A Matter of Life and Death Sandhurst

This programme contains strong language

and scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.

This is the Sandhurst allotment.

We've got a generation with a lot of problems.

It's a very difficult time to live.

If you're between 18-26 at the moment,

you are probably unemployed, that's the first thing.

What we've pulled into Sandhurst is genuinely the very best,

I believe, of that generation.

-Get going!

-But I wonder sometimes what motivates them.

-Get over him!

-Get to the fight! Get moving!

Fucking move! Go, go. Get down!

Get over him!

I feel for some people who come here,

and they are here because their father and grandfather

were in the regiment.

It's an automatic assumption they would come, and they are not suited to the place.

On your back! On your face!

It's a shame they're not weeded out before they get in the gates.

But there are some people's whose hearts simply aren't in it.

They'd suit something other than the military.

The worst thing that could happen

is they go out to Afghanistan and hesitate.

Something goes wrong, and they don't want to act.

Or they break down and suddenly get a sort of stab of conscience

that says, I shouldn't be here.

-ALL CHANT:

-Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!

Oxford Sandy & Blacks, an outstanding pig -

very good for pork and bacon.

Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!

-On guard!

-On guard!

As you can see there, he placed one foot forward in a boxing stance.

The knees are bent. That allows his centre of gravity to be lowered

and more easily controlled.

OK? The bayonet is pointing towards the enemy.

As you can see, there's a large amount of steel

and determination in his eyes to kill that enemy.

-ALL:

-On guard!

-Rubbish! Squad rank - on guard!

-On...

Wow, wow.

What's your name?

-Officer Thompson, sir.

-Mr Thompson, I've got lock on you.

You need to get a grip of your skinny body and show me

that you've got some aggression because at this moment in time...

At this moment in time you are not impressing me at all.

Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!

I've got lock on.

-Kill! Kill! Kill!

-HE BLOWS WHISTLE

It's funny what we're doing here, isn't it?

You're on the range, it's funny. What is funny about an 18-year-old

or possibly yourself going through a door

and thrusting a bayonet through somebody's ribcage,

standing on their throat, looking at them dying

withdrawing the bayonet, and going on and killing the next person?

-What is funny about that? ALL:

-Nothing, Sergeant.

Duty commanders!

You don't understand what you are going to be asked to do.

That person that goes through the door may die.

And it's going to be you that sends him through the door.

And at this moment in time you are stood there, marking time,

not giving a shit.

-You're a fucking embarrassment!

-Motivators, get out of my way.

I've had enough.

Go.

Munch, all yours.

Is there anybody in here who did not volunteer to join the army?

Don't ever be under any illusion,

you are volunteers, you want to be here.

It's the army now.

You have to remember that you are leaders of men and women.

That you will be required to give orders but, more importantly,

ensure that those orders are carried out.

Doing that has its own moral implications,

especially when you, through your words,

your orders and your actions put another person's life in jeopardy.

We've all got this heroic self-sacrifice mentality.

"I'd lay down my life for Queen and country."

When it comes to laying somebody else's life down for Queen and country,

you have to live with that for the rest of your days.

That can be really painful.

Yet it is what the army is asking of you.

To be of a strong enough character and leader

to be able to fulfil orders

that no right-thinking person would want to fulfil.

And then carry on after that. It's an awesome responsibility.

If you're not ready for that, then go pack your bags

because in Afghanistan you'll be facing that sort of dilemma. OK?

I've got quite a big history with the army.

-My father, my grandfather, great grandfather.

-Yeah.

To have to pull out... I think to be able to do that

and facing up to that as well would be a huge challenge,

and a challenge I would not like to experience, I have to say.

They say 80% of people start Sandhurst with a girlfriend

and 20% of people smoke.

By the time you leave, 20% of people have girlfriends

and 80% smoke. So...

It kind of works with

the statistics really, doesn't it?

We did have a lot of conversations when I came back that leave weekend.

She didn't just dump me by text, it's not quite that tragic.

They've got to be strong before you come here otherwise

they're not really going to last two minutes,

not that that was a dig or anything in any way.

But, you know... I haven't spoken to my girlfriend since,

what day is it today? Friday today. We usually speak every day.

I haven't spoke to her... Tuesday was the last time I spoke to her.

By the time I come back she's in bed. I just haven't got the time.

If you've got problems or if you've got a needy bird

and you've got to be constantly ringing her and giving her attention,

it's never going to work. But...

Yeah, it definitely puts a strain on it.

I suppose girls are different from boys.

They need a little bit more attention.

You can't just pick them up and leave them where you left off like your mates.

It's like a plant you've got to keep watering.

He's like my Sandhurst dad.

HE LAUGHS

All I get is advice and help through everything. Great.

-Guys.

-You are mad, you are just doing work for yourselves.

Toes and heels - that's all we're after.

That's a simple instruction, isn't it?

I came in and saw the telly

and saw that these terrorist attacks had happened.

And I felt it quite personally.

I felt like it was an attack on UK and UK values.

And... Maybe that's what I'm fighting for.

It's not patriotism so much as liberalism.

I despise the idea that people think that

they should be able to take it away from us.

You're not in it for the medals,

but the Afghan one means more,

without a shadow of a doubt.

You certainly know that you earned that one.

'I would like to go to Afghanistan

'because I think it's the job that you're signing up for now.'

Even Sandhurst, which is a bastion of tradition and all this stuff,

is changing its syllabus because of Afghanistan.

It's the challenge of our generation, really.

I think two squadrons are going out in 2013.

Maybe in the same brigade as the Welsh Guards.

-Does that make you nervous?

-Yeah, it does.

-Terrified.

You think about it with the amount of training that you have now.

We made a bit of a mess of our last platoon attack.

But you think about, oh, yeah, when I get to Afghanistan.

If you took on the Taliban with the skills and drills like that...

You know, you'd do the honest thing and just shoot yourself, I think.

We've got such a long way to go to get to that stage

where we can confidently get to our platoon, our troop,

our chosen regiments

and lead them with all the qualities that is expected

of an officer coming out of Sandhurst.

This is a video someone was saying about, um...

an Iraqi sniper in Baghdad.

He's filmed all of his kills as he's done them...

and put them into this horrible video.

You can see why they do it.

The effect is twofold.

It puts fear into soldiers operating in an environment

where they know there's a sniper, so you never feel comfortable.

You're seeing them soldiers and they are just on top.

-It's pretty disgusting.

-They're not really expecting it,

which is the whole nature of a sniper threat.

And then bang, from nowhere.

And by filming it they can just show it worldwide.

Little potential jihadists can sit there on their internet,

whether they be in Kabul, Baghdad, Whitechapel.

It's just propaganda, isn't it?

In the same way that they might see us as watching

Ross Kemp in Afghanistan as propaganda, but you don't see us

filming down our sniper scopes, picking off Taliban.

That's how they fight. So fucking let 'em.

When I was about 14, my father died. I was the oldest child.

I kind of thought, "That's it, I've got to man up."

And then the whole careers liaison guy came in

and I kind of thought, "Well,

"if Dad's not around, I've got to go and sort my life out

"and grow up a bit."

So I've known what I've wanted to do for a long time.

What I really want to identify in this meeting

is those who are in the bottom third

who we don't think are going to get out of the bottom third

and aren't going to make it.

Those we need to red flag towards the college commander now.

Mr Barnes, I like Mr Barnes very much.

He's kind of a "what you see is what you get" kind of guy.

And what you see is a sort of professional front, which is good.

But I think he could still give a bit more,

I think he's holding back a bit.

OK, we've got the curtains half-closed in here, Mr Barnes.

That says to me that you feel that you are still in bed.

Get in here now. Get in bed, get in your bed.

You want to be in bed cos your curtains are still fucking drawn.

That says to me that you are still tired. Get in bed. OK.

-Why are your curtains still drawn?

-Not sure. I've no excuse, Sergeant.

Stand to attention while you are in bed. OK.

-So that end, curtains should be wide open. Understand?

-Yes, Colour Sergeant.

-Sudworth was next.

-I think he's quite wet.

I don't think he's a particular team player up in the lines.

I think I'll put "hardly inspirational" down.

Have you been shaving your pubic area with this razor?

I'm pretty sure I haven't, Sergeant.

Well, it's got ginger pubes in it, OK, and you're ginger,

so that end requires to be removed from the razor.

Yes, Colour Sergeant.

Mr Thompson with a P. He's a good guy, he's fit.

He's got an opinion as well, which I quite like. He doesn't...

He's top third material, not middle third.

By which he actually has a voice and he uses it, which is good.

He needs to understand how much he can deliver

into the platoon and the platoon dynamics.

I think he doesn't have much military experience,

he's been electrician for four years beforehand.

He was putting himself down and I just said,

hey, listen, these are skills.

You've got some good life experience, it will be really handy.

So share it around.

Mr Mansel Lewis. Disappointing knowledge.

Before that he hadn't actually been doing too badly in camp.

So we'll see where that leaves him.

Where's your cold weather boots, Mr Mansel Lewis?

They are in the left-hand corner of my...

Where's your second set of boots?

-Erm...

-You're wearing both of them?

-No, Colour Sergeant.

So where's your other set of boots?

All the boots that I was issued are in the wardrobe, Colour Sergeant.

So you are telling me you've only been issued one set of combat eyes

and one set of cold weather?

They haven't gone anywhere, Colour Sergeant,

I think that's what I must have been issued.

Right. Yours... That's why - cos they are in your fucking bag!

Lying to me, telling me you've not been issued them and they are inside your black bag.

Sorry, I've got confused, Colour Sergeant.

It doesn't take much to confuse you, did it?

-No, Colour Sergeant.

-What will you be like in the heat of battle

when rounds are around your feet, casualties taken,

an enemy who's coming at you?

-Are you going to be confused then?

-No, Colour Sergeant.

-We can't afford to be confused, can we?

-No, Colour Sergeant.

'I think the reason why I joined the Army is because'

I wanted to be in an environment

where people were motivated by leadership

and not necessarily by money so much.

My grandfather served in the Welsh Guards.

Yes, family history is important to me.

Bring your aide memoire.

Guys, did you all read this?

The journal of a chap called Mark Evison.

He was an impeccable officer.

He is someone we should all aspire to be like.

He hadn't long left this place, he'd been in theatre for four weeks,

he was a new platoon commander before he was fatally wounded.

From speaking to people in the Welsh Guards, the Academy man

was the Battalion 2IC on operations. Company Sergeant Major knows him, Sergeant Buckley knows him.

His decision-making was purely focused

on the wellbeing of his troops.

That's something we should all do all of the time,

that is what selfless commitment is.

Putting the good of those under your command first before yourself.

OK?

Fact, by the time you leave you'll be doing exactly the same.

At times it's very tempting to take the easy option, Mr Mansel Lewis, isn't it?

-Yes, sir.

-Isn't it? It definitely is, but you can't.

You're the platoon commander, they look up to you, work for you, you take them on operations.

They want to know that you have their best interests at heart.

It's definitely a good thing. Definitely.

Mr Evison sat there in the front rank,

and then I'm stood behind as Battalion second in command.

In the second rank.

As a battalion, we lost five individuals.

Colonel Thorneloe, Major Burchill, Mr Evison,

Lance Sergeant Tobie Fasfous

and Dane Elson.

The way I dealt with it was I just switched off emotionally

and I just had to focus on what we were doing and concentrate on the blokes,

and not let them switch off either, to be honest.

There's eight people in this photo that went to Afghanistan

that are currently now serving in the academy.

It's the diary that Lieutenant Mark Evison started writing

when he went out to Afghanistan with the Welsh Guards.

We've all been told to read it.

There's so much of the kind of things that we feel at Sandhurst.

There's all those sort of insecurities that we have

about commanding soldiers,

and new experiences and these sorts of things.

And also, he's got in here, he's quite Sandhurst fresh,

this is his first tour,

he's got his first contact in here, all this kind of thing.

I didn't know him, but lots of my friends did.

They all say that he was their best friend. Just a superb bloke.

And all of his men adored him. They all called him 007.

All the Welsh Guards senior command,

they said he was the best junior officer in the battalion.

There's a bit where he says,

"It's rather like being on exercise except you don't know that

"in five days' time a nice, warm coach is going to pick you up."

At the back of your mind, if you stop and have a little moment

and think, in a year's time I'd better know how to do this properly

because if I can't... Those are real bullets, that's pretty scary.

-Hold. Check. One, two.

-All right.

At the moment you are at a higher standard

of overall basic admin within the block.

So the reason I'm moving you is so you can bring Mr Acram on

-and you can bring Mr Whitaker on.

-OK, Sergeant.

-Happy?

-Yes.

So it's not a punishment, all right, I'm not punishing you two.

One, two, one, two. Left, right, left.

-Morning, everybody.

-Morning, sir.

Welcome, a very warm welcome to Brookwood Military Cemetery.

What I want to do very quickly at the outset is put this visit

today into a bit of context for you.

I spoke to you all in the Woolwich Hall a couple of weeks ago

about what we term as the contract of unlimited liability.

That notion that all of us in uniform consciously forgo

some of the rights and freedoms that we would otherwise possibly have.

And the far extension of that is the requirement potentially

to kill or be killed.

And one of thing I want you to do today

is consider what all that means to you as individuals.

And of course a place like Brookwood, a place like this,

there's no better place to do it because of course here

we see the graves of so many people who have given their lives.

So have a good think about this business that you've decided

to join, this wonderful profession of ours.

And think about that contract of unlimited liability.

Fall out and off you go with Brian. Thank you very much.

'It just kind of made me think about the last time'

I went to my dad's grave and had a look and...

Just had a bit of time to reflect and just... Yeah.

He died tragically in a train accident.

He was hit by a train at a level crossing.

And I was about...14? 13, 14?

My parents had split up much younger

and I was living with my stepfather, so we didn't see him

as much as we would have done if he was at home.

But he was still my dad, and it was just a massive shock.

These are more recent burials up in this particular section.

Afghanistan, Iraq. David Hicks, Mark Evison, Sean Birchall.

Pertinent to me and I know some of the other DS here particularly,

but I was serving on Op Herrick in Afghanistan

as a company commander at the same time that these guys were killed.

The only point I want to make, guys, is the stuff I've asked you

to think about, I'm asking you to think about because it's real.

And it's happening.

And what we all need to do is be prepared for the moment

when we as commanders need to deal with it.

OK? And everyone deals with these sort of things in their own way.

Those different ways of dealing with them

have to be absolutely respected.

But it will fall to you as commissioned officers...

..to get over these kind of setbacks and get your people back on task.

Just give me a minute.

-Will you seek to heal the wounds of war?

-We will.

-Will you work for a just future for all humanity?

-We will.

Together we pray.

ALL: Lord God our Father, we pledge ourselves to serve you

and all humanity in the cause of peace,

for the relief of wanton suffering, and for the praise of your name...

It's nice to come here...

Nice to come here.

And just remember, to be honest. And appreciate what you've got.

I had no idea his grave was there.

I assumed he would be buried at home in a sort of...

in a nearby churchyard,

the nearest churchyard to his house.

I assumed, it's obviously ignorance on my part

because I thought if the same thing were to happen to me

I'd be buried at home.

We've got a churchyard, I can see it from the field behind my house.

But no, he's at Brookwood, he's there.

I was so unprepared.

That's his diary, the brown baggie there.

I was there on a visit, I visited the platoon for a couple of days.

I took the photo one morning.

We'd just had breakfast, had a brew, had a chat.

This was Mark's little bed space.

This was taken about a week or so

before the incident that unfortunately took his life.

HE SHOUTS ORDERS

How do you spell his surname?

-Just put "the death of a brave, young man."

-OK.

GUNFIRE ON VIDEO

-'Right, fucking get out quickly, mate.

-Is that recording?

-Yeah.'

Lieutenant Mark Evison's platoon that morning

came under contact from the Taliban.

One of the guys in the patrol switched on a head cam.

'They are firing straight down the road, it just hit the fucking wall.

'That fucking wall. Right, change your magazine.'

'They can fucking see us down that road.'

GUNFIRE

As soon as you hear them words, man down...

Everyone quiet, listening, just try and monitor

-and picture what was going on, on the ground.

-'Possible enemy.'

It's not a game, is it, there's consequences.

You kind of come here and it's...

-It was something they specifically wanted to...

-Selfless commitment.

Selfless commitment, yeah.

GUNFIRE ON VIDEO

'You see, just at that compound straight ahead.

'Right, they're moving the casualty now.'

It was about 400 metres where he was shot, from the patrol base.

The difficult thing that day for them was the guy that would have been co-ordinating it

and controlling it all was the guy on the stretcher.

They relate all the training to things like that.

Even in PT we do stretcher races and stuff. You don't do a stretcher...

-Find and carry.

-You don't just do stretcher races because it's hard work.

For shits and giggles, yeah, everything's for a reason.

Initially I think they thought he was just shot in the shoulder.

But I think the bullet had ricocheted and gone down into his body as well.

-Poor fucker.

-Hmmm.

Pretty shit really, isn't it?

If you read his journal, he was always worried about

not having enough water and then in his journal,

he makes the point he wanted to speak to his girlfriend and his mum,

but as platoon commander, you're the last one to do that, you know?

It's your blokes go first, so your blokes ring back. They're the priority.

He just emphasised how much you have to commit, really.

The more of these things we watch, the more videos we watch where people get killed,

the more they tell us about it, the less, obviously it's still a massive thing,

-but it partly desensitises you.

-Yes.

-Doesn't it put you off though?

-No, because it is not really you, is it?

-You hope.

-That's what you joined up for.

Everyone who joined up in the last 10 years knew that they were going to go on ops.

And I think that's a big reason for joining.

The amount of blood that he'd lost

immediately told the guys that this is serious, to be honest with you.

You could feel it, the emotion in the air.

They loved him, they adored him.

Effectively their leader had been taken away from them.

I think he was 26 or 23.

In the grand scheme of things, that's nothing really, is it,

in terms of age difference?

To see him at Brookwood,

it was like someone had kicked me in the chest. I was...

..I, I was so, I didn't know what to do with myself.

I put my hands in my pockets in case I started shaking.

I think he knew the risks. He must have known the risks.

-INTERVIEWER:

-Could you do that?

-Could I do that?

-Could I go to Afghanistan?

-Mmm.

Could you do what he did?

-Um...

-And take the risks he did?

-I hope I would.

I hope I'd be able to.

But, I guess, he says it.

I don't know.

"How will I react with my first contact?

"Will I freeze or prove my worth?

"At the moment it's a waiting game

"and until that moment comes, I can only speculate."

That's said perfectly. I don't know. I hope I'd be able to.

Um, but...

you don't know until you reach that point, I don't think.

It really brought home the concept

of what it means to be an army officer.

You sign the contract of ultimate liability,

which means you agree to either put yourself into a situation

where you may have to kill someone or be killed yourself.

And for some people it becomes a reality.

That's when you start weighing up what's most important in life.

Is it your family?

Is it your future or is it your army career,

is it the commitment to your guys?

As a leader, you should set the example.

If you're not prepared to take the same risks

as those use of your soldiers, under your command,

then you are a coward.

Those guys will start telling you war stories later on.

We'll go to battlefield first aid.

-Everyone's got their aide memoirs?

-Yes.

OK, Mr Barnes has been shot there, yes?

We're going to open up the chest seal.

Inside, it comes like this.

You've got the flutter valve, which is this small valve here

and then you've got the actual seal underneath.

All we then do is place it on, right from there,

so it's over the wound and all we're going to do then

is fold it out, touching...

..from the inside of the wound, outwards.

'Life and death in certain situations is a role of the dice.'

I'm a firm believer in fates and that my time's pre-ordained.

And that I can't change the time or the place or wherever

I might end up killed or whatever.

We've got one lung this side of the body and one that side.

'When my father did die,

'that probably sparked off some kind of leadership flame inside me.'

This will keep him alive for a longer period of time, OK?

Everyone happy how to apply that?

DRILL SERGEANT SHOUTING DISTANTLY

GUNFIRE

-Reardon's firing...

-Coach.

-Grey's coaching and I'm spotting.

Ensure when you move to that full back position,

your weapon keeps pointing down.

GUNFIRE

-Master Lewis.

-Morning, sir.

-Come on in.

GUNFIRE

Take a pew.

So, this is what I think is happening,

but then you need to tell me if it's changed.

You came here having seen the Welsh Guards and they quite liked you.

I think since you've been here you've realised that actually as an officer,

you might well have to use your weapon system,

yada, yada, yada, when you deploy on operations.

I think maybe you're a little bit concerned by that.

Yes, sir, that's definitely part of it, yes.

What bit of it do you not like?

It's something I'm confused about and I can't justify

and I have spoken with my parents about this and, er...

..they made the point that perhaps this isn't, this isn't an issue.

It's just something that I'm looking at because I'm...

..they were saying it's a natural thing to think about.

It's my nature. I've learned a lot about myself.

Certain strengths, obviously but also sensitivities as well

and this is one of them.

You have to fire one five round group

at the white aiming marker

from the kneeling or the squatting unsupported position.

You're going to do your 44 weeks at Sandhurst,

and if you do get infantry, you're going to go to Brecon

training for up there for another three months,

and then you're going to do more training obviously at battalion.

What I suggest you do is battle on till the end of this term,

-come back next term and then we'll have another chat then.

-Yes.

It will be fine.

-OK. thank you.

-All right, pleasure.

GUNFIRE

The irony is

I'm actually a very good shot. HE LAUGHS

Um, and Harbard who was in the next door pit said,

"That'll be good when you need to shoot Afghan children, good."

GUNFIRE

It's not the sort of thing you can talk to everyone about because...

..at the end of the day, that's the job you're here to do.

And people who might not be prepared to give it a second thought,

would automatically assume it was weakness.

I don't think it is.

I think it's important and I think really discussing it with yourself

and coming to grips with it now actually shows a strength,

that's what I think, personally.

BUGLE

I'm in the middle of writing a letter to my father. He's a vicar.

He's an incredibly wise man and I've a lot of time for him.

He's trying to talk me through the process,

in what situations can you justify killing people?

BUGLE

The ceremony hasn't changed.

I think the sentiments might change.

The more experience you get, the more relevance it has.

If it's something you've personally experienced,

you've had operational experience and lost people operations,

then of course it has a slightly more direct feel.

But no, I think it has no requirement to change.

I don't think it ever has and I hope it doesn't.

It starts in the basis of sacrifice

and that spans all conflicts that we've been involved in,

but you clearly use your own personal experience

and so Iraq and Afghanistan for me.

ORGAN PLAYS

# I vow to thee my country

# All earthly things above... #

Am I prepared to die for my country? Yes, I am.

# ..the service of my love

# A love that asks no questions... #

Grenade!

# That lays upon the altar

# The dearest and the best...#

Patriotism, there's something very stupid about patriotism,

something quite blind.

I think you have to find a better reason than that to be in the army.

Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.

I mean, it's just been completely ridiculed.

# A love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice. #

War is horrible.

Conflict is evil.

Though unfortunately and sadly, sometimes necessary.

But it's important to remember that even in the blackest hour

amid fighting and fear, deeds of courage,

bravery, loyalty and honour can and do shine through.

Today, we gather in humility to honour the countless numbers

who made the ultimate sacrifice.

We commemorate and pray for all who have died in conflict.

We remember especially those who have most recently

laid down their lives in Afghanistan.

Eternal rest grant unto them, oh Lord

and let perpetual light shine upon them.

May they rest in peace. Amen.

CHORAL SINGING

Some of you, if not most of you will be called upon

to close with and kill the enemy.

20% of soldiers in World War II used their personal weapon.

By the time we got to Vietnam,

95% of people use their personal weapon.

I would suggest that is certainly where we're about in Afghanistan,

or certainly that's the mind set you have to deploy with. OK?

So if you think this is not your business,

you are in the wrong organisation. It is everybody's business.

And it is particularly prevalent

because you are going out to command people.

It is not simply just you closing with killing the enemy, it is people you lead.

And they will expect you to have a very, very clear and moral

ethical understanding of the morality of killing before you deploy.

All right, who wants platoon commander?

Who really wants it?

-Who's putting their hand up because I want them to do? Mr Mansel Lewis.

-Sir.

Platoon commander. Mr MacNeish. Platoon sergeant.

Mr Twyman, runner. Mr Sudworth, rad op.

'They will all take over platoons, and they will deploy to Afghanistan.

'At that stage, they can anticipate that they will take over one of the patrol bases,'

be responsible for its intimate security,

but equally for dominating the ground outside that patrol base.

The intent is to destroy all the enemy within our boundaries.

Scheme and manoeuvre. Three Section, you're already suppressing. I want you to stay there.

Two Section, you're doing a left flanking manoeuvre, OK?

-Mr Mansel Lewis, you perfectly happy?

-Yeah.

-Where we aiming towards?

-The smoke in the centre of the...

-No, the left-hand corner of that wood block.

-Left-hand corner...

GUNFIRE

'When you go on exercise you have to show loads of aggression,

'as if you're going to kill someone.

'You think, God, I might actually...

'I will actually have to do this one time.'

'They're only short battles.'

And not only that, we haven't got the ammunition

to make it last as how long some battles do last.

But currently, within, in the likes of the war in Afghanistan,

battles are going on - I've heard of there being battles for 24-hours.

Forward upon line across, left, yeah,

till you hit the ravine that's running up,

with the little trees in it.

Follow that and there's an obvious person standing in it,

and some smoke to the right.

Keep going. Rapid fire!

There's a bit of embarrassment, to be honest.

This section is shocking. There's no fire support from the section down there.

It's just not really good, really.

-INTERVIEWER:

-What can they do rectify it?

Show a bit of aggression,

a bit of determination, a bit of want to kill the enemy.

Fucking get in there, get down, get low.

The enemy is fucking 20 metres over in that direction,

you fucking idle bastards. Get in there.

Let's go, let's go. Go, go, go, go, go.

Get in.

Follow it up. Follow it up.

Get in there.

MAN SCREAMS

Man down!

Man down team two.

One Section, who's got a stretcher?

-I have.

-I'll just fireman carry him.

-Who is it? Who is it?

-Sudworth.

He's brown bread anyway.

-The casualty's dead.

-Come on, guys, let's get on it.

Get on it quickly, stop fucking faffing.

MAN SHOUTS

Fucked. So hard.

Stop referring to our fucking dead as dead. Yeah?

There's no point in leaving a fucking KVI. He comes with us.

We don't just fucking leave him,

because if we leave somebody like that, all that's going to happen

is the fucking Taliban or whoever it is get hold of that fucking dead,

and then they start making videos of cutting him up and things like that,

posted on fucking Youtube, and his family sees that

and it's fucking publicity for them.

Not only that, it's not a fucking good thing for us.

It's about getting rid of people who

can't sort of grin and bear the cold,

who haven't got the capability to look left and right

at the guys in their fox hole and draw strength from their character.

Yeah, it's definitely survival.

Mr Mansel Lewis, get your map out and show me where we are.

I lost it.

When was you going to tell me?

You've lost a map in the area, this goes for everyone.

He's now lost a map on the area that's got positions marked up.

-Harbour area marked up on it?

-Yes, sir.

OK, so they now know where our harbour is.

So now when we go back after doing advance to contact all fucking day,

move into our harbour area, next minute we start taking incoming,

and next minute we've got an assault coming on to our position,

resulting in a full platoon getting killed

because one individual decides to lose his map.

You've got to fucking maintain your kit and equipment, all right?

Reference to the top of the hill.

Go find out and see if there is anyone else on the other side of it.

Let's go. Hurry up, Mr Mansel Lewis.

Get up there now. Let's go. Hurry up, get your weapon, go.

Start doubling or I'm going to start making the platoon join you.

Quicker.

'There are lots of parts of me that find it difficult to digest

'what we've been taught some of the time.'

Keep going, Mr Mansel Lewis. Hurry up.

'Colour Sergeant Vezza, he said in a situation

'where you have to kill someone, it's either you or them,

'and so for him in every situation,

'he'd do anything to secure the lives of his men and also his life.'

Let's go, Mr Mansel Lewis, back now. Hurry up. On me. Come on.

'Whenever it means taking someone else's life,

'then he's prepared to do that.'

'I don't think anything can probably prepare you adequately

'for the uncertainty of when you step out

'of the patrol base on that first day. How it'll be,'

how you'll respond when you come under fire.

You can practise it as much as you want,

but you don't know until you get that crack thump

of rounds going past you or landing close to you,

or indeed soldiers under your command being injured or killed.

-Need to fall in, sir, please.

-Yes, please, Mr Mansel Lewis.

Right. So Colour Sergeant tells me you saw him earlier on,

I presume this is about what we spoke about

-in about week eight last term.

-Sir.

-OK. so speak to me then.

There are parts of the job I'm... I don't think I could actually do.

I don't have it in me to take another man's life, sir.

One thing I would just say to you,

there's very few people in the army who want to end a life.

Don't think that everyone who joins the army

has to be lusting after blood, because that's not the case at all.

The reason why you do it, if you look to your right and you look to your left,

those are the reasons why you do it, for the men that are with you.

If that's got anything to do with it, I would like you to reconsider.

What I'll do now though,

I'll speak to the company commander, I'll make him fully aware.

He'll probably speak to you either today or tomorrow, OK?

-And we'll get the ball rolling from there.

-Yes, sir.

As long as you're 100% content that this is the right decision for you.

OK. You got any questions for me?

-No, that's it, thank you, sir.

-OK. Fine.

-Leave to go.

-Yes, you may carry on.

Thank you very much.

I did think to myself, a number of times, you know,

hypothetically if I were to lose my legs,

if I were to lose my testicles

and I was to watch all my best friends grow up and have families

while I was sat in a chair, without any kids...

..knowing that it happened in a war

that was 3,500 miles away from home...

..I'd struggle to work out actually if everything was worth it.

And that's certainly something I've thought

a lot about as well...really.

He's clearly not a stupid guy. He's looked into it.

-I've told him that I would speak to you.

-It's fine.

He's always had the opportunity to raise his hand up.

The only thing I might offer him... I'll interview him.

I'll offer him a chat with the Commandant,

because the Commandant has said to me that he'll talk to him about it

if he wishes to, if not, we'll start processing.

Fine. OK. Brilliant. All right. Thanks.

-Numbers are...

-I know, they're dwindling.

Numbers are dwindling.

-Don't take it personally.

-I don't.

Fix bayonets!

If at any point during this lesson

I ask you what a bayonet is for,

you are to shout at the top of your voice, "To kill, kill, kill."

-What's the bayonet for?

-ALL: KILL. KILL. KILL.

I didn't realise I had the girls' platoon on the range today.

-What's the bayonet for?

-ALL: KILL. KILL. KILL.

If at any point I ask you what makes the grass grow, you scream, "Blood, blood, blood.!

-What makes the grass grow?

-ALL: BLOOD, BLOOD, BLOOD.

-I can't hear you.

-ALL: BLOOD, BLOOD, BLOOD.

-Still can't hear you.

-Mr Mansel Lewis, come in.

-Thank you, sir.

Grab a seat. You look mildly apprehensive. Sit down.

-ALL: KILL, KILL, KILL.

-On guard!

ALL: ON GUARD!

Rubbish. High port!

ALL: HIGH PORT!

On guard!

ALL: ON GUARD!

I'm more concerned as to why you think, er...

you can't reach a moral position on having, if necessary,

as the last resort, to have to pull the trigger on someone.

That's the key question I've got.

It just... There's so many sensitivities that flag up

-the moment I really commit myself to thinking about it hard.

-Yeah.

-And so...

-What's your father's view on it?

Well, he...

He's very matter of fact. You know, he said that we do need an army,

we do need to defend ourselves.

And if that means taking someone's life,

-then, of course, it's the last...

-Last resort?

Last resort. But if it needs to be done then...

-Then...

-We need good men to do it.

-That's right, yeah.

So, you're not, you're not taking issue with the fact that there is,

as it were, as a last resort,

a legitimate time when you may have to take someone's life.

-You don't disagree with that?

-No, I understand that.

You're just really...

So your case is really that you, personally, would rather not do that.

You, personally, find it particularly distasteful to do that, is that it?

I have reserva... I wouldn't want the responsibility of doing it.

Yes, that's the case.

Well, officers have to, you know,

you have to do exactly what you're ordering your men to do.

-Yeah.

-So you don't come out of it well, really.

And you're probably feeling a bit uncomfortable.

ALL: KILL! KILL! KILL!

KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!

KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!

My concern is, is there a trend there?

I sense not.

I sense you are a one-off, as it were.

Not that... There will be others, but you're pretty unique.

But I need to get a little bit of that reassurance,

are things changing?

Is there a concern over Afghanistan?

You know, I need to get a feel for trends.

Very important as a commandant, in case it's affecting other people.

In this case, I think you are the only one because I've asked.

There will always be some who have more questions

when you're talking about morality of killing than others.

And, and it's a very, very, very important issue.

Probably THE most important issue.

Because you can't commission through here

unless you've got this one straight.

So, what you're doing, leaving, basically,

is the right thing if you can't get your conscience absolutely clear.

-So, I have no problem with that.

-Thank you, sir.

MEN SCREAM

KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!

ON GUARD!

HIGH PORT!

KILL! KILL! KILL!

Front rung, ON GUARD!

ON GUARD!

Get in there and fucking stab him!

Stab him! Stab him good!

MAN ROARS

ALL: KILL! KILL! KILL!

Stab him! Stab him!

ON GUARD!

MAN SCREAMS

MAN SCREAMS

-ALL: KILL! KILL!

-HIGH PORT!

ALL: KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!

KILL! KILL! KILL!

KILL! KILL! KILL!

WHAT'S A BAYONET FOR?

ALL: KILL! KILL!

-WHAT'S IT FOR?

-KILL! KILL!

WHAT MAKES MY GRASS GROW?

ALL: BLOOD! BLOOD!

We drill right into them, to get them to understand

what it might be like to have to kill someone.

What it might feel like when you see that man go down.

-ON GUARD!

-ALL: ON GUARD!

'Ultimately, when it all goes wrong,

'you may have to put yourself in that frontline,'

for your men. They've got to understand that.

Take some deep breaths, calm yourselves down.

I now certify you as steely-eyed dealers of death.

There are a few who didn't have what it takes,

OK, to do that, I don't think.

There are people stood here, I do not think could do that for real.

However, a majority of you, I believe,

could pull that out of your fucking ass if the shit hits the fan

and it is required of you.

Not a bad effort.

'I saw some pretty horrific sights in Iraq in 2003.

'And some decisions were made there,

'which came through me,

'which I will live with for the rest of my life.'

Right, everybody, get back in the wagon, now.

'There was a... an Iraqi company,

'position, that was absolutely flattened.

'We put huge amounts of fire on it.

'Thereafter, leaflets were sent out to all the others,

'those that remained, all the way around it

'and within 24-hours they started to surrender into squares.'

It meant that we would save casualties,

we were not going to have to kill more of the enemy

then we absolutely had to.

There are times when you have to be ruthless.

'I was just short of the mark,

'despite the fact that I've given the course'

almost, almost five months, it's still very much that way.

And I'm glad I discovered it in training.

The worst thing would have been to discover it

on the plane out to Afghanistan, or in the theatre.

So, I'm grateful for that.

And I wouldn't be surprised if there are people

who discover it in the theatre themselves.

He don't really want to go to Afghan.

He doesn't want to kill someone.

No-one wants to, but if you're joining the army,

you're pretty much, in some way,

you're going to either service another person to kill someone,

or...you know, that's what the army does.

It is a bit...for my way of thinking, I'm like, "Why did you join the army?"

And he's saying about, you know, he don't want to lose

his arms, legs, bollocks in Afghan.

You know, he wants to have a family and all that stuff

and that's important to...

What's important to him at the minute, so, fair do's.

I'd have thought you'd have thought about that

before going through with it.

I had doubts about whether we were in Afghanistan for the right reasons.

I thought I could, sort of, suppress it.

If we leave Afghanistan in 2015,

then...you do have to ask yourself, what did those guys die for?

'It's not our place to question it.

'Whatever your private thoughts on the campaign, you toe the line

'because it is bad for morale, bad for... You know,

'if you're of the opinion that the campaign is a complete waste of time,

'what good is that when you've got to explain

'to an 18-year-old private that's just lost his mate,

'and you think the war is for fuck all?'

You don't say that, you say that it is for...

You know, you're defending British interests

and that you're doing it to serve

and protect the British public from the threat of Islamic fundamentalism

and al-Qaeda and you're preventing them using Afghanistan

as a base from which to launch attacks onto the British mainland.

You're willing to risk life and limb for your country

but then the people that you're being selfish to

are the ones that, actually,

are the ones that you care most about.

I don't know about the Parachute Regiment.

I know your heart's set on the Paras

and it will come down to you, it's only down to you.

-Leave to carry on, sir, please.

-Yeah, please do.

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