0:00:02 > 0:00:09This programme contains strong language.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16"Dear Alex, application for premature voluntary retirement.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20"I am writing to inform you the Army Retirements Board have approved your application for retirement,
0:00:20 > 0:00:23"whereupon you will be appointed to the Reserve of Officers.
0:00:23 > 0:00:28"Your retirement will be published in the London Gazette on the 3rd May, 2011."
0:00:28 > 0:00:32This is Alex Rawlins, a captain in the Grenadier Guards.
0:00:34 > 0:00:38Tunic, greatcoat and - what's it called? - cape.
0:00:38 > 0:00:44Today, aged just 27, he's leaving the Army for good.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49In 2009, Alex led a young platoon of soldiers
0:00:49 > 0:00:52into Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57We've come under contact again, so we are now engaging with them.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00Not only did Alex fight with his men...
0:01:00 > 0:01:01Come on, lads, get a fucking move on!
0:01:01 > 0:01:04Hello, Mum!
0:01:04 > 0:01:06..he filmed every bit of their lives together.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09- Happy Birthday, Stray. 21st.- 21!
0:01:09 > 0:01:12- 21 today.- In Afghan!
0:01:12 > 0:01:18And his camera saw a young platoon grow up on the frontline.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28For the last ten years, young British soldiers across Afghanistan
0:01:28 > 0:01:31have been filming the war as only they can see it.
0:01:31 > 0:01:32Afghan camera,
0:01:32 > 0:01:34I'm here with the Sergeant Major.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36I've been fucking smacked in the eye by shrapnel.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38Thousands of hours of that footage
0:01:38 > 0:01:40has been held by the Ministry of Defence.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42Come on, men, it's life and death!
0:01:45 > 0:01:48Now the MoD and the young soldiers
0:01:48 > 0:01:53have allowed us to use that footage to tell their extraordinary stories.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55This, ladies and gentlemen, is fucking war!
0:01:59 > 0:02:06This film starts back in 2006 and meets the first soldiers into Helmand Province
0:02:06 > 0:02:09and witnesses their desperate battle for survival...
0:02:09 > 0:02:13Give us fucking target indication!
0:02:13 > 0:02:18..and it shows how three years later, in 2009, Alex Rawlins and his men
0:02:18 > 0:02:23suffered at the hands of a deadly invisible enemy -
0:02:23 > 0:02:25the improvised explosive device.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27Is that contact IED?
0:02:29 > 0:02:30It brought it home.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34It's like, "Right, we ain't playing soldiers any more." This is it.
0:02:34 > 0:02:35If you fuck up, you die.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37If you fuck up, worse off, your mate dies.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00In 2006, a small number of British troops
0:03:00 > 0:03:06were flown into a province in southern Afghanistan called Helmand.
0:03:07 > 0:03:13There were reports that the Taliban had returned to the area and were becoming an increasing threat.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21British troops were going in to see how real the threat was.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29The first soldiers were dropped into towns in northern Helmand.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33In the biggest town, Sangin,
0:03:33 > 0:03:36they took over a derelict house
0:03:36 > 0:03:38and turned it into their base.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55The only footage that exists from that time
0:03:55 > 0:03:57was shot by the soldiers themselves.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Among them was Jason Conway.
0:04:03 > 0:04:09I knew that this was going to be significant and quite an eye-opener.
0:04:09 > 0:04:14It was going to be almost going into the hornet's nest, as it were.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19'I wanted to capture how I was feeling
0:04:19 > 0:04:22'and what I was going through, along with the guys around me.'
0:04:22 > 0:04:26Hello, mate. You don't mind me catching a couple of minutes here?
0:04:26 > 0:04:29I'm doing a bit of head-torch filming.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35- Fuck off!- I have, got a little camcorder on here.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37- Fucking gadgets!- I know.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39Right, this is our den of iniquity.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41That's my pit,
0:04:41 > 0:04:43gippin' as it is.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47OK. That's where Big Steve lives.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52The living conditions in the Sangin house were as basic as it gets.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55The only provisions they had were what they could carry in with them.
0:04:55 > 0:05:00And we'll pan onto Andy. And this is the tune that sets him alight.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03Who else we got?
0:05:03 > 0:05:05'You'd be surprised'
0:05:05 > 0:05:09how the human body can cope.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13You know, guys become quite primal and primitive.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17Ah! Right, I'm going to have to really zoom in here, ain't I?
0:05:17 > 0:05:23Sorry, fellows. Nope, they've just gone naked on me, haven't they?
0:05:28 > 0:05:32Their job was to find out if there was a Taliban threat in Sangin
0:05:32 > 0:05:36and they began to patrol the town.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39On one of the first patrols was Trevor Coult -
0:05:39 > 0:05:43a 31-year-old corporal who had just returned from Iraq.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45The locals were a bit surprised to see us.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47Every time we went out on patrol
0:05:47 > 0:05:50they were just standing staring at us as if it was just...
0:05:50 > 0:05:52"Who are these weird guys here?"
0:05:53 > 0:05:59Early on, Trevor saw the first sign that the enemy was there.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01We did a patrol and we came across a building
0:06:01 > 0:06:04and it had Pashto writing on the building
0:06:04 > 0:06:07and it actually said, "Taliban Headquarters,"
0:06:07 > 0:06:12which was a bit strange and we all thought it was quite funny to have the Taliban Headquarters there.
0:06:12 > 0:06:16Adam Swift was another of the first soldiers into Helmand.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20He was based in Kajaki and Musa Qala.
0:06:20 > 0:06:24One day I was looking through the binos, looking at somebody
0:06:24 > 0:06:27in a white dishdash looking back at me through binos.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29And he had a white turban on
0:06:29 > 0:06:32and we were looking at each other and he was working out his ranges
0:06:32 > 0:06:35for his mortars and everything, for his big attack
0:06:35 > 0:06:38and I was looking at him going, "This is a bit surreal."
0:06:39 > 0:06:43What the Taliban saw was a British Army spread thinly.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47They were exposed and vulnerable and the Taliban knew it.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52Just outside...
0:06:52 > 0:06:56Slowly the Taliban let the British know that they were out there.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00Jason Conway filmed the aftermath of some of the first shots fired.
0:07:02 > 0:07:03I don't know.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13'The threat was
0:07:13 > 0:07:16'very, very real.'
0:07:16 > 0:07:19The enemy knew that they were in range,
0:07:19 > 0:07:21so it was just a matter of time.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29The actual firefights didn't start straight away, but there was a lot of probing going on,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32messages coming through the locals that it was going to come.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35"They know you are here, they know your numbers,
0:07:35 > 0:07:38"they know they can take you if they wanted to."
0:07:47 > 0:07:49It seemed to change overnight, to be honest.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52EXPLOSIONS AND HEAVY GUNFIRE
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Fuckin' 'ell!
0:07:58 > 0:08:03The Taliban appeared everywhere and began to smash every British base.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05Give us fucking target indication!
0:08:08 > 0:08:12The men were completely cut off from the outside world.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17Jason filmed some of the only footage that exists
0:08:17 > 0:08:19of those early Taliban attacks.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29You're fighting on every level.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31You're fighting for communications,
0:08:31 > 0:08:37you're fighting for awareness, you're fighting to see the enemy.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42You are completely focusing in on fighting to your back teeth.
0:08:42 > 0:08:44You know, it was proper soldiering.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47SHOUTING
0:08:57 > 0:09:02The Taliban were just unbelievable, to be honest with you. It was like the Alamo.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05When you have, let's be honest, the best in the British Army
0:09:05 > 0:09:08all pinned down at once, not being able to do a single thing,
0:09:08 > 0:09:10you've got to ask yourself some questions.
0:09:10 > 0:09:15Jason Conway's job was to find where Taliban rockets were coming from
0:09:15 > 0:09:19and order British mortars and artillery to fire back.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23Uniform, Quebec, 4522, left...
0:09:23 > 0:09:25He filmed the damage inflicted by Taliban rockets
0:09:25 > 0:09:29while men from another regiment had been on the rooftop.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32One of them struck that building there, you can see
0:09:32 > 0:09:34the entrance point.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38There was three... three persons killed there.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42And that was the first fatality within Sangin district centre.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49In the first three months in Helmand, 14 British soldiers died,
0:09:49 > 0:09:53more than had been killed in the previous five years of the war.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57The men were trapped and facing disaster.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02The mortar goes off, it's in camp.
0:10:02 > 0:10:07The first thing you know is there's a massive explosion.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11White flash, you're on the deck, there's dust everywhere, you can't see what's happening.
0:10:11 > 0:10:14You can't hear a single thing cos your ears are deafened with explosion.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16You look down, you see yourself,
0:10:16 > 0:10:18you've got blood on your legs and arms
0:10:18 > 0:10:21and you're wondering what's up. Shock just kicks in.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24You look down your left, you see a guy lying to your left,
0:10:24 > 0:10:25he's screaming, his abdomen's in bits.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29The guy on your right is not screaming, so he's the one you're looking at.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31But the first time, it's the first massive contact.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34Mortar's landed, guys around you have been killed.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37And you're OK, and you're wondering why you're OK.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43"8th of June, 2006, got mortared again last night,
0:10:43 > 0:10:46"sounds like the fuckers are back. Even longer this time.
0:10:46 > 0:10:47"They're getting better all the time.
0:10:50 > 0:10:51"Mortars fired at us...
0:10:51 > 0:10:53"I'm having trouble identifying the firing point...
0:10:53 > 0:10:57"Won't be long before they're landing in camp, just waiting for the next one.
0:10:57 > 0:11:02"We're playing a game of making them think there are more of us than there actually is.
0:11:02 > 0:11:04"This is fucking mad."
0:11:04 > 0:11:08The fight with the Taliban had now lasted months instead of weeks.
0:11:08 > 0:11:13The men faced a new threat - running out of supplies.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15I went down to about... like, I was about eight stone two.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19Just having a drink of water just for the sake of it, that all got cut out.
0:11:19 > 0:11:20The way we worked it out,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23you went to the toilet, if you were peeing white you were great,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26if you were peeing yellow, dark yellow, then get a drink of water.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34They were also running dangerously low on ammunition.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40'We couldn't have sustained that much longer. I was low on my ammunition. Once that had gone,'
0:11:40 > 0:11:41I'd be down to my rifle
0:11:41 > 0:11:44and once my rifle had gone, there was nothing else there.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51Things were so bad that in the dead of night
0:11:51 > 0:11:54a desperate attempt was made to keep the men alive.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03They gathered on the rooftop of the house in Sangin
0:12:03 > 0:12:06waiting for a plane to drop vital supplies.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10This is the moment it passed overhead.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13But when the parachutes finally dropped
0:12:13 > 0:12:17it was two kilometres away, deep in enemy territory.
0:12:17 > 0:12:23With nothing to live on and nothing to fight the enemy with, some men
0:12:23 > 0:12:28were told to prepare for being overrun, captured and tortured.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31Anything with any of our names on,
0:12:31 > 0:12:34any mail that had got out to us, was destroyed.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38Any photos that we had of our families we destroyed, anything
0:12:38 > 0:12:42with our names on was destroyed, cos we were expecting that this was...
0:12:42 > 0:12:44this wasn't going to come out good.
0:12:46 > 0:12:51"Last night was mad. About 17:30 the boss came up to my position,
0:12:51 > 0:12:55"he told me there was over 1,000 Taliban coming to take our position,
0:12:55 > 0:12:56"wished me luck, and fucked off.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01"I killed a lot of Taliban last night,
0:13:01 > 0:13:02"the fuckers just kept coming."
0:13:09 > 0:13:13The British military were left with only one option...
0:13:22 > 0:13:26..a massive bombing campaign driving the Taliban back
0:13:26 > 0:13:28to save the men's lives.
0:13:31 > 0:13:36You know, you're inflicting systematic violence to the extreme,
0:13:36 > 0:13:39to say, "You're not going to kill me, I'm going to kill you cos I'm
0:13:39 > 0:13:42"going to put something bigger and harder and nastier on you,"
0:13:42 > 0:13:45in order to deter him from coming back and doing it again.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52We have a splash.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55That's fucking bang on, that.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59But the bombing also destroyed the homes and lives of the local people of Helmand and although
0:13:59 > 0:14:05it created a brief respite, the Taliban were not deterred.
0:14:05 > 0:14:09As anyone will tell you that was there, within minutes or within about
0:14:09 > 0:14:14maybe an hour someone would pop up from the same position
0:14:14 > 0:14:16and engage you from now a pile of rubble.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28After six months, the men were finally reached
0:14:28 > 0:14:31and could tell the stories of what had happened in Helmand.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34We're just trying to get an idea of what it's been like here
0:14:34 > 0:14:36in the time you've been here, because no-one really knows.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39We've seen this stuff coming in today but anyone in the UK,
0:14:39 > 0:14:42they don't really know what's been going on. So give us an idea of...
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Paint the worst picture of what it's been like.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48That was me. I was a completely broken man there.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51Well, it's the worst place I've been to. Worse than Baghdad.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54Baghdad's like a walk in the park compared to here.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56Do you think you've made any progress
0:14:56 > 0:14:58in the time you've been here?
0:14:58 > 0:15:00You'd have to ask someone higher than me.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03- Yeah. But from your perspective? - From my perspective, probably no.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06And from everybody's perspective here, no. Mmm.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09It's like the Alamo. We're stuck in this compound.
0:15:09 > 0:15:10That's basically it.
0:15:10 > 0:15:13- A tough enemy, as well? - Oh, yeah, yeah. Toughest.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21There was a lot of gruesome stuff took place.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26People would go mad with some of the things that you have in your head, you know?
0:15:26 > 0:15:27But no tablets can take it away.
0:15:33 > 0:15:39The Taliban couldn't match the heavy firepower that was called into Helmand.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41It was forced to find a new way of fighting back.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45They perfected a deadly weapon
0:15:45 > 0:15:48that became not only a physical threat but a psychological one.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54Thousands of improvised explosive devices - or IEDs -
0:15:54 > 0:15:55were hidden across Helmand.
0:15:55 > 0:16:00The devices were triggered when soldiers drove over them...
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Or stood on them...
0:16:07 > 0:16:11- EXPLOSION - Jesus! Get back, now!- IED.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15Despite efforts to stop them being laid, once concealed,
0:16:15 > 0:16:19it was very difficult to combat the invisible threat of IEDs.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25From 2006 onwards, the number of IED attacks soared.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29By 2009, they were the number one killer
0:16:29 > 0:16:33of British soldiers in Afghanistan.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37In September of that year,
0:16:37 > 0:16:42Captain Alex Rawlins led his men into Helmand on his first tour.
0:16:52 > 0:16:57'I wanted to capture something to remind us of our tour.'
0:16:57 > 0:17:01I liked the idea of being able to show my friends, or whoever,
0:17:01 > 0:17:03"This is what we got up to in Helmand."
0:17:05 > 0:17:08Alex was the commander of a platoon whose average age was 21.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12This was the first tour for most of them as well.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17How are you doing, you all right? Introduce yourself.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19- I'm Guardsman Ashley. - Guardsman Ashley.- 2 Company.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21All right! How are you feeling?
0:17:21 > 0:17:23Yeah, not too bad. Nervous, but...
0:17:24 > 0:17:25I suppose it's normal.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27I kind of like had a bit of an ignorance to it.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29I didn't really know too much about it,
0:17:29 > 0:17:31so I was more than happy thinking,
0:17:31 > 0:17:34"Oh, I'm just going to go in, a bit of John Wayne action,
0:17:34 > 0:17:36"shoot the place up and do my own little bit."
0:17:36 > 0:17:38Guardsman Stray!
0:17:38 > 0:17:40My favourite chap from Folkestone. How you doing, all right?
0:17:40 > 0:17:43When I first got out there, I didn't really know what...
0:17:43 > 0:17:45what was going to happen. You see it on the news,
0:17:45 > 0:17:48you're seeing fighting in the news and stuff like that.
0:17:48 > 0:17:51You sort of...you think of the worst all the time,
0:17:51 > 0:17:53you always think of the worst situation.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56- Hello, what's your name? - Guardsman Jeffs.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58Oh, I knew that! What's happening now?
0:17:58 > 0:18:01I ain't got a clue to be honest with you, sir.
0:18:01 > 0:18:056 Platoon, it was a very, like, close platoon, everyone was like...
0:18:05 > 0:18:09it was a small platoon as well so everyone was, like, very close.
0:18:09 > 0:18:10We kept ourselves to ourselves.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14It was good, like a big family, really.
0:18:14 > 0:18:16- What's your name? - Lance Corporal Maynard.- All right!
0:18:16 > 0:18:19And what are you doing in Afghanistan?
0:18:19 > 0:18:21Just in the gun group, pull the heavy machine gun.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25You know, you need some big boys to fire the big fucking guns.
0:18:25 > 0:18:26You know what I mean, son?
0:18:28 > 0:18:31I had a great platoon. I mean, every man in my platoon,
0:18:31 > 0:18:35I thought was brilliant. They all connected well and there were characters.
0:18:36 > 0:18:41The platoon were based in the Nad Ali district of Helmand
0:18:41 > 0:18:44and were responsible for an eight kilometre square area.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48They lived at Forward Operating Base Wahid.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52Oh, yeah!
0:18:52 > 0:18:542 Company, baby!
0:18:54 > 0:18:57All in all, not bad living for an Army soldier.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00Those of us who are used to go on exercises and living in pretty dire
0:19:00 > 0:19:06surroundings, this actually, believe it or not, is quite comfortable.
0:19:06 > 0:19:12And I myself now have my own little room.
0:19:12 > 0:19:13Check this out!
0:19:17 > 0:19:22I went to Sandhurst in September 2006.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25After university it was one of those things, all my friends
0:19:25 > 0:19:27going off to the City and doing all their other jobs.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30And I just knew that wasn't for me and that I wasn't ready for that.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33So the obvious thing for me was to join the Army.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35Obviously, admin.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38Officer admin right there, chucking your clothes all over the place.
0:19:38 > 0:19:43Got my mortar tins to keep my stuff in, and my huge bed,
0:19:43 > 0:19:45which is very comfortable.
0:19:46 > 0:19:48Then obviously I need a divide.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52Sometimes we need a separation between the men.
0:19:52 > 0:19:57There is and there always has been an officer...officer/soldier divide.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59And it needs to remain that way, you know?
0:19:59 > 0:20:03And it's certainly...that's the way it is and that's the way it works.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05I can guarantee it's more so the soldiers need to be away
0:20:05 > 0:20:08from the officers, otherwise they get irritated with us because we're daft.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23That fucking trumpet!
0:20:24 > 0:20:26What a fucking idiot!
0:20:26 > 0:20:28He's just a dickhead, in't he?!
0:20:28 > 0:20:32Oh! Let's zoom in on that tense! Ooh!
0:20:32 > 0:20:34Tense it! Come on, big guy!
0:20:34 > 0:20:37Keeping Alex and the rest of the platoon in check
0:20:37 > 0:20:40was Platoon Sergeant Chris Dougherty.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42Doc had been in the Army for ten years
0:20:42 > 0:20:45and was on his seventh operational tour.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47- Film your boyfriend.- My boyfriend?
0:20:47 > 0:20:49- Mmm... - There's only one man for me here.
0:20:49 > 0:20:50Well, that's standard.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53- Film him, then.- It's you.
0:20:53 > 0:20:56- It's you.- Snap that f...finger...
0:20:56 > 0:20:58The way that we'd try to run it,
0:20:58 > 0:21:01myself and the Platoon Commander, we didn't want it to be strictly
0:21:01 > 0:21:04a hardcore tour where they're always into a routine, you know,
0:21:04 > 0:21:06they've got to be able to relax.
0:21:06 > 0:21:09They've got to be happy, they've got to just chill out, you know?
0:21:09 > 0:21:11And if they're not taking the mick out of each other,
0:21:11 > 0:21:12there's something going wrong.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14- Fucking hell!- Is that it?
0:21:14 > 0:21:17Is that really it? You're an infantry soldier and that's it?
0:21:17 > 0:21:19Yeah, but I still carry more shit than most of you lot, yeah?
0:21:19 > 0:21:22- Remember that, yeah?- Mmm...
0:21:24 > 0:21:26Oh, right in the fucking...!
0:21:27 > 0:21:30Oh, what's happened, you all right?
0:21:30 > 0:21:32Stray, you all right? You OK?
0:21:32 > 0:21:34- Let me rub them.- What's happened?
0:21:34 > 0:21:37Oh, don't worry, you've already had two kids, you don't need any more!
0:21:37 > 0:21:40It's fine, you've got the twins to look after now.
0:21:40 > 0:21:42That really hurt, didn't it?!
0:21:42 > 0:21:4519 year-old Roy Stray left for his six-month tour
0:21:45 > 0:21:50of Afghanistan just weeks after his twin daughters were born.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54Joined in 2006.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56It was about a week before my 18th birthday I joined the Army.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00And my grandad, he said, "You get to travel the world,
0:22:00 > 0:22:03"you meet really good friends and that." He says,
0:22:03 > 0:22:04"The money's good," and he said,
0:22:04 > 0:22:07"You get a lot of things out of the Army, which will...
0:22:07 > 0:22:10"they'll look after you in years and years to come."
0:22:11 > 0:22:15Right, our mission today is to clear compounds 24 and 23...
0:22:15 > 0:22:18As Platoon Commander it was Alex's job to brief the men
0:22:18 > 0:22:19before they went out on patrol.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23..to assess atmospherics and to pick up a greater understanding of our area to the south.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25Before I go on to the summary is everyone happy with that?
0:22:25 > 0:22:29No-one's any confusion about what'll happen when they come under contact?
0:22:29 > 0:22:30What are you smiling about?
0:22:30 > 0:22:34- Guardsman Stray, how are you doing? - All right, sir, cheers.
0:22:34 > 0:22:39- How did you feel when you were back in England? Were you excited about coming out here, or...?- I was,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42and I was a bit apprehensive about things, cos... I don't know
0:22:42 > 0:22:47- what to expect. IEDs and stuff. - Yeah, I was the same.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51- You happy about what we're doing today, yeah?- Yeah, I'm happy, sir, yeah.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54- Bit nervous, like, but... - This your first patrol?- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:22:54 > 0:22:57It's one of those things. I went on my first one yesterday.
0:22:57 > 0:22:58It was exciting.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06It was the platoon's first patrol out on the ground.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10Everybody's nervous before they go out. Anyone who says
0:23:10 > 0:23:13they're not nervous on their first patrol is simply lying.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16There's just no way. It's just not human to not care.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24If something happens to me, don't forget to tell your mum I love her.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31The first patrol, obviously everyone was a bit like,
0:23:31 > 0:23:34nervous, obviously just going out on the first time,
0:23:34 > 0:23:37no-one knows what to expect, obviously.
0:23:41 > 0:23:46It was weird, everyone weren't talking. Even though everyone knows what to do, no-one was talking.
0:23:50 > 0:23:55Yeah, when we were waiting for the all-clear to go, that's me there,
0:23:55 > 0:23:57waiting to go out, waving to the camera.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03You do expect to be literally sort of running for cover and expecting
0:24:03 > 0:24:06explosions and bullets to be whipping round
0:24:06 > 0:24:07and obviously that's not the case.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25How are you, fellas, you good?
0:24:25 > 0:24:27As-Salamu Alaykum.
0:24:30 > 0:24:35At the moment we're in a nomadic area and this is an influence patrol,
0:24:35 > 0:24:37sort of maintaining the hearts and minds of...
0:24:37 > 0:24:41the aspect of things. So we're up here visiting local nationals.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44Alex and his platoon needed to get information
0:24:44 > 0:24:48from the locals about whether the Taliban were in the area.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54The first week or two, you get to know where you can fight
0:24:54 > 0:24:57and where you can influence.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00So the first few weeks you go out and do the influencing side of it,
0:25:00 > 0:25:04so people get a feel for the locals and on the ground and all that sort of stuff.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07You do the safer side first,
0:25:07 > 0:25:12get used to it before you start going in and getting kinetic.
0:25:12 > 0:25:15Would you say there's a lot of Taliban?
0:25:17 > 0:25:20- HE TRANSLATES - It's the first time I'm going there.
0:25:20 > 0:25:21It's the first time? Where's he from?
0:25:26 > 0:25:29- HE TRANSLATES - We're living in a compound.
0:25:29 > 0:25:30OK.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33'It's sort of like going on a date, sort of thing.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35'You try and find out things about them,
0:25:35 > 0:25:37'they'll try and find out things.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39'You've got to build their trust.'
0:25:39 > 0:25:41Especially if you get things done for them,
0:25:41 > 0:25:45they'll tell you more and more information about what
0:25:45 > 0:25:47you want to know, sort of thing.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50Enjoy your chocolate, your Wispa.
0:25:51 > 0:25:56It's Wispa. We ain't got any more, you greedy thing!
0:25:56 > 0:25:59Share it, OK?
0:25:59 > 0:26:00All right?
0:26:07 > 0:26:10The first couple of weeks passed
0:26:10 > 0:26:13without 6 Platoon seeing any sign of the enemy.
0:26:14 > 0:26:19- How's Afghanistan, is it living up to what you were expecting? - Mmm...
0:26:19 > 0:26:21What were you expecting?
0:26:21 > 0:26:24I was expecting
0:26:24 > 0:26:26a lot more, you know...
0:26:26 > 0:26:28- Pow-pow?- Yeah.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30Yeah. There's been a little bit here and there.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33- DISTANT EXPLOSION - Ooh...- What was that, for example?
0:26:33 > 0:26:37- There we go! - That was a pretty big bang!
0:26:37 > 0:26:39What was that?
0:26:39 > 0:26:40Hmm...
0:26:40 > 0:26:43GUNFIRE
0:26:43 > 0:26:46The platoon found themselves under attack from the Taliban
0:26:46 > 0:26:49just after returning from a patrol.
0:26:49 > 0:26:54- Come on, Ash, get a fucking move on! - Hello, Mum!
0:26:54 > 0:26:55Scotty, get your head down!
0:26:55 > 0:26:59It's from Compound 24! Rapid!
0:26:59 > 0:27:02Message for the Taliban, come and have a go if you think you're hard enough.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05Cos we're actually from Bristol...
0:27:05 > 0:27:07- Oo-ar!- Come on, you Taliban buggers!
0:27:11 > 0:27:1411 o'clock, 600 metres. Right of Taunton...
0:27:14 > 0:27:16Who fired the 66, you fired the 66?
0:27:16 > 0:27:18No, you fired it. Was it a good shot?
0:27:18 > 0:27:22- No, I slipped. - You slipped? With a rocket launcher?
0:27:22 > 0:27:24Fell about 40 metres short.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28- Fuck it!- That's a good waste of the taxpayers' money!
0:27:56 > 0:27:58Parcel day at FOB Wahid.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01Helicopter's just come in and brought us all the mail
0:28:01 > 0:28:03that we haven't received for a good few weeks.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05There's quite a lot of it.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10Oh! By absolute chance, there's one for me!
0:28:10 > 0:28:13You got anything, Iggy?
0:28:13 > 0:28:16Iggy-Iggy boom, biggy-biggy, diggy-diggy-diggy, hey!
0:28:16 > 0:28:17When you know there's mail,
0:28:17 > 0:28:19you build yourself up so much, "Yeah, I got mail,
0:28:19 > 0:28:21"I must have, there's five bags."
0:28:21 > 0:28:25You start sieving through it and you're looking for your name.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27And you're like, "Yeah, Jones, here you go, mate.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31"Oh, shit, Jones, here you go again, mate. Oh, Jones again."
0:28:31 > 0:28:36- Just a load of shit, that's not for me.- You got anything, Tommo?
0:28:36 > 0:28:39I'm not going to get anything, cos my missus is shit.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44Take that back!
0:28:44 > 0:28:46Are they all for you? No, Jones.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48Oh, thank you! Oh, Christmas time...
0:28:48 > 0:28:52'But then, give Jones... Fair one to them, he did come over and say,'
0:28:52 > 0:28:55"Here you are, mate. Here's some chocolate biscuits," or whatever.
0:28:55 > 0:28:58"I'm going to make some scoff in a bit, come have some with me."
0:29:00 > 0:29:03- What are you doing? - Just writing a letter, sir.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07- Who are you writing a letter to? - To my fiancee.- Oh, lovely!
0:29:07 > 0:29:10- Just got one today.- Aaah! - Bit of morale.
0:29:10 > 0:29:14More importantly, what have you done to your face, then, hey?!
0:29:14 > 0:29:16You don't want to know, sir.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19- What did you do to your face?!- Well, do you want the real story...- Yes.
0:29:19 > 0:29:23..or the story which will be going around at home?
0:29:23 > 0:29:25Whichever's more interesting.
0:29:25 > 0:29:30No. I was in a sangar, gobbing off, doing my job like usual and...
0:29:33 > 0:29:34..hit myself with a mini flare.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37- You what?!- I said, "I hit myself with a mini flare."
0:29:37 > 0:29:40- You hit yourself with a mini flare?! - Well, I didn't hit myself.
0:29:40 > 0:29:45- It popped up on the side... - What's it done to your face?
0:29:45 > 0:29:49- Just gave me a couple of burns on the side, that's it.- And...
0:29:49 > 0:29:51Nothing dramatic, still going out the next day,
0:29:51 > 0:29:52doing my job like usual.
0:29:52 > 0:29:56That'll teach you for being a mong, really, won't it?
0:29:56 > 0:29:58- I'm not really a mong, sir. - HE LAUGHS
0:29:58 > 0:30:02I can think of plenty of other people who are mongs.
0:30:02 > 0:30:07Oh! There's no-one behind me, so you must be looking at me.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10No, I'm just looking at, um... um...
0:30:10 > 0:30:11Isn't it great?
0:30:12 > 0:30:13..the board.
0:30:13 > 0:30:15The morale board.
0:30:15 > 0:30:21Each girl here, a genuine girlfriend of one of the platoon.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25HE HUMS ALONG TO THE MUSIC
0:30:25 > 0:30:27Wooh! Here comes the moves!
0:30:30 > 0:30:31Dick!
0:30:31 > 0:30:36We used to have a dance-off, like, whenever, whenever we could.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43We'd always have an iPod and a docking station, so there was always music.
0:30:47 > 0:30:51Everyone was listening to all different types of music,
0:30:51 > 0:30:54bar Fridays, we couldn't play dance music on a Friday or a Saturday,
0:30:54 > 0:30:57cos then it would make everyone want to go out on the town,
0:30:57 > 0:31:00so we had to stop playing all that stuff.
0:31:00 > 0:31:02- Fucking posers. - What are you eating?
0:31:02 > 0:31:07- Er, chocolate pudding and custard. - Mmm-mmm-mmm!
0:31:07 > 0:31:11Straight from the ten man ration pack. Ration pack's finest.
0:31:11 > 0:31:15This is a tune, here. This is the Audio Bullys.
0:31:15 > 0:31:19# There's things I haven't told you I go out late at night... #
0:31:19 > 0:31:20HE STRUMS GUITAR
0:31:20 > 0:31:22So my mood's cheered up
0:31:22 > 0:31:24since I got this thing, it's worked.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33# Hope floats through the waters
0:31:33 > 0:31:35# Cushions the fall
0:31:35 > 0:31:38# We've seen it all
0:31:39 > 0:31:42# It's all in your hands
0:31:42 > 0:31:49# Do you understand you can do what you wa-a-ant? #
0:31:52 > 0:31:54Oh, he's got an audience!
0:31:55 > 0:31:58Where the civvies are now, where they're congregating...
0:31:58 > 0:32:03The platoon started to patrol further afield, led by Alex and Doc.
0:32:06 > 0:32:11'So if I was to suggest that, obviously, as Platoon Commander I was the daddy of the platoon,'
0:32:11 > 0:32:16then you being Platoon Sergeant, that makes you the mummy of the platoon,
0:32:16 > 0:32:18- would you agree with that?- Hell, no!
0:32:18 > 0:32:22All the time, he used to say that. He just wanted a reaction.
0:32:22 > 0:32:25Because he knew that he was my bitch, and, er...
0:32:25 > 0:32:27the boys used to come to me before him.
0:32:27 > 0:32:32Like you were told from the beginning of this tour, you're the figurehead. You sign paperwork.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35Alex is a bit of a joker, he just messes around all the time.
0:32:35 > 0:32:37Give me that fucking camera.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39Now, look at him now, look.
0:32:39 > 0:32:41Now he's getting into a fucking firing position.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45I'll have you know, I'm always, always ready for action.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47But he's brilliant out on the ground.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50Professionalism, he's on the money.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53When it comes to it, he is on the money, he's got it.
0:32:55 > 0:32:56I'd never tell him that, though.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59I'd never tell him that.
0:33:03 > 0:33:06Just as Alex and the platoon were getting comfortable,
0:33:06 > 0:33:10they came face-to-face with Helmand's biggest threat.
0:33:15 > 0:33:17I've just found an IED up on the road.
0:33:17 > 0:33:20Well, potential, what we think could be...
0:33:20 > 0:33:25As you can see, it's disturbed earth, plastic bag there with metal inside it.
0:33:25 > 0:33:29And that'll be the pressure plate, it looks like it's more for a vehicle.
0:33:29 > 0:33:30And that's the boom.
0:33:33 > 0:33:39If one of the platoon had stood on this metal plate, it would have meant serious injury or death.
0:33:43 > 0:33:44'You are very conscious'
0:33:44 > 0:33:47of where you put your feet, and it was as simple as that, I think.
0:33:47 > 0:33:50It just meant that we had to be more cautious and more diligent
0:33:50 > 0:33:54in the way that we patrolled and applied ourselves to patrolling.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56- Well done, H! Happy with that?- Yeah.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59Right, we'll crack on, then.
0:33:59 > 0:34:00'You find one'
0:34:00 > 0:34:04and you take care of it but you know there's hundreds more out there.
0:34:04 > 0:34:06It's literally just picking
0:34:06 > 0:34:07a safe route through them all.
0:34:08 > 0:34:09BLAST OF EXPLOSION
0:34:11 > 0:34:13Fuck me!
0:34:13 > 0:34:19In 2009, IEDs caused three-quarters of all British casualties in Helmand.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26To counter the threat, every patrol had a soldier at the front
0:34:26 > 0:34:29with a metal detector called a Vallon.
0:34:32 > 0:34:38In Alex's platoon, the two main Vallon men were Jamie Janes and Rob Ashley.
0:34:38 > 0:34:42Me and Jamie used to take it in turns, and it is a really difficult job.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45I mean, when you're swinging your arm for that amount of time,
0:34:45 > 0:34:48and the Vallon, it's not heavy but it's not a light bit of kit.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53Really, the front man, he's going to have his eyes fixed on the floor.
0:34:53 > 0:34:54He's going to be sweeping,
0:34:54 > 0:34:56he's going to do everything that's possible
0:34:56 > 0:35:00to clear the route, so really, technically, your front man is a blind man.
0:35:00 > 0:35:04'So he's sort of the blind man leading everybody else.'
0:35:04 > 0:35:06Go left, that's it.
0:35:06 > 0:35:12'You've got the threat of the IEDs, whether it be in a tree, on the floor, in a wall.
0:35:12 > 0:35:15'And then you've also got the threat of being shot as well.'
0:35:15 > 0:35:16In-between my legs, lads.
0:35:16 > 0:35:19But you do get used to it. You sort of put it all to the back of your head
0:35:19 > 0:35:21and you sort of just crack on, really.
0:35:21 > 0:35:23Pushing east towards one-five.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28You've got to have pretty big balls to do it.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31At first I thought, "Why would you want to do it?"
0:35:31 > 0:35:33But then you realise that, at the end of the day,
0:35:33 > 0:35:35you are looking after your mates.
0:35:41 > 0:35:48Despite the IED threat, 6 Platoon were settling in well and beginning to feel at home.
0:35:55 > 0:35:57You know, if you weren't out on the ground
0:35:57 > 0:36:00because you're either looking for insurgents
0:36:00 > 0:36:03or you weren't doing something soldierly,
0:36:03 > 0:36:06you could enjoy yourself and think, "This is a really lovely place."
0:36:06 > 0:36:07Oh, shit!
0:36:07 > 0:36:09Cigarettes...
0:36:09 > 0:36:11Oh, my lighter!
0:36:12 > 0:36:14- Why are you wet?- Been swimming.
0:36:14 > 0:36:17- Been in the river?- Yeah. Nice and refreshing.
0:36:18 > 0:36:20Oh, yeah!
0:36:20 > 0:36:22Everybody was sort of getting confident
0:36:22 > 0:36:25and you was getting used to everything about it.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27It was like, "Yeah, this ain't that bad."
0:36:27 > 0:36:30Op Massive is on the go. There's, like...
0:36:30 > 0:36:34Oh! Don't even need to zoom in on those bad boys!
0:36:34 > 0:36:38- You're not doing a workout, why not? - Because I'm going to go out and kill people.- What?
0:36:38 > 0:36:40You need to get all pumped up before you go and do that.
0:36:40 > 0:36:45Yeah, but then in case somebody else gets hurt, I need my energy to fucking get them back.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47That's...might be true.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49But no-one's going to get hurt, are they?
0:36:49 > 0:36:52- Come on, Stray, get yours out. Let's see what you've got.- No.
0:36:55 > 0:36:56My Op Massive...
0:36:59 > 0:37:01TRUMPET IS PLAYED BADLY
0:37:02 > 0:37:06'They'll always arse around. Blokes will always arse around,'
0:37:06 > 0:37:08which, to be fair, they should do, cos they are young lads.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16'However, you've got to keep an eye on it because it is easy to get complacent.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18'In fact, it's not even complacent.'
0:37:18 > 0:37:20It's more relaxed.
0:37:20 > 0:37:23You know, you just relax into it so quickly and so easily,
0:37:23 > 0:37:27and then the blokes will just sort of skim across it.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30There was one occasion which I particularly remember
0:37:30 > 0:37:32where they were out on patrol and they literally...
0:37:32 > 0:37:35Nobody was injured from it, but it didn't feel right.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38It felt as though they were cutting corners. I got the whole platoon together,
0:37:38 > 0:37:39had a word with them all -
0:37:39 > 0:37:42it was more the confidence was just too high.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59You go in front of me.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02It's like seeing your kids off to school, isn't it, hey?
0:38:02 > 0:38:06- Got to look after them, haven't you? - Off they go!
0:38:06 > 0:38:08Look at you, this little sweetheart.
0:38:11 > 0:38:17Early one morning, a small section of Alex's men went out with another platoon.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20Jamie Janes was the Vallon man.
0:38:27 > 0:38:30Went out on patrol, everything was fine.
0:38:30 > 0:38:31No dramas there.
0:38:34 > 0:38:38So a section moves up with Jamie in front Valloning.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41And he sort of stood there for a second. I looked around.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43He was sort of there, shaking his head,
0:38:43 > 0:38:46"Oh, it's fucking hot," or whatever it was. I was like, "Yeah, I know.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49"I'm shitting it, mate." Carried on observing.
0:38:49 > 0:38:52I turned back round, I'm sort of like sat down now,
0:38:52 > 0:38:55with my back away...towards Jamie,
0:38:55 > 0:38:57and then there was an explosion, er...
0:39:01 > 0:39:05I looked round and there was fucking dust everywhere.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07Well, I weren't that far away from it,
0:39:07 > 0:39:11I was only about seven or eight foot away from it, from when it went off.
0:39:11 > 0:39:15So I just heard the explosion.
0:39:15 > 0:39:17I seen a load of dust everywhere.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19I thought, "Right. It's obviously an IED."
0:39:19 > 0:39:23I looked at Jeffs cos he was the end man, and I was like, "Fuck!"
0:39:23 > 0:39:27I just remember shouting, "Fuck, fuck, what the fuck's going on?!"
0:39:28 > 0:39:34All the stones and the debris comes raining down and you just feel it pinging on your helmet.
0:39:34 > 0:39:37It was weird, it was like kind of a silence.
0:39:37 > 0:39:40It was quiet and then next thing you know, erm...
0:39:40 > 0:39:42heard a bit of screaming up at the front.
0:39:42 > 0:39:46I could hear, "Ash! Ash! Medic! Ash! Ash!" screaming and shouting.
0:39:46 > 0:39:49I was like, "Fuck, fuck, fuck, what's going on here?"
0:39:49 > 0:39:53I go over, straightaway I see a number of bodies lying round.
0:39:54 > 0:39:58I was like, "Oof! Fucking hell," like...
0:39:58 > 0:40:00And I seen, obviously, Jamie.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03And it was horrendous.
0:40:03 > 0:40:04He was one of my mates.
0:40:07 > 0:40:12Rob, the trained medic, had to deal with injuries to four of his mates
0:40:12 > 0:40:17but the most badly injured was Jamie, who had stepped on the IED,
0:40:17 > 0:40:21losing both his arms and both his legs.
0:40:21 > 0:40:26Straightaway I was wanging tourniquets on both Jamie's legs.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29Wanged one on his right arm. Stray was there.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32I was like, "Stray, start smashing a tourniquet on his other arm."
0:40:32 > 0:40:34It happened so quick that you sort of...
0:40:34 > 0:40:36You haven't got time to think, sort of thing,
0:40:36 > 0:40:39but then your training just kicks in straightaway.
0:40:39 > 0:40:42We were getting a response off Jamie. We was getting something.
0:40:42 > 0:40:44I was like, "Jamie, what have you gone and done now?
0:40:44 > 0:40:46"Fucking showing off, ain't you?"
0:40:46 > 0:40:51Chatting away, trying to talk and to get a response.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53And he was like, "Errr," making noises.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56And I thought, "Fucking hell," do you know what I mean?
0:40:56 > 0:40:58And in my mind I was like, "He's going to be all right.
0:40:58 > 0:41:01"A bit roughed up but, you know, he should be all right."
0:41:04 > 0:41:09Back at base, Doc and Alex could only listen to events unfold on the radio.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13I heard the explosion and I remember literally thinking, "Boom,"
0:41:13 > 0:41:16and everything was going off. I went straight to the Ops room
0:41:16 > 0:41:19and remember hearing Sergeant Harris' voice
0:41:19 > 0:41:22and thinking, "Shit. It's my platoon."
0:41:22 > 0:41:25As a Platoon Sergeant, how does that make you feel?
0:41:25 > 0:41:28Erm...to be honest, it was crap.
0:41:28 > 0:41:32It was, it was shit, because obviously it was my section,
0:41:32 > 0:41:35it was my platoon, and we weren't out on the ground with them.
0:41:35 > 0:41:39Cos at the beginning of the tour I said to the guys,
0:41:39 > 0:41:43"You're not going to always agree with what I say, you're not always going to like me,
0:41:43 > 0:41:46"but I will always get you out of danger if it arises."
0:41:46 > 0:41:51But I wasn't there for that, you know, so useless, really.
0:41:52 > 0:41:58The guys on the ground fought their way back to base, where they were met by Doc and Alex.
0:41:58 > 0:42:01To be able to actually be there when the guys came in
0:42:01 > 0:42:04in that situation was a good thing.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07Because, you know, obviously, er...
0:42:07 > 0:42:11it was a very, very difficult situation.
0:42:17 > 0:42:21It sort of doesn't hit you when you're out on the ground, it's when you get back in.
0:42:21 > 0:42:22That's when it hits you hard.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28And then Afghan starts to hit home then.
0:42:28 > 0:42:30It starts to hit home then.
0:42:30 > 0:42:34It's not training, it's real life then. It's real life.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38The way in which I felt best to cope with that situation
0:42:38 > 0:42:40was to just let them talk,
0:42:40 > 0:42:43because their adrenaline was sky high, you know.
0:42:43 > 0:42:44I had to reassure them.
0:42:44 > 0:42:48When Rob Ashley...when he came in, he was like, "I did all I could, I did all I could.
0:42:48 > 0:42:52"I tried my best, I tried my best." You've got to reassure him, because he did his best.
0:42:52 > 0:42:55And what he did was right, he didn't do anything wrong.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58The same as Roy Stray, he was high as a kite.
0:42:58 > 0:43:03He really was, his adrenaline was pumping so much, you know.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06And as it started to come down, that's when they need you to be there,
0:43:06 > 0:43:10you've got to reassure and listen. When they come down, you're the shoulder to cry on.
0:43:12 > 0:43:17Shortly after the men returned to base, Doc and Alex called them all together.
0:43:19 > 0:43:22Doc came over and said, "I want to speak to the whole platoon."
0:43:22 > 0:43:25And I remember looking over at Doc, and his face.
0:43:25 > 0:43:26I just knew it straightaway.
0:43:26 > 0:43:28His eyes started filling up.
0:43:28 > 0:43:31It was a complete nightmare.
0:43:31 > 0:43:37And that's the stage I had to say to them unfortunately Jamie hadn't made it, erm...
0:43:37 > 0:43:40and that was it.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45As soon as the boys found out,
0:43:45 > 0:43:47some of them didn't really know what to do,
0:43:47 > 0:43:49some of them didn't know how to cry or what.
0:43:49 > 0:43:54But some of the lads, like myself, just broke down.
0:43:56 > 0:44:02Jamie was the 220th British soldier to be killed in Afghanistan.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05He was the fifth generation of his family to have joined the Army.
0:44:07 > 0:44:10Erm...well, there's no set...
0:44:10 > 0:44:13It's not written how you deal with it.
0:44:13 > 0:44:17The thing for us was that we did know each other well at that point.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19And we separated ourselves, it was us,
0:44:19 > 0:44:23the platoon, was on our own and we sort of, we sort of...
0:44:23 > 0:44:27we, um...yeah, dealt with it as a platoon.
0:44:31 > 0:44:36For it to happen to a man who's already been out there and a senior bloke,
0:44:36 > 0:44:39and Jamie was a switched-on bloke as well, you think,
0:44:39 > 0:44:41"Right, you're not invincible."
0:44:41 > 0:44:45Regardless of who you are, where you've been, what you've done.
0:44:45 > 0:44:48It don't matter. You're not fucking Rambo.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51Everybody's vulnerable.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54It was massive.
0:44:55 > 0:44:57It happens,
0:44:57 > 0:45:00and it brought it home.
0:45:05 > 0:45:09When any British soldier is killed in action,
0:45:09 > 0:45:12the Prime Minister writes a letter to the bereaved family.
0:45:12 > 0:45:14Gordon Brown sent a letter to Jamie's mum,
0:45:14 > 0:45:17Jacqui, littered with spelling mistakes,
0:45:17 > 0:45:19and he mispronounced Jamie's name in Parliament.
0:45:19 > 0:45:22..Grenadier Guards, Guardsman Jamie James.
0:45:23 > 0:45:29Tonight, a mother's despair - a gesture by the Prime Minister, exposure by a newspaper.
0:45:29 > 0:45:31It caused a political storm
0:45:31 > 0:45:35and Jamie's death marked a turning point in the public's awareness
0:45:35 > 0:45:40of how many young soldiers were being killed by IEDs in Helmand.
0:45:40 > 0:45:452009 had become the bloodiest year of the war so far.
0:45:45 > 0:45:49NEWS REPORT: But Gordon Brown has spoken to Jacqui Janes,
0:45:49 > 0:45:52and is said to be mortified by any upset he may have caused her.
0:45:52 > 0:45:56But for Alex and the men, it was an unwanted controversy.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59It was...huge frustration, really.
0:46:00 > 0:46:02It's irrelevant, isn't it?
0:46:02 > 0:46:05All of that was irrelevant for us, when we were out there.
0:46:05 > 0:46:09But the general frustration was more that that was happening as opposed to simply
0:46:09 > 0:46:14the memory of him and of what had happened.
0:46:16 > 0:46:21The rich man stores up all his possessions,
0:46:21 > 0:46:25gets all the good and nice things in life,
0:46:25 > 0:46:28and yet when confronted with death,
0:46:28 > 0:46:30it counts for nothing.
0:46:30 > 0:46:35Jamie's death had shaken the whole platoon and morale was low.
0:46:35 > 0:46:40It would be the toughest test for the soldiers and Alex and Doc's leadership.
0:46:40 > 0:46:42Use the time wisely.
0:46:42 > 0:46:44Think about the big things.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47Don't just let it drift past you.
0:46:49 > 0:46:50Point made.
0:47:06 > 0:47:11Alex continued filming as the platoon moved to a new base in Helmand.
0:47:11 > 0:47:12This one is slightly different.
0:47:12 > 0:47:16We've got compounds surrounding us on all sides
0:47:16 > 0:47:20and the atmosphere here is, er...
0:47:20 > 0:47:22slightly less friendly.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25But Alex's time with his men was nearly over.
0:47:25 > 0:47:29He was going home for good just after Christmas.
0:47:29 > 0:47:31Sergeant Dougherty.
0:47:31 > 0:47:33- All right?- How are you?- All right.
0:47:33 > 0:47:40In the few weeks he had left, he had to make sure no more men were lost and no mistakes were made.
0:47:46 > 0:47:49They were angry. They WERE angry.
0:47:49 > 0:47:56The guys had a hunger to go out and try and get a bit of...
0:47:56 > 0:47:59How should I say it?
0:47:59 > 0:48:02How do you say it? Is it trying to get a bit of, erm...
0:48:03 > 0:48:04..closure?
0:48:08 > 0:48:13Soon after they arrived at their new base, they got into a Taliban firefight.
0:48:13 > 0:48:16RAPID AND PROLONGED GUNFIRE
0:48:19 > 0:48:21It does feel like that, revenge.
0:48:21 > 0:48:23It does feel like you want to get your own back,
0:48:23 > 0:48:25because it feels like they've got one up on you.
0:48:25 > 0:48:27I mean, yeah, obviously, you do get massively angry.
0:48:27 > 0:48:29I mean, at the end of the day they've hurt your mates,
0:48:29 > 0:48:32they've killed one of your mates, and they're trying to shoot you.
0:48:32 > 0:48:35Swifty! Get your breath back before you go out there!
0:48:35 > 0:48:36Get your breath back!
0:48:36 > 0:48:39If the men let their anger get the better of them,
0:48:39 > 0:48:42it could put their lives or the lives of civilians at risk.
0:48:42 > 0:48:45They had to fight by the rules.
0:48:46 > 0:48:51- Where are you, mate?- 'It's very, very frustrating, erm...'
0:48:51 > 0:48:54because, you know, if you knew where someone was shooting at you from,
0:48:54 > 0:48:56you'd just think, "Let's just drop a bomb on him."
0:48:57 > 0:49:00But the reality is that's not the only problem.
0:49:00 > 0:49:03There's a guy shooting at you but that's not the ONLY problem.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06The other problems are, "Where are the civilians? Where are my men?"
0:49:06 > 0:49:08So there's a lot more to think about and it is frustrating
0:49:08 > 0:49:11but at the same time, actually, it keeps you in check
0:49:11 > 0:49:13and it prevents you from being rash
0:49:13 > 0:49:17and it prevents you from making decisions that you shouldn't make.
0:49:23 > 0:49:28The pace of life has not slowed down necessarily, but it's more controlled,
0:49:28 > 0:49:31as it was slightly... slightly crazy at times.
0:49:31 > 0:49:39In Alex's final days, the men open up to him about how the loss of Jamie had affected them.
0:49:39 > 0:49:44- A lot of people say that they've seen a change in me since I've been out here.- Yeah.
0:49:44 > 0:49:47I've grown up a lot more, because I was...
0:49:47 > 0:49:51I was childish before I come out here, very childish.
0:49:51 > 0:49:53But now...
0:49:53 > 0:49:55I'm, like, thinking of things, I sort of...
0:49:56 > 0:49:59I don't know, I sort of...
0:49:59 > 0:50:03How do you find the best way to deal with difficult situations out here has been?
0:50:03 > 0:50:07Um...just talk about it. Talk about it as much as you can.
0:50:07 > 0:50:09Get as much off your chest.
0:50:09 > 0:50:11I think the more you think about it,
0:50:11 > 0:50:14the more it's going to affect you and fuck your head up.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16It sounds selfish and horrible
0:50:16 > 0:50:19but you've got to push it to the back of your mind and just think,
0:50:19 > 0:50:22"Right, what's happened happened. I'm still here.
0:50:22 > 0:50:25"I've still got to get through this, through this tour."
0:50:25 > 0:50:27You just have to try and forget about it.
0:50:27 > 0:50:31- It sounds horrible, but you think about it when you get home...- Yeah.
0:50:31 > 0:50:32- ..and mourn over it then.- Yeah.
0:50:32 > 0:50:35That's why... That's the way I'm playing it.
0:50:36 > 0:50:39'The ability to be able to talk to each other
0:50:39 > 0:50:42'and be very honest and open is what pulled people through.
0:50:42 > 0:50:48'Personally, if I'm being very honest about the way that I dealt with it,'
0:50:48 > 0:50:51something for me closed off for the rest of the tour
0:50:51 > 0:50:53and I just didn't think about it.
0:50:53 > 0:50:56I'm being very honest about it because, you know,
0:50:56 > 0:50:58you'd expect to say it was something that I thought about
0:50:58 > 0:51:01and I really, really, you know, but I didn't.
0:51:01 > 0:51:02Psychologically I just went joof.
0:51:02 > 0:51:04Ah, Sergeant Dougherty.
0:51:04 > 0:51:06Not in a good mood today, I see? HE LAUGHS
0:51:07 > 0:51:11- Always.- Do you want a hug? - No, I don't want a...
0:51:11 > 0:51:14- Is now a hug time? Now's a hug time, isn't it?- I don't want a hug.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17- Now is a hug time.- I don't want a hug.- Come on, let's hug! - Fuck off.- Come on.
0:51:17 > 0:51:20'You change things, blokes notice the change.'
0:51:20 > 0:51:24And he knew that. He knew the minute he stopped getting that stupid trumpet out
0:51:24 > 0:51:26and waking people up in the mornings, they'd be like,
0:51:26 > 0:51:29"Well, hang on, this is all changing, this isn't right."
0:51:29 > 0:51:31He kept on annoying people.
0:51:31 > 0:51:36He'd still be an idiot, he'd still play his guitar and all that sort of stuff.
0:51:37 > 0:51:41# If I was a woman
0:51:41 > 0:51:46# I'd be so good-looking
0:51:46 > 0:51:50- # And my breasts would be perfect... #- 'The morale that that brought was priceless.
0:51:50 > 0:51:54'Everyone used to just get together and used to just sit around, you know, in the dark or whatever
0:51:54 > 0:51:58'with the candles on and he'd be sitting there playing, singing along.'
0:51:58 > 0:52:02# With our girlfriends Wearing so little, little things
0:52:02 > 0:52:06# We'd dance, yes, and drink until we're drunk
0:52:06 > 0:52:10# Hoping to meet a boy like me. #
0:52:13 > 0:52:15APPLAUSE All right!
0:52:16 > 0:52:19'They're brilliant. They've come through it well.'
0:52:19 > 0:52:21They've got each other through it.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24Obviously there's moments where they all think about it.
0:52:24 > 0:52:29They've got their own way of dealing with things, but they just fight through.
0:52:29 > 0:52:33They're going to be a bit gutted. Obviously, they know that you're going and that,
0:52:33 > 0:52:37but it's going to be different.
0:52:37 > 0:52:40Not in so much a bad way, but it is going to be different.
0:52:40 > 0:52:44Because they ain't going to suck you off but you are all right.
0:52:44 > 0:52:46- I'm all right?- You are all right.
0:52:46 > 0:52:51- All right! I've passed the Platoon Sergeant test!- Yeah. - All right!- Good one.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00It's Christmas morning
0:53:00 > 0:53:03and we're going round from tent to tent
0:53:03 > 0:53:07waking everybody up with a little bit of Christmas grog.
0:53:07 > 0:53:09PARTY BLOWERS BLARE
0:53:11 > 0:53:13There you go, mate. Merry Christmas.
0:53:13 > 0:53:15PARTY BLOWERS CONTINUE TO BLARE
0:53:15 > 0:53:18Pack that in, would you?
0:53:18 > 0:53:20- So you're going to have to open these doors.- Yeah.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22- I can't see.- Hang on.
0:53:23 > 0:53:27Got all the Christmas presents. You're like a military Santa Claus.
0:53:27 > 0:53:31- Turn the light off already.- Morning, Royston!- Morning, sir.
0:53:31 > 0:53:32How are you? You all right?
0:53:32 > 0:53:34- Happy Christmas. - Happy Christmas, boss.
0:53:34 > 0:53:38- Happy Christmas. When are you on stag?- Three o'clock.
0:53:38 > 0:53:41- Oh, that's all right, isn't it? You get to sleep some more.- Mmm.
0:53:41 > 0:53:43I need it.
0:53:44 > 0:53:46- This is our Christmas lunch! - Not bad for Afghan pizza.
0:53:46 > 0:53:48Can't complain about that in the field.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51- Fucking hell, that's hot. - Look at that!
0:53:51 > 0:53:53Having Christmas pudding tonight and tomorrow.
0:53:53 > 0:53:55- Does it feel like Christmas?- Does it fuck?
0:53:55 > 0:53:58- How's life, Straz?- Yeah, all right.
0:53:58 > 0:54:01It's good. Going home today on R&R.
0:54:01 > 0:54:04- What time are you flying out?- 14.30.
0:54:04 > 0:54:06- You looking forward to it?- Yeah.
0:54:06 > 0:54:07Really looking forward it.
0:54:07 > 0:54:09I won't be around when you get back.
0:54:09 > 0:54:15- That's the worst thing about it all. - I know.- How are you going to cope? - Don't know.
0:54:15 > 0:54:19- How are you going to sleep at night knowing that I'm not there? - Don't know.
0:54:20 > 0:54:23- Don't know. I really don't know.- I understand your pain.
0:54:23 > 0:54:25I understand yours too, boss.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28I haven't got any pain.
0:54:28 > 0:54:29Strong man.
0:54:29 > 0:54:34- You have a good R&R. - I'll try to. I will try.
0:54:34 > 0:54:37You don't need to try, just go back and enjoy it.
0:54:37 > 0:54:38- Have a nice R&R, Stray.- Cheers.
0:54:38 > 0:54:41Have a nice R&R. Have a good one.
0:54:50 > 0:54:55Soon after, Alex left his men behind and flew back to the UK.
0:54:59 > 0:55:03Three months later, the platoon followed.
0:55:03 > 0:55:07They completed the rest of the tour without taking any more casualties.
0:55:12 > 0:55:17Since returning from Afghanistan, Alex has decided to leave the Army.
0:55:17 > 0:55:24'You've got to take that risk of leaving something that you love in order to see what else can happen.'
0:55:24 > 0:55:25That was always the plan.
0:55:25 > 0:55:28But it's not as if... it's not an easy decision.
0:55:33 > 0:55:36And a year after returning from Helmand,
0:55:36 > 0:55:40the other members of the platoon have an equally difficult decision to make.
0:55:40 > 0:55:43- Do you want to go again?- Um, yeah.
0:55:43 > 0:55:45I thought... I've said within myself,
0:55:45 > 0:55:49"I'll do another tour, see where it goes from there, really," you know.
0:55:51 > 0:55:54The choice is still mine at the moment.
0:55:54 > 0:55:56But I'm waiting out for the moment.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59I don't want to start doing anything too crazy.
0:56:01 > 0:56:05'I've worked with some of the best guys I think I'll ever work with,
0:56:05 > 0:56:07'and it was just good to see
0:56:07 > 0:56:11'the bond that people can form in such a short period of time.'
0:56:11 > 0:56:13So it's a bit of both, really, it was good and bad.
0:56:16 > 0:56:18I don't want to go back. No, I do.
0:56:22 > 0:56:24'Do you want to go again?'
0:56:25 > 0:56:27I don't know yet.
0:56:27 > 0:56:31I don't know. It's still niggling at the back of my mind, but...
0:56:31 > 0:56:34I'm sure I'll probably end up going again.
0:56:38 > 0:56:39BLAST OF EXPLOSION
0:56:40 > 0:56:42IEDs had turned the war into a nightmare,
0:56:42 > 0:56:46but British troops now had a new challenge...
0:56:46 > 0:56:48Get down! Get down!
0:56:48 > 0:56:52..finding a way out of the chaos by training an army...
0:56:52 > 0:56:55You've got to ask to what extent can these guys be trusted?
0:56:55 > 0:56:57RAPID GUNFIRE
0:56:57 > 0:56:59Oi, dickhead!
0:56:59 > 0:57:02Watch where you're fucking shooting!
0:57:02 > 0:57:05..and protecting those caught in the crossfire.
0:57:22 > 0:57:24Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd