The MTV special about Ryan Conklin being deployed to Iraq is finally going to air. The show is titled "Return to Duty" and will be broadcast on traditional Veteran's Day, November 11th, 2009 at 9pm. It was announced earlier in the year that Ryan had been video recording his training in the United States and then his deployment to Iraq. Also, that a camera crew had traveled to Baghdad to record Ryan's work and conditions there. The purpose was the making of a special that is an hour long follow-up of what happened to Ryan after he left The Real World Brooklyn and went back into uniform. The coverage includes scenes of what Ryan's life has been like at Joint Security Station Saydiyah in Iraq and what it is like working as an infantryman patrolling the streets of Baghdad.
Here is MTV's description of the show:
Any viewer of The Real World Brooklyn vividly remembers the emotional moment when cast member, and Army vet, Ryan Conklin was unexpectedly recalled for a second tour of duty in Iraq. Return to Duty is Ryan's gritty and very personal document of his return as a patrol gunner to the sweltering streets of Baghdad. Equipped with his own video camera, and the addition of a camera crew embedded with his unit, it's a soldier's view of America's changing military presence in the long war in Iraq. His very close-knit family back home must cope with the fear and absence of their son fighting overseas once again; while his new found relationship with Brooklyn Real World roommate Baya [Voce] is put to a critical test.In the following clip, Ryan compares the timing of the premiere with what had happened one year prior. He reminds viewers that a year ago he had received the notification from the Army that he was being recalled from the Individual Ready Reserve. Now on the anniversary of that fateful event, Ryan wants to do something he feels a lot more favorable about. He wants to show everyone what being in his situation is like, and what it means to soldiers' families.
Sneak peek clip from the show, in which Ryan is shown finding a dead body:
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