Set during the 1991 Gulf War, Special Forces Captain Archie Gates (George Clooney), US Army Sergeant Troy Barlow (Mark Walburg), Staff Sergeant Chief Elgin (ICE CUBE) and Private Conrad Vig (SPIKE JONZE) find themselves bored and useless. Gates is a lifer ready to ditch Army life but is unsure about his future, Barlow is a proud and willing soldier, Elgin is a Christian who is committed to whatever life gives him, and Vig is a redneck looking for adventure. While their base is packing up to return home, the men find themselves in possession of a map that apparently leads to Kuwaiti gold stolen by the Iraqi army. While they decide what to do with the map, Gates takes control of the situation and determines that Saddam stole the gold and Gates has no problem stealing it from Saddam. The group decides the excitement and the gold are worth the risk and go AWOL. Coming face to face with real Iraqis for the first time in country, the complications of Iraqi life and a country with difficulties they are unprepared for, the soldiers stumble from one misadventure to another, alternating between black humor and discovery and finally redemption.