In the paper today is an interview I conducted with Patrick Hennessey, 27, a former captain in the Grenadier Guards who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan and has now written a fascinating account of his experiences called The Junior Officers' Reading Club. What fascinated me about the book was learning the extent to which the modern soldier views war through the prism of popular culture, constantly comparing their experience to films and books and devising soundtracks to their own action. As Patrick noted of his time in Iraq, picking up a discussing from the movie Jarhead: “As we were driving around the desert, we were thinking - ‘Surely we shouldn’t be listening to Vietnam rock any more - it has to be hip hop. We’re fighting a war to keep people in LA in their Hum Vee’s so it has to be Busta Rimes.’”

Creating your own movie soundtrack is something I think most members of my and Patrick's generation are guilty of to greater or lesser degrees - doesn't Dizzee Rascal's Fix Up Look Sharp sound great on headphones walking down dark London streets, after all? But the trait is especially interesting where it comes to war. Indeed, academic papers are being written on the subject - see this interesting New Yorker article - wondering whether it is quite right that American GIs psych themselves up by listening to Eminem rapping "Die, motherf**ker, die", or Slayer (particularly popular in the US Army) singing “Fuck your God erase his name /A lady weeps insane with sorrow” on their song Jihad.

Does this suggest an alarming detachment from the realities of war? I'm conflicted - my instinct is 'yes', but, in all honesty, flung into an alien and unsettling environment, I know I would use music in the same way. Either way, as we parted, I asked Patrick to provide me with a playlist that captures his time at war, and the result, I think, is as insightful a look into the modern soldier's mind as you're likely to find. Perhaps we could call his school of soldiering the iRaq generation.

"The Perfect iPod Tour"
by Patrick Hennessey

Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones (the chopper ride in)
Prodigy vs Enya Smack My Bitch Up Orinocco Flow - 2 Many DJs (psych up for patrol)
Thunderstruck - AC/DC (airborne assault)
Higher State of Consciousness - Josh Wink (in the ambush)
Where the Streets Have No Name - U2 (driving back to camp)
All These Things That I Have Done - The Killers (safely back in)
Clubbed to Death - Rob Dougan (post-Op come-down)
Time to Pretend - MGMT (day dreams in the desert)
You’ve Got the Love - The Source feat. Candy Staton (dream of home)
Great Gig in the Sky - Pink Floyd (reflections on the flight out)