for what aimed to be a serious drama? The filmmakers should be locked up in the brig.

So why can't they get the simplest things correct in this movie, for instance the unit insignias on the shoulders which no one is wearing, and no combat insignias either, cause everyone is wearing cib with wreath, so you know they have been in combat. And the fact in some scenes you see some of the actors not not wearing there covers or hats, probably for the fact so you can see there face better, wearing a mp3 during a company run, I mean please, such inaccuracies are just horrible and disrespectful, so it was a low budget film, but these are just simple things that so easy to get right but yet like so many other films they screw them up totally and portray the military as idiots.

I read that writer / director Kerry Valerrama was a former soldier and OEF veteran, so I allowed myself to hope that someone had actually made a realistic film about life in the post-September 11th army. Unfortunately, I was bound to be disappointed. This is essentially a very low budget murder mystery that tackles a few serious issues in passing, but doesn't reach to the core of those issues. The film is about a platoon from the 82nd Airborne (an 82nd patch is briefly seen on McManus' shoulder but then disappears in the same scene), and contains three interwoven stories. The main narrative is about Sergeant McManus and Sergeant Cain searching for their AWOL squad leader, who suffers from PTSD and has been abusing his wife. We see glimpses of McManus' home life, and how he rarely sees his family because he is always at work. There is also a b-story about three brand new Privates who are being hazed, which is mostly played for laughs (and it's very similar to how I was treated at my first unit). Most of the performances are underwhelming, although the actors who portrayed the Platoon Sergeant, Cross, and "Machine" stood out. They were the only ones who left an impression. The storyline meanders along but is mildly entertaining. There is a twist ending, which I will try not to spoil here. It somewhat makes sense, because Cross felt like he owed McManus his life and wanted to protect him. The denouement is also intentionally ambiguous, but these plot turns come across as a tad bit exploitive since the film is based on a real incident. First time director Valderrama displays a nice cinematic flourish by introducing characters with type-written name and rank information, but he overuses this device and unnecessarily introduces too many minor characters with it. The direction and editing of the opening credits, and the use of music, was also well done. Considering that this film was made for very little money, it's impressive that he pulled it off. There are some amateurish directing moments (the three soldiers kicking the bouncer) but overall he acquits himself well as a low budget film maker. The moment where Cross taps the gas can with his pistol was creepy and well realized, as was the image of him eating popcorn in the rain.I can't cover all of the many (MANY) uniform and technical inaccuracies here, but they stand out and are very distracting. I understand that uniform appearances may have to be altered for legal reasons, but American flags on both shoulders? And I was amused that Valderrama forgot what "MOUT" actually stands for. Is this a realistic look at the lives of soldiers? Eh, kinda. The characters are pretty thin and I can't say that I really identified with them. There was one nice moment in the jeep where McManus said that you can't talk to people about what they don't understand, which nicely and tragically summed up the plight of someone suffering from PTSD. If there had been more moments in the film like that, then it would have been more successful, because it's one of the few times that the audience is allowed to empathize with a character. Better luck next time.

It is apparent that most of the reviews on here are by people that pardon my language have no "@%$&*@#" idea about what they are talking about!!! As a soldier currently serving my third tour in Iraq as an 11B, Garrison in my opinion was written flawlessly. I couldn't help but laugh at a lot in some cases, especially the chem light batteries, hazing and MOUT training scenes. It brought back some really funny and terrible memories. Garrison captures how tough, silly, and despite what the other MOS's think, intelligent infantrymen are, especially Paratroopers. Garrison really moved me, because I know what its like to go through infidelity and if it wasn't for a great team leader and a bad-ass squad leader at the time, I might never have recovered. Garrison is the first truly accurate film of modern military life, both the good and the horrible parts of it. A must see for all military soldiers.