0:00:02 > 0:00:05This programme contains very strong language and some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08Where I lived you either work in a chicken factory or went on the dole.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11It was basically a case of, "What am I going to do with my life?"
0:00:13 > 0:00:17And I was 15 years old and I decided to go and join the army.
0:00:17 > 0:00:23Luke Langley is 22. He's going to Afghanistan for the second time.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26See that, yeah?
0:00:26 > 0:00:28You know when Daddy goes away, isn't that far away?
0:00:28 > 0:00:31You're all the way there, Daddy's going to be down there.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34The first time Langley went to war in 2009
0:00:34 > 0:00:39his platoon held an isolated fort deep in no-man's land.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48That used to be Daddy's boss, that did.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53Seven Platoon's commander was Lt Mark Evison,
0:00:53 > 0:00:55a rising star in the Welsh Guards.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02At the time, British forces were overstretched
0:01:02 > 0:01:04in one of the most dangerous areas of Helmand.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09"We are walking a tightrope.
0:01:09 > 0:01:10"Injuries will be sustained
0:01:10 > 0:01:12"which I will not be able to treat
0:01:12 > 0:01:15"and deaths could occur which could have been stopped."
0:01:17 > 0:01:19Seven Platoon's lifeline
0:01:19 > 0:01:22was their ability to summon devastating firepower
0:01:22 > 0:01:25at a few minutes' notice.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29This film is about the day that lifeline failed...
0:01:33 > 0:01:36..and Seven Platoon had to fight alone.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38It was the most scared I've ever been in all my life.
0:01:38 > 0:01:41I said, "We're on our own, bud. We haven't got the fire support."
0:01:41 > 0:01:45I've never felt as lonely as I did in that ditch.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49In Afghan there was never "Look after number one."
0:01:49 > 0:01:52It's always, "Look after numbers two and three
0:01:52 > 0:01:56"and numbers two and three will always look after you."
0:01:56 > 0:01:59And that's the way we were that fucking day.
0:02:14 > 0:02:19Seven Platoon's commander, Lt Mark Evison, was 26 when he went to war.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25"Afghanistan 2009. 15 April.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27"It is always the hardest part to start a journal.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29"Where to begin?
0:02:29 > 0:02:31"Anticipation, excitement, fear,
0:02:31 > 0:02:33"all words which could be used to describe
0:02:33 > 0:02:36"what one should be feeling right now
0:02:36 > 0:02:40"but the only one that I really feel is uncertainty."
0:02:40 > 0:02:43He was in my platoon at Sandhurst.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46He was one of those guys that sort of, everything seemed effortless,
0:02:46 > 0:02:51which is pretty painful, when for you it's a struggle.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55For a lot of us, you want to be a hero,
0:02:55 > 0:02:57and Mark was exactly the same
0:02:57 > 0:02:59he wanted his moment in Afghanistan
0:02:59 > 0:03:03to be a hero, to lead his men well.
0:03:07 > 0:03:08In the weeks running up
0:03:08 > 0:03:12there was lots of black humour being bandied around, as you can imagine.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15I asked him for his motorcycle if anything happened.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19He asked me for my DVD collection. It was that sort of atmosphere.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24A lot of officers try to distance themselves from the men.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27You listen to them because they command,
0:03:27 > 0:03:31but you haven't got that friendship bond.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33But with Mark, you did.
0:03:33 > 0:03:34When we were back in the UK
0:03:34 > 0:03:36he'd go out drinking with you.
0:03:36 > 0:03:37He was just a really nice bloke.
0:03:37 > 0:03:41But at the same time he could turn and be the officer
0:03:41 > 0:03:43and the commander who he really had to be at the time.
0:03:43 > 0:03:48No-one took him for granted just cos he was a nice bloke.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52I though I was fit until I met him.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54Bloody hell! He was a fit guy.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56"007" they called him.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05"I just want to get stuck in and see for myself what it is like.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08"How will I react with my first contact?
0:04:08 > 0:04:13"Will I freeze, or hopefully prove my worth?"
0:04:19 > 0:04:22In the spring of 2009 the Welsh Guards
0:04:22 > 0:04:26took over a string of remote bases in Southern Helmand.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28Mark Evison and his platoon
0:04:28 > 0:04:31were assigned to a fort known as Haji Alem.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Evison was delayed by a brief illness.
0:04:37 > 0:04:42Seven Platoon went on to Haji Alem without him.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45This is Spooner, rooting for a fag!
0:04:45 > 0:04:47Like many British soldiers before them,
0:04:47 > 0:04:50they recorded their war on video.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54Few in Seven Platoon had seen combat.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57Most were barely out of their teens.
0:04:57 > 0:04:58I think I was, like, born to do it.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01I did want to join the Paras,
0:05:01 > 0:05:03first thought, then obviously, being Welsh and that,
0:05:03 > 0:05:05I thought, Welsh Guards.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09The only thing I wanted to do was I wanted to go on patrol
0:05:09 > 0:05:11and carry a weapon.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15You felt powerful. You do feel like you're untouchable.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17I loved that weapon.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20I were really young and my mum asked me,
0:05:20 > 0:05:21"What do you want for Christmas?"
0:05:21 > 0:05:24And I said, "I want a trifle."
0:05:24 > 0:05:26She went, "A trifle?! With cream?"
0:05:26 > 0:05:27I went, "No, with bullets!"
0:05:29 > 0:05:31I joined up, wanted to got to war,
0:05:31 > 0:05:35to have a blast, fire my weapon, and having fun.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41I wanted to be a soldier, bring peace,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44see the world, like.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47When you're a scrapper, you're a scrapper.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51In my eyes the infantry was the one, because they want the scrappers.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55That boy inside me that joined the fight, it must have been because
0:05:55 > 0:05:59I wanted to take men to fight, I wanted to lead them to fight.
0:06:01 > 0:06:06Haji Alem was 4km from the main Forward Operating Base in the area.
0:06:06 > 0:06:12Haji Alem was like an island in a sea of fucking Afghans.
0:06:14 > 0:06:15In the middle of nowhere basically.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21It looked like, you know one of those Western forts you see?
0:06:21 > 0:06:23Back in the Cowboys and Indians days?
0:06:23 > 0:06:25It looked exactly like that.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29Just a keep with a metal shitty door at the front.
0:06:29 > 0:06:31It must have been about 50 by 60 metres.
0:06:31 > 0:06:36Like a football pitch basically. It's got massive sangars in it.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38Owned by some drug lord.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Used to have his family and his own little army in there.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44So it had four big towers which stood four, five metres tall.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47DISTANT GUNFIRE
0:06:49 > 0:06:53It was dead quiet until you heard the odd gunfire from somewhere else,
0:06:53 > 0:06:58either a FOB or a PB, 10k away.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01The crack, "Tshuu!" Cos it was obviously that quiet at night.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04You know, just, "Papapapapa! Papapapapa!"
0:07:05 > 0:07:10The sky just feels so empty really, I know there's stars there,
0:07:10 > 0:07:12but you just think to yourself,
0:07:12 > 0:07:16I'm here, and I was in Rhyl not so long ago.
0:07:21 > 0:07:26Where we was, was a very, very dodgy place
0:07:33 > 0:07:36The first road, basically, is the enemy FLET.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41The forward line, basically, where they can shoot at you.
0:07:41 > 0:07:42A few kilometres down the road
0:07:42 > 0:07:45was the biggest Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48The Taliban had, like, a massive training base
0:07:48 > 0:07:50in Southern Helmand, called Marjah.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52We were basically there as the buffer to stop them
0:07:52 > 0:07:55infiltrating into the rest of Afghanistan.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57That would be the first contact
0:07:57 > 0:08:00a lot of the young Taliban coming through would have,
0:08:00 > 0:08:01would be fighting us.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04Just use us as target practice for their blokes.
0:08:08 > 0:08:10One of the lads used to nickname the Taliban
0:08:10 > 0:08:13the hide and seek champions of the world, cos you'd never see 'em.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19I've seen about two. They just literally vanish.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22You don't even know where they go.
0:08:23 > 0:08:27We were all, "Yeah, I want to go to Afghan, I want to kill people
0:08:27 > 0:08:29"I want to get the first confirmed kill
0:08:29 > 0:08:31"in, like, fucking North Wales or wherever."
0:08:31 > 0:08:33But when it first started to happen
0:08:33 > 0:08:35and people are actually in contact
0:08:35 > 0:08:39I think they started to realise what they were actually fucking in for.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44On Seven Platoon's first day at Haji Alem,
0:08:44 > 0:08:46shots were fired from across the canal.
0:08:49 > 0:08:54Within five minutes I just seen a village elder come round the corner
0:08:54 > 0:08:57with about four people, carrying, like, a fucking stretcher.
0:08:57 > 0:09:03In the crossfire, the son of a village elder had been hit.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06We done our best, we treated him as if he was one of our own.
0:09:12 > 0:09:15The American Black Hawk come in.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17When it lands it's like the scene out of The Mummy
0:09:17 > 0:09:20where the sandstorm comes in, it just goes, "Wwccchhht!"
0:09:20 > 0:09:21Sweeps through fucking everything.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29It was a 15-minute flight from Haji Alem
0:09:29 > 0:09:32to the operating theatre at Camp Bastion, 30k away.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37But then we heard three hours later that he died.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40So that was a bit of a fucking wake-up call.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42I were thinking, "Fucking hell, it IS real."
0:09:44 > 0:09:48The next day, Mark Evison arrived at Haji Alem
0:09:48 > 0:09:50to take command of his platoon.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54"It is good being back.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56"The Platoon cheered me when I turned up
0:09:56 > 0:10:01"and so for some strange reason I think they must have missed me."
0:10:01 > 0:10:03This was a man that wanted to take the fight to the Taliban
0:10:03 > 0:10:05and knew what he was on about.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09The first thing he wanted to do was go and just study all the ground,
0:10:09 > 0:10:11what routes the Taliban would be using,
0:10:11 > 0:10:14and their possible firing points.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18Seven Platoon had been at Haji Alem a week
0:10:18 > 0:10:21when Evison took them out on their first major patrol.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25"Around the fort, it is hard patrolling country.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30"There is not much cover and therefore movement is restricted.
0:10:30 > 0:10:32"Extraction back is difficult."
0:10:32 > 0:10:37Their route would take them just a few hundred metres from the fort.
0:10:42 > 0:10:47The patrol moved down irrigation ditches
0:10:47 > 0:10:51which carried water to the opium fields.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54It's like the most horrible, stinkiest pool
0:10:54 > 0:10:57you can ever imagine in all your life.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01Full of shit. Absolutely fucking stunk.
0:11:01 > 0:11:06But that's what we mainly used to walk to compounds and that,
0:11:06 > 0:11:08and obviously to keep us safe.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21GUNFIRE
0:11:28 > 0:11:31You think to yourself, "Fuck me! This is really happening.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34"I'm here, I'm getting fucking shot at here. For fuck's sake!
0:11:34 > 0:11:36"What's going on?"
0:11:38 > 0:11:41Just turned 20 about two weeks ago, there I was.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47The first time you get shot at, you hear it,
0:11:47 > 0:11:49and you see, like, dust kicking up,
0:11:49 > 0:11:52and you just stand there like a deer caught in the headlights.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54"I'm actually getting shot at! I can't be getting shot at!"
0:12:02 > 0:12:05It would take just minutes
0:12:05 > 0:12:07for the platoon's two-man fire-support team
0:12:07 > 0:12:10to bring massive firepower down on the Taliban.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14Andrew Spooner was in charge of fire-support.
0:12:14 > 0:12:21His number two Steven Gadsby was wearing the video camera.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27Clever lad. He has like a degree so he's a lot more intelligent than me.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29I knew if something happened to me
0:12:29 > 0:12:32Gadsby would be right there next to me like he was all the way through.
0:12:32 > 0:12:37Once a patrol called for support, an Apache attack helicopter
0:12:37 > 0:12:41- or AH - could be launched from Bastion within minutes.
0:12:41 > 0:12:45The fire-support team could also call in long-range artillery
0:12:45 > 0:12:49from Forward Operating Base Silab, 4km away.
0:12:49 > 0:12:51You all right, there, mate?
0:12:55 > 0:13:00On this occasion, an Apache attack helicopter was already close by.
0:13:05 > 0:13:08The fire control radio gave Gadsby and Spooner
0:13:08 > 0:13:12instant communications with British bases
0:13:12 > 0:13:15and with the Apache pilot hovering nearby.
0:13:17 > 0:13:18# Let's get it on! #
0:13:23 > 0:13:26With an attack helicopter overhead, the Taliban quickly melted away.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37As Evison's platoon patrolled back to the fort,
0:13:37 > 0:13:39the Taliban struck again.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46Spooner radioed Camp Bastion
0:13:46 > 0:13:49to get the Apache helicopter back overhead.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59There was no reply. The fire control radio had gone dead.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03Hello, Witchcraft 42, Witchcraft 42, this is Witchcraft!
0:14:11 > 0:14:15Hello, Witchcraft 42, Witchcraft 42, this is Witchcraft 44 Bravo!
0:14:15 > 0:14:18Radio check. Over.
0:14:27 > 0:14:28The patrol had lost a vital link
0:14:28 > 0:14:32to the long-range firepower which was available to back them up.
0:14:32 > 0:14:34And the Taliban were closing in.
0:14:34 > 0:14:39The fort - and safety - lay across the canal.
0:14:39 > 0:14:40But Evison and his men
0:14:40 > 0:14:44would have to get back without any outside help.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53Evison launched a handheld missile
0:14:53 > 0:14:55to give the platoon some cover as they crossed the canal.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01Go on son! Fuck off!
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Wahey!
0:15:04 > 0:15:06Go on!
0:15:06 > 0:15:08Go on, boys.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11As they prepared to run across to the fort,
0:15:11 > 0:15:14Evison's interpreter noticed bullets coming from behind them.
0:15:28 > 0:15:30While Evison regrouped the platoon,
0:15:30 > 0:15:35Spooner was able to inspect his fire-control radio.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45The fire-control radio was a satellite radio,
0:15:45 > 0:15:48far more capable than the standard army radio.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59The cable from the antenna to the radio were broken, we snapped it.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02So that radio were useless.
0:16:06 > 0:16:09What had started as a routine patrol
0:16:09 > 0:16:14had turned into a dash for home under enemy fire.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21GUNFIRE
0:16:31 > 0:16:35It had been Mark Evison's first experience of combat.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38"More luck than anything else
0:16:38 > 0:16:40"saw the platoon back behind sturdy walls
0:16:40 > 0:16:44"and laughing at the contact we'd just been in."
0:16:44 > 0:16:46It's a fucking cracking buzz, like,
0:16:46 > 0:16:48everyone going, "Whooar!", like that, fucking loving it.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55I loved the fucking feeling, I did, I just loved getting shot at.
0:16:55 > 0:16:59Obviously not in that way, but the feeling, the adrenaline rush.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02The combat high you feel is amazing but at the same time
0:17:02 > 0:17:06you don't realise that it's probably fragging with your head in a big way.
0:17:06 > 0:17:12Your body shakes, your stomach turns, everything slows down.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19You don't want more, but you want more at the same time.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22"Come on, let's fucking go out for one more! Let's go and smash 'em!"
0:17:22 > 0:17:25Then you realise, then fucking you calm down a bit,
0:17:25 > 0:17:27and you've got to go again tomorrow.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32"For me it is still the fear of making a wrong decision
0:17:32 > 0:17:34"which sits heavily on my mind.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38"I am responsible for every person within this Patrol Base
0:17:38 > 0:17:41"and I fear we will not always be as lucky as we were today.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45"At least today I proved to myself
0:17:45 > 0:17:48"that I will not freeze the next time I get shot at.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52"I do not expect this to be in the distant future."
0:17:55 > 0:17:58The two dozen men of Seven Platoon in their mud fort
0:17:58 > 0:18:01tried to make the best of life under siege.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06"The fort is now fairly sorted.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09"There are showers, one a week,
0:18:09 > 0:18:13"a chill out area with BBQ - nothing yet to cook - and a gym.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16"The loos are fairly basic with just a hole in the ground for pissing
0:18:16 > 0:18:18"and an ammo tin for turds,
0:18:18 > 0:18:21"which must be burnt by the unfortunate individual
0:18:21 > 0:18:22"who fills it up.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24"We could be here for six months
0:18:24 > 0:18:27"and so it is good to get it up and running to a good standard
0:18:27 > 0:18:29"so the boys can relax."
0:18:29 > 0:18:31You know when life is bad
0:18:31 > 0:18:34when all you look forward to is a contact to keep you busy.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37I remember sitting around, thinking Afghan
0:18:37 > 0:18:39wasn't what people made it out to be, like, it wasn't war.
0:18:39 > 0:18:44Apart from one or two shoot-outs nothing had really happened.
0:18:44 > 0:18:47"The biggest fear I have is keeping the morale up of the men.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50"Life is hard in these forward patrol bases
0:18:50 > 0:18:52"and we need all the morale we can get."
0:18:55 > 0:18:58If you weren't on patrol life were very dull.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00So we made our own sources of entertainment.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02And it got disgusting.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10Deal or no Deal with ration boxes.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12Squaddies Got Talent.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17Me, Barclay and Mr Evison was the judges.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20In the final we popped a smoke grenade
0:19:20 > 0:19:22as if walking on to a stage, and things like that.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28Everyone had to come up and do a thing.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30Me and Hobbs couldn't think of one
0:19:30 > 0:19:32so me and Hobbs just did the disappearing act.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35We got on there and then went, and they were there for 20 minutes,
0:19:35 > 0:19:37"Where have them two cunts gone?!"
0:19:40 > 0:19:42I had a pack of cards and I walked over
0:19:42 > 0:19:45and said, "Right we're going to play a game of Cowboys and Indians.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48"I'm going to be an Indian and I want the judges to be the cowboys."
0:19:48 > 0:19:51Squirted a pack of cards and said, "Round them up, cowboys."
0:19:51 > 0:19:53They just turned round to me and said
0:19:53 > 0:19:58"The funniest part of that is going to be watching you pick them up."
0:19:58 > 0:20:03Lucas ate a raw onion then downed a bottle of water and started spewing.
0:20:03 > 0:20:08He was sick into a cup, and then he would drink his cup full of sick.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14Because you're in such an extreme place
0:20:14 > 0:20:17normal things and jokes don't seem as funny
0:20:17 > 0:20:18cos everything else is so extreme,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21so I think your sense of humour matches it.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24I tried doing a magic trick, and that were shit, I got booed off.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26There was loads of horrible things,
0:20:26 > 0:20:28my mind's tried to block out half of them!
0:20:28 > 0:20:31Good memories, they are.
0:20:34 > 0:20:38A kilometre away from the fort was a key road junction
0:20:38 > 0:20:42known as Green 5.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45But the fort didn't have a clear line of sight to Green 5,
0:20:45 > 0:20:49and the Taliban were able to plant bombs there unhindered.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52We had no eyes on Green 5 hence why we got cut off
0:20:52 > 0:20:54because Green 5 was our main supply route
0:20:54 > 0:20:56and they used to IED it to the max.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58It became eventually a huge operation just to get to us,
0:20:58 > 0:21:00which took a couple of days.
0:21:00 > 0:21:02It was a logistical nightmare.
0:21:03 > 0:21:08The spare parts Spooner needed for his fire-control radio
0:21:08 > 0:21:12had to come by road via Green 5.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15I didn't have a spare antenna for this, not the same cross-wing one.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18They were like rocking-horse shit, they were in rare supply.
0:21:18 > 0:21:21It would take another two weeks for the replacement antenna
0:21:21 > 0:21:23to reach Haji Alem.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29"7th May. Our first base attack last night."
0:21:29 > 0:21:31GUNFIRE
0:21:31 > 0:21:34In his diary, Evison noted the name of his opposite number,
0:21:34 > 0:21:38the Taliban commander whose men were closing in on the fort.
0:21:38 > 0:21:43"Ferooz was again mentioned on the ICOM
0:21:43 > 0:21:45"as the main player instigating the attack.
0:21:45 > 0:21:50"The signal strength was high, showing his proximity to the fort.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53"The most frustrating thing is that they take us on, on their terms.
0:21:53 > 0:21:58"It is almost impossible to identify the firing points.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03"Without that knowledge I cannot make decisions and I'm fairly useless.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06"There is a definite lack of steer from above
0:22:06 > 0:22:08"as to how to play this one.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11"I am yet to be given a definite mission
0:22:11 > 0:22:13"and clarity as to my role out here."
0:22:15 > 0:22:19On the 9th of May, two weeks after arriving at the fort,
0:22:19 > 0:22:22Evison set out on his second major patrol,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25towards a group of compounds across the canal.
0:22:25 > 0:22:28They were known Taliban firing points
0:22:28 > 0:22:31so Mr Evison wanted to see what the fuck they were doing basically,
0:22:31 > 0:22:33he wanted to have a look.
0:22:33 > 0:22:34The compounds were a stone's throw
0:22:34 > 0:22:37from where Evison's men had been ambushed a week ago.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40I said to the boss, I said,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43"Sir, if we go up there we're going to get smashed"
0:22:45 > 0:22:48Spooner's fire control radio was still out of action.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52So we had to revert back to the old sort of radio,
0:22:52 > 0:22:55the Bowman radio, which the range and chance of getting
0:22:55 > 0:22:58a signal on that is quite... it's not as easy.
0:23:00 > 0:23:03The army's standard Bowman radio used a waveband
0:23:03 > 0:23:07that was prone to atmospheric disruption.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10I can remember getting across the bridge across the canal,
0:23:10 > 0:23:13went to send a radio check, wasn't working, couldn't get through,
0:23:13 > 0:23:16and I just thought we were in a blackspot for some reason.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18I remember a couple of the lads
0:23:18 > 0:23:20saying they were having difficulty on their radios.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23The most important thing in battle is comms.
0:23:23 > 0:23:28And if we didn't have comms back to 2 Company HQ,
0:23:28 > 0:23:30i.e. zero, we were dead.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33As soon as I lost radio communications out of Haji Alem,
0:23:33 > 0:23:39I wish I'd turned round and said to Lt Evison "We should go back."
0:23:39 > 0:23:41I thought I could have got it further down the road.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43There was no reason for me to think otherwise.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45I thought I was just in a black spot.
0:23:45 > 0:23:49Carry on, we'll pick them up, it happens all the time with radios.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52The civvies were just dropping their tools and running away.
0:23:52 > 0:23:53No one was there to be seen
0:23:53 > 0:23:55so we knew something was obviously happening.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59As Evison's patrol approached the crossroads
0:23:59 > 0:24:02his interpreter was listening in on the Taliban.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06300 metres into the patrol the chatter picked up saying,
0:24:06 > 0:24:07"Yeah, they've got eyes on us."
0:24:07 > 0:24:10I can remember Mr Evison passing it down,
0:24:10 > 0:24:14"Tell 'em they're getting ready, they're going to be opening fire"
0:24:14 > 0:24:18We heard a scream come down the ICOM radio pretty much saying, "Fire!"
0:24:18 > 0:24:20GUNFIRE
0:24:20 > 0:24:24- Fucking get out. They're coming. Is that recording?- Yeah.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26GUNFIRE
0:24:26 > 0:24:31Spooner, wearing the camera, took cover next to Langley.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34It was just a shit-storm.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37No crack and thump, it was just, "Doof-doof! Doof-doof! Doof-doof!"
0:24:37 > 0:24:39As if it was our own blokes firing.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41Cos they must have been about 40, 50 metres away.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44From that we got hit by, I think it was two or three firing points.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48I remember seeing an RPG coming,
0:24:48 > 0:24:50just come over the fucking top of us.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52And then they contacted us from the right,
0:24:52 > 0:24:54from about four, five firing points.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56Contact right!
0:24:56 > 0:25:00That's where I basically just grabbed my LMG
0:25:00 > 0:25:04and just swung it round, and let off, like, a burst of 20 rounds.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06So now we're in a fire-fight.
0:25:06 > 0:25:07GUNFIRE
0:25:07 > 0:25:10At that point we'd lost all comms pretty much.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13You have dead spots, basically, like mobile phones.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15Me and Spooner just had to revert
0:25:15 > 0:25:17to being an infantry soldiers that day
0:25:17 > 0:25:18and just join in with the sections.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23By this point, if Spooner's radio been working,
0:25:23 > 0:25:27he would have called in artillery fire
0:25:27 > 0:25:30from the forward operating base 4k away.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33If we'd had a replacement for that little cable
0:25:33 > 0:25:35I'd maybe have got guns, mortars,
0:25:35 > 0:25:37I would have got some sort of aircraft.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40I would have jumped at the opportunity to call an Apache.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43Me and Gadsby would have been doing our usual thing of giggling
0:25:43 > 0:25:45while we blow up the Taliban.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47But we didn't and Mark got hurt.
0:25:49 > 0:25:54The 20-man patrol was divided into two sections.
0:25:54 > 0:25:59One led by Mark Evison, the other by Lance Sergeant Peek.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06Mark Evison is in clean view of one of the compounds
0:26:06 > 0:26:08we was getting fired at.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12Peek shouted across to Mr Evison, "Get in the compound!"
0:26:12 > 0:26:16And he pushed into Compound 1.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19Evison's section was now inside Compound 1.
0:26:19 > 0:26:24Langley and Spooner were with Lance Sergeant Peek
0:26:24 > 0:26:27in the irrigation ditch across the road.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36And something whizzed past me and Langley.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39Fuck!
0:26:39 > 0:26:42"Did that hit the fucking wall? We're getting contacted from behind now!"
0:26:42 > 0:26:44Fuck! They're firing straight down the road,
0:26:44 > 0:26:46it just hit the fucking wall!
0:26:46 > 0:26:48That fucking wall!
0:26:48 > 0:26:51So at this point now, we're in the middle
0:26:51 > 0:26:54and they were just shooting at us.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57I think it was something like 15 firing points.
0:26:57 > 0:26:58The Taliban were smart,
0:26:58 > 0:27:00we were fucked from the very beginning of that patrol.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Cut down there again?
0:27:02 > 0:27:04GUNFIRE
0:27:04 > 0:27:06Where did that come from?!
0:27:06 > 0:27:09If I were them, I'd have been pissing my pants laughing.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12"Look at these idiots, we're going to shoot them,
0:27:12 > 0:27:14"they're getting brassed up."
0:27:14 > 0:27:18You could tell we were outnumbered, we were basically just surrounded,
0:27:18 > 0:27:20getting shot at like fish in a barrel.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24What? That's coming from behind us, dude!
0:27:24 > 0:27:27They had trapped us in a 360 ambush.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30They'd started firing in on automatic fire
0:27:30 > 0:27:34into Compound 1, where Mark Evison was.
0:27:34 > 0:27:36Within the walls of Compound 1
0:27:36 > 0:27:39Mark Evison couldn't see what was happening outside.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41And he couldn't get a radio signal.
0:27:42 > 0:27:46We couldn't get comms. So everything's word of mouth then.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48So, old school. So everybody's screaming.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50To get a radio signal,
0:27:50 > 0:27:53Evison stepped into the doorway of Compound 1.
0:27:53 > 0:27:57I told him to get the fuck back in there, like,
0:27:57 > 0:27:58they're coming from everywhere.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00And that's when the burst
0:28:00 > 0:28:03of three to five rounds come through that doorway.
0:28:06 > 0:28:10He actually just stood, took it as if he was fine,
0:28:10 > 0:28:13speaking on the radio until he seen a bit of blood on his hand,
0:28:13 > 0:28:16he actually realised that he'd been shot.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18His face just went pale.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23I heard Lance Corporal Evans screaming, "Man down!
0:28:23 > 0:28:26"The boss is down! The boss is down!"
0:28:26 > 0:28:28In the ditch, a stone's throw from Compound 1,
0:28:28 > 0:28:32Langley and Spooner didn't know their commander had been hit.
0:28:39 > 0:28:41I heard somebody scream.
0:28:41 > 0:28:43I was like, "No, it's probably somebody just shitting themselves
0:28:43 > 0:28:46"or something like that."
0:28:46 > 0:28:48And this bright red ginger head poked up over the wall
0:28:48 > 0:28:51which was Evans 74.
0:28:51 > 0:28:53I got on a haystack myself and shouted over to them.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03"Man down." That's when it's time for you to man up.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09Which is what you'd expect of your mate if it was you.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13"Oh, fuck. Fucking hell, who is this now?!"
0:29:13 > 0:29:15Then I thought, "Here we fucking go."
0:29:16 > 0:29:21Everyone expects it eventually, it's just a matter of time.
0:29:21 > 0:29:23Medic, we've got a man down!
0:29:23 > 0:29:25He'll have that fucker.
0:29:25 > 0:29:30Inside Compound 1, Guardsman James, who'd had first aid training,
0:29:30 > 0:29:32attended to Evison.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34I took his body armour off.
0:29:34 > 0:29:38And...it was just blood everywhere.
0:29:38 > 0:29:44He had a gunshot wound to his shoulder.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49I was an emotional wreck.
0:29:49 > 0:29:51I was crying, you know, and...
0:29:53 > 0:29:55He lost consciousness on me.
0:29:55 > 0:29:57I punched him into the chest.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00I managed to get him back round.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04In the ditch, Langley and Spooner
0:30:04 > 0:30:06heard another shout from Compound 1.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18Langley wanted to put up a smoke screen
0:30:18 > 0:30:22so the medic could run across the road to Compound 1.
0:30:22 > 0:30:26There was a bit of a fucking fuck-about with the smoke grenade
0:30:29 > 0:30:30He made a right meal of it.
0:30:32 > 0:30:35"You skinny little rat, you can't even pull the pin out of a grenade!"
0:30:38 > 0:30:40Twisting it and pulling it, and he chucks it...
0:30:43 > 0:30:44..and nothing happens.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47I turned round to Lacy and was about to say, "Are you going anyway?"
0:30:47 > 0:30:49And he just went, "Get me the fuck over there."
0:30:49 > 0:30:53The guys pointed me to the compound the door I needed to go through.
0:30:53 > 0:30:54I was like, "Right, rapid fire!"
0:30:57 > 0:31:00We just unleashed hell on the fucking Taliban.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04HEAVY GUNFIRE
0:31:04 > 0:31:07We sent a wall of lead flying at them.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10If I was at the other end of that I wouldn't want to hang around.
0:31:10 > 0:31:12Lacy got about half way across.
0:31:12 > 0:31:14The guns jammed. There was no fire.
0:31:16 > 0:31:17Spooner had to change a mag.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22I had a stoppage and then Gadsby had a stoppage on his LMG.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24- Aaargh!- You all right?
0:31:24 > 0:31:25Running for my life basically.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28I managed to run past the door, couple of metres past the door,
0:31:28 > 0:31:30saw it in the corner of my eye, ran back.
0:31:30 > 0:31:33There was fucking rounds pinging off the wall behind him
0:31:33 > 0:31:35like there was in a film trick, like, chasing him,
0:31:35 > 0:31:38and fuck knows how he got in the compound alive.
0:31:39 > 0:31:44As the medic examined Evison, a guardsman in Compound 1
0:31:44 > 0:31:46got through to Lance Sergeant Peek on the radio.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49All I could hear was, "It's the boss."
0:31:49 > 0:31:51Old muggins got to step up,
0:31:51 > 0:31:53and I got to become the platoon commander.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24Peek now had to relay this information back to Two Zero,
0:32:24 > 0:32:27the forward operating base 4k away.
0:32:38 > 0:32:40It was four minutes since Evison had been shot.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48A 9-liner is a standard casualty report.
0:32:48 > 0:32:52At first I got told that he got shot in the hand.
0:32:52 > 0:32:57So I sent up my 9-liner as a walking casualty.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04"Walking wounded" meant that Evison would be listed
0:33:04 > 0:33:06as a low-priority casualty.
0:33:06 > 0:33:10In the chaos, Peek hadn't yet realised that Evison couldn't walk.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19At this point then I got a platoon of fucking boys,
0:33:19 > 0:33:22I'm in a 360 ambush, I got a casualty,
0:33:22 > 0:33:24I didn't go into the careers office thinking
0:33:24 > 0:33:27I was going to be doing that, let's just put it that way.
0:33:35 > 0:33:39Spooner warned Peek to request a Black Hawk helicopter,
0:33:39 > 0:33:43call sign, "Shocker", and not a large twin-engined Chinook.
0:33:43 > 0:33:45We had nowhere to land a Chinook.
0:33:45 > 0:33:47We couldn't secure an area big enough
0:33:47 > 0:33:51so if they send a Chinook we're fucked, how can we deal with that?
0:33:51 > 0:33:53So he needed to get that message across.
0:34:03 > 0:34:07Because my radio wasn't working that day, I achieved nothing.
0:34:07 > 0:34:11I achieved nothing. My purpose there... I didn't have one.
0:34:11 > 0:34:15I asked for mortars, I asked for Apache,
0:34:15 > 0:34:19I asked for anything and everything.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32Two Zero needed to know which compounds
0:34:32 > 0:34:34the Taliban were firing from.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37But Peek's radio kept breaking up.
0:34:37 > 0:34:40I was trying to explain where I'm getting fired upon.
0:34:40 > 0:34:42So I'm telling them where I was,
0:34:42 > 0:34:46but it kept going "uh-uh-uh", like, sort of blanking out.
0:34:46 > 0:34:50So I'm telling them which compound I'm getting fired upon,
0:34:50 > 0:34:52however, they couldn't work out where I was.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02I looked at Langley, I said, "We're on our own, bud.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05"We haven't got the fire support."
0:35:05 > 0:35:10He just looked at me as if, "What the fuck are we going to do?"
0:35:10 > 0:35:13I was in the ditch, and I thought, "I'm going to die here."
0:35:13 > 0:35:17It was the most scared I've ever been in all my life.
0:35:17 > 0:35:22We're on the ground and there's no help, basically.
0:35:22 > 0:35:25You can't stop and think, or really be scared,
0:35:25 > 0:35:28you can't let your emotions take over you,
0:35:28 > 0:35:30you've got to be like a machine
0:35:30 > 0:35:33and just fight through it, and just keep on going.
0:35:33 > 0:35:38The whole platoon becomes... It's a strong bond.
0:35:41 > 0:35:43You love each other, basically.
0:36:10 > 0:36:12A quarter of an hour after being hit,
0:36:12 > 0:36:15Evison was stretchered out of Compound 1
0:36:15 > 0:36:17and over to the irrigation ditch.
0:36:18 > 0:36:22They'd had Taliban in the poppy field, plus the road was heightened.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30So the plan was take him on the stretcher down the irrigation ditch.
0:36:30 > 0:36:35The way back to Haji Alem was down two narrow ditches
0:36:35 > 0:36:37which ran side by side.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40Cos I were giving covering fire I had to take the front ditch.
0:36:45 > 0:36:49An Apache attack helicopter had been sent from Camp Bastion
0:36:49 > 0:36:51to assist the patrol.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55It was heavily armed and looking for targets.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58Spooner told Gadsby to make contact.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08Before Gadsby could react, an order came from Lance Sergeant Peek.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18Gadsby crossed over into the back ditch to help carry Mark Evison.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21I can remember saying, having a laugh with him,
0:37:21 > 0:37:24"You weren't expected that in the morning at breakfast!"
0:37:24 > 0:37:26All that sort of stuff, just to keep him talking.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28If he's talking he's conscious, isn't he?
0:37:28 > 0:37:31He was all right, chilled out, relaxed,
0:37:31 > 0:37:34he had morphine, couldn't feel the pain
0:37:34 > 0:37:38The bullet had sliced through an artery in Mark Evison's shoulder.
0:37:38 > 0:37:42He'd been bleeding heavily now for nearly 20 minutes.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45It was a slow move, the irrigation ditch was probably two-foot wide.
0:37:45 > 0:37:50There was mud everywhere, like, up to your knees.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55It's not a stable stretcher.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58It's a sheet, pretty much, and that was filling up with water,
0:37:58 > 0:38:01and it kept getting heavier and heavier.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04It just seemed to be like a dead weight laid inside a bag.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06So you're all bumping into each other
0:38:06 > 0:38:11and because it was awkward, the boss, I think he slipped off once or twice.
0:38:11 > 0:38:14The stretcher party still had 200 metres to go.
0:38:14 > 0:38:15But they were barely moving.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21Cometh the man, cometh the hour. Joe Korosaya stepped in.
0:38:21 > 0:38:26I asked the medic if I can...
0:38:26 > 0:38:31Is it possible for him to be put on my back?
0:38:34 > 0:38:38I was counting the steps, and there was blood dripping out of him.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41So he told me he was...
0:38:41 > 0:38:45He could feel blood dripping out of his chest.
0:38:45 > 0:38:47It didn't look like him.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50It just looked like a rag doll just covered in blood.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56He took off and I thought, "Look at him go, he's blasting down there."
0:38:56 > 0:38:58Getting shot at, no regard for his own safety,
0:38:58 > 0:39:00just wanted to get his mate out of there.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03"Sir we're going to the PB now.
0:39:03 > 0:39:07"You'll be safe, don't worry."
0:39:07 > 0:39:08Spooner gave covering fire
0:39:08 > 0:39:11as Korosaya powered down the parallel ditch
0:39:11 > 0:39:14carrying Evison on his back.
0:39:22 > 0:39:24We were in contact the entire the way down.
0:39:31 > 0:39:35The Apache attack helicopter had been hovering for ten minutes.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38The pilot couldn't see any Taliban from the air.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41And because the patrol couldn't communicate with Two Zero
0:39:41 > 0:39:43to tell them exactly where the Taliban were,
0:39:43 > 0:39:46the Apache was powerless to help.
0:39:48 > 0:39:50I'm thinking, "This is shit, Andrew.
0:39:50 > 0:39:52"This is shit, this is shit, this is shit."
0:39:58 > 0:40:02I'd never felt as lonely as I did in that ditch.
0:40:05 > 0:40:10Guardsman Korosaya had carried his commander 200 metres
0:40:10 > 0:40:15through the irrigation ditch and up to the compound by the canal.
0:40:15 > 0:40:17He was exhausted.
0:40:19 > 0:40:23Gadsby picked Evison up, and headed for the bridge.
0:40:23 > 0:40:24Over the bridge
0:40:24 > 0:40:27gave me less cover but was a much faster option.
0:40:31 > 0:40:33I could hear all the enemy fire coming in.
0:40:33 > 0:40:35I could hear it hitting the bridge,
0:40:35 > 0:40:39I could hear it go down the canal and hit the water in the canal.
0:40:39 > 0:40:41I was thinking, "You fucking idiot."
0:40:41 > 0:40:45I remember running across and tucking my arms in to my sides.
0:40:45 > 0:40:49If I'm going to get shot in the side, if I put my arms there
0:40:49 > 0:40:52at least it might hit my arm-bone and ricochet off.
0:40:52 > 0:40:54The only thing on our side was they were shit shots.
0:40:54 > 0:40:56If it was us in that position waiting for them
0:40:56 > 0:41:00there wouldn't have been anybody left standing.
0:41:00 > 0:41:03GUNFIRE
0:41:06 > 0:41:08It had taken Seven Platoon
0:41:08 > 0:41:12less than 35 minutes to get Evison back to the fort.
0:41:14 > 0:41:18Assuming a medevac helicopter would touch down in the next few minutes,
0:41:18 > 0:41:21Spooner went to clear the landing area.
0:41:25 > 0:41:29Then he took off his helmet and went to the radio.
0:41:36 > 0:41:39The camera carried on recording the voices of Mark Evison
0:41:39 > 0:41:41and the men trying to keep him alive.
0:41:43 > 0:41:48On the radio, Spooner asked Forward Operating Base Silab
0:41:48 > 0:41:51when the medevac helicopter was due.
0:41:51 > 0:41:53They know Lt Evison had been shot,
0:41:53 > 0:41:57but I can remember speaking to Captain Lambe at Silab,
0:41:57 > 0:42:00asking me to verify, has he been shot in the hand or in the shoulder?
0:42:00 > 0:42:02What aircraft do you want?
0:42:03 > 0:42:07So they didn't even have a clear picture of what were going on either.
0:42:08 > 0:42:13Amid the chaos, a Chinook helicopter had been sent by mistake.
0:42:13 > 0:42:17It was too big to land inside the fort.
0:42:17 > 0:42:19I asked on the radio, and they said,
0:42:19 > 0:42:21"Oh, they sent a Chinook by accident."
0:42:21 > 0:42:23I sent them a new 9-liner.
0:42:23 > 0:42:28I sent them everything, and I'm getting different excuses why.
0:42:42 > 0:42:45Outside Haji Alem the rest of the platoon
0:42:45 > 0:42:48were still fighting for their lives.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51Joe Korosaya, who'd carried Mark Evison most of the way,
0:42:51 > 0:42:54was at the end of his strength.
0:42:54 > 0:42:57I ran down the canal.
0:42:57 > 0:42:59I went straight down.
0:42:59 > 0:43:06I fell inside the water, just didn't want to move any more.
0:43:07 > 0:43:10I just wanted to stay in that canal,
0:43:10 > 0:43:14I think I would fall asleep in that canal.
0:43:14 > 0:43:17It's quite hard to keep the boys going,
0:43:17 > 0:43:20and sometimes you just want to stop.
0:43:20 > 0:43:25"Fucking hell, can't be arsed now, enough's enough."
0:43:25 > 0:43:28I froze, pretty much nearly, at one point.
0:43:28 > 0:43:30I was so...
0:43:33 > 0:43:37..traumatised, and so upset by it all.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40Peek hit him on the head, "Get a fucking grip!"
0:43:40 > 0:43:43Yeah. A bit of encouragement!
0:43:43 > 0:43:47It gave me the motivation to get over that ditch
0:43:47 > 0:43:49and up the other side.
0:43:49 > 0:43:50If you took them in there,
0:43:50 > 0:43:53you've got to be able to get them out of there as well.
0:43:53 > 0:43:56Under heavy fire, Gizzie clambered out of the canal.
0:43:56 > 0:43:58I was just about to get my head over.
0:43:58 > 0:44:00And then...boof! Just got fucking shot then.
0:44:00 > 0:44:04I shouted, "Man down! Man down!" as I was in the water
0:44:04 > 0:44:06and it all got echoed.
0:44:06 > 0:44:08The pain was just too much.
0:44:08 > 0:44:11I never had pain like that before in my life.
0:44:11 > 0:44:15I thought, "That's it. I'm fucking gone, I'm dead."
0:44:15 > 0:44:1921 years of age, fucking dying.
0:44:19 > 0:44:22Then I seen Langley's head coming over the fucking canal.
0:44:22 > 0:44:25I thought, "Here we go!"
0:44:25 > 0:44:28"Hey, Giz, who's been fucking hit?" And he went, "Me!"
0:44:28 > 0:44:30"What the fuck d'you mean, you?"
0:44:30 > 0:44:33He goes, "I've been shot in the foot, I'll be all right.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36"Just crack on, leave me." I'm like, "Shut up, you stupid cunt."
0:44:36 > 0:44:39"I owe you 50, I'm not leaving you here!
0:44:39 > 0:44:42"Come on, a real man always pays his debts."
0:44:42 > 0:44:47And as we got into the straight 50, 60 metres that runs into Haji Alem
0:44:47 > 0:44:52he just screamed as hard as he could, "You fucking Taliban cunts!"
0:45:07 > 0:45:11People was on the radio all the time saying, "Where's the helicopter?!
0:45:11 > 0:45:13And then, "Yeah, it's en route. Oh, no, it's not en route."
0:45:13 > 0:45:16I felt like the entire platoon were asking where was it
0:45:16 > 0:45:18and why haven't I sorted it out yet?
0:45:18 > 0:45:21And they're still asking me, "Spoons, where's the MERT?"
0:45:21 > 0:45:24Like somehow I can make it physically get here quicker.
0:45:29 > 0:45:34There was still no sign of the MERT - the medical helicopter.
0:45:34 > 0:45:37The flight time from Camp Bastion was around 15 minutes.
0:45:37 > 0:45:41It had been nearly an hour since Evison was shot.
0:45:47 > 0:45:51I couldn't understand it, why it wasn't there.
0:45:51 > 0:45:54There was a lot of anger inside the checkpoint
0:45:54 > 0:45:56because the helicopter took so long.
0:45:56 > 0:45:57I just felt like shit,
0:45:57 > 0:46:00so I'm asking again, "What's happening?!"
0:46:17 > 0:46:20Gadsby picked up his camera and switched it off.
0:46:20 > 0:46:24It would be another nine minutes before the helicopter arrived.
0:46:26 > 0:46:28From that point on he just got worse and worse and worse.
0:46:28 > 0:46:32To where they had to give him mouth to mouth and stuff
0:46:32 > 0:46:34to keep him alive.
0:46:34 > 0:46:35We'd slap him across the face,
0:46:35 > 0:46:40"Wake up, stop being daft, stop being a fanny", basically.
0:46:40 > 0:46:43We lost him twice in the PB, I think.
0:46:43 > 0:46:47That's when you know it's pretty bad,
0:46:47 > 0:46:50and the chance of making it...
0:46:50 > 0:46:53through that is obviously going to be quite tricky.
0:46:55 > 0:46:57As the helicopter arrived
0:46:57 > 0:47:00Mark Evison lost consciousness for the last time.
0:47:01 > 0:47:04I put Gizzie on, fucking Gizzie give me the old thumbs-up,
0:47:04 > 0:47:06and I just looked left,
0:47:06 > 0:47:09and I could just see Mark Evison's hand hanging off the stretcher
0:47:09 > 0:47:13and just blood dripping from it as they put him on.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19"Life is fragile
0:47:19 > 0:47:22"and out here it feels like it can be removed in an instant.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25"It almost makes life even more valuable
0:47:25 > 0:47:27"and shows the fragility that many in the West
0:47:27 > 0:47:31"I believe do not understand."
0:47:31 > 0:47:35At that time no soldier flown back to the UK had ever died.
0:47:35 > 0:47:39So we were like, "He's fucking safe, we've done a good job.
0:47:39 > 0:47:43"We done exactly what we had to fucking do. Happy fucking days."
0:47:51 > 0:47:52We were all fucking head-shocked.
0:47:52 > 0:47:55We were all fucking sat round thinking, "How the fuck am I alive?
0:47:55 > 0:47:58"How the fuck am I alive?"
0:47:59 > 0:48:01We fucking worked for each other,
0:48:01 > 0:48:05every man carried on with the battle and kept on fighting until the end
0:48:05 > 0:48:07which is what it fucking means to be a soldier.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13By the time Mark Evison got to surgery at Camp Bastion
0:48:13 > 0:48:15there was no more blood left in his heart.
0:48:17 > 0:48:19The surgeon would later testify
0:48:19 > 0:48:22that Mark's injury had not been survivable.
0:48:22 > 0:48:26He was flown back to England where he would die
0:48:26 > 0:48:29with his family by his side.
0:48:34 > 0:48:37"May 7th. Spoke to Mum this morning.
0:48:37 > 0:48:39"I hope I have not scared her too much.
0:48:39 > 0:48:43"Don't think I should have mentioned the ambush a few days ago."
0:48:47 > 0:48:51Gizzie was treated at the same hospital as Evison.
0:48:51 > 0:48:52He met Mark's mother.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57Hardest thing I've ever done.
0:48:57 > 0:49:00Like, I know her son is...
0:49:00 > 0:49:03You know, obviously he's about to die.
0:49:03 > 0:49:05She was asking, was he OK?
0:49:05 > 0:49:08Stuff like that. "Was he good to youse?"
0:49:08 > 0:49:10He was a brilliant bloke,
0:49:10 > 0:49:13I couldn't praise him no more, cos he actually was.
0:49:13 > 0:49:17I don't know how I didn't cry,
0:49:17 > 0:49:21I just tried to keep myself strong for her.
0:49:23 > 0:49:29Mark Evison died on May 12th 2009, three days after he was wounded.
0:49:29 > 0:49:32"It is hard as the two worlds are so far apart.
0:49:32 > 0:49:36"I hope this journal will help to put things in perspective
0:49:36 > 0:49:40"for those back home who want to read it."
0:49:40 > 0:49:42At Haji Alem, Seven Platoon
0:49:42 > 0:49:45had not been given the news of their commander's death.
0:49:45 > 0:49:49I phoned my missus and she said, "Are you all right?" I said, "Yeah."
0:49:49 > 0:49:52She said, "Oh, it's just come on the news,
0:49:52 > 0:49:56"Mark Evison's dead."
0:49:56 > 0:50:01I had my cry, and then you've just got to dry your tears
0:50:01 > 0:50:06and look at your boys and tell them, like.
0:50:06 > 0:50:09The fucking boys were devastated,
0:50:09 > 0:50:12and in the middle of the night we built a pukka cross.
0:50:12 > 0:50:15And as we were coming to the end of building the cross
0:50:15 > 0:50:18a load of green tracer come up.
0:50:18 > 0:50:19They fucking chose the wrong night
0:50:19 > 0:50:22to fucking come and start shooting at our compound
0:50:22 > 0:50:24with automatic fire.
0:50:26 > 0:50:29You want to kill them. No matter what.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32In some ways you want to blow them up,
0:50:32 > 0:50:36in some ways you want to shoot them and then retrieve the body.
0:50:36 > 0:50:41Just a lot of mixed feelings.
0:50:44 > 0:50:48Woo-hoo! Yeah!
0:50:48 > 0:50:50That night, a lot of ammunition got fired.
0:50:50 > 0:50:55It were brilliant. I needed that.
0:50:57 > 0:50:58"I seem to be the only one here
0:50:58 > 0:51:01"who believes that war might not be the answer
0:51:01 > 0:51:02"to this particular problem.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05"We must work on relationships with the Afghans
0:51:05 > 0:51:07"if we are to build a future for them.
0:51:07 > 0:51:11"Maybe my perspective will change in the next few days and weeks."
0:51:11 > 0:51:14A hard summer's fighting lay ahead for Seven Platoon.
0:51:14 > 0:51:16But some of them would find
0:51:16 > 0:51:19the homecoming which followed harder still.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26I come home, and I'm walking through town
0:51:26 > 0:51:28and it was on a Sunday, and it was fucking dead.
0:51:28 > 0:51:32And I thought, "I can't fucking do this.
0:51:32 > 0:51:36"I want to go fucking back to Afghan. I can't fucking do this."
0:51:38 > 0:51:41I couldn't really cope so I started drinking a lot
0:51:41 > 0:51:45and I was looking for a fight, almost.
0:51:48 > 0:51:50I've killed people.
0:51:50 > 0:51:52You wouldn't really think that to look at me.
0:51:52 > 0:51:54And I've seen my mates get hurt.
0:51:54 > 0:51:58And I've seen my mates die for this country.
0:51:58 > 0:52:03And sometimes I do ask myself, "Is it all worth it?"
0:52:04 > 0:52:07I think a lot of people in fucking Seven Platoon,
0:52:08 > 0:52:10that were in that Seven Platoon,
0:52:10 > 0:52:15heads are fragged, in a big fucking way.
0:52:17 > 0:52:21Some nights I'm lucky to get an hour's sleep.
0:52:21 > 0:52:23Any bang, I jump.
0:52:23 > 0:52:27Your body just goes hot.
0:52:27 > 0:52:33I used to start shaking, your stomach is turning.
0:52:33 > 0:52:35You feel angry.
0:52:35 > 0:52:38You have sort of flashbacks, you have nightmares.
0:52:38 > 0:52:43But it's not just nightmares of that place, it's like day to day.
0:52:43 > 0:52:48I'd fall asleep, I'm in the supermarket,
0:52:48 > 0:52:52but I'm fighting the Taliban in the supermarket.
0:52:52 > 0:52:56So, it's sort of, I'm in a 360 ambush in a supermarket. Stuff like that.
0:52:56 > 0:52:58It's just weird dreams like that.
0:53:01 > 0:53:03I was drinking, a lot.
0:53:03 > 0:53:05Well, every day.
0:53:05 > 0:53:07And I started fighting.
0:53:07 > 0:53:10Lance Sergeant Peek is currently being treated
0:53:11 > 0:53:14for post-traumatic stress.
0:53:14 > 0:53:17He's being medically discharged from the army.
0:53:17 > 0:53:19You can see an injury.
0:53:19 > 0:53:20This, you can't.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23It dragged me right down to the bottom
0:53:23 > 0:53:26and I'm slowly making my way back up.
0:53:27 > 0:53:31I didn't have a father I could be proud of
0:53:31 > 0:53:35so my daughter's going to have one that she can be proud of.
0:53:35 > 0:53:37I won't tell her bad stuff, you know,
0:53:37 > 0:53:40I'll tell her the happy stuff, like Squaddies Got Talent!
0:53:40 > 0:53:43Spooner has left the army.
0:53:44 > 0:53:46I miss the army.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49You feel part of a team, of something bigger.
0:53:49 > 0:53:51It sort of gave my life meaning.
0:53:51 > 0:53:54If you're going to be a soldier you've got to accept
0:53:54 > 0:53:56the consequences of what may happen to you.
0:53:56 > 0:54:00You can't pick the war you're fighting.
0:54:00 > 0:54:03You choose to join the army and you fight the war you're sent to fight.
0:54:03 > 0:54:08I think about it a lot, about what happened that day,
0:54:08 > 0:54:11but not to the extent where it depresses me.
0:54:14 > 0:54:18I don't want to be one of those people where I'll live my life
0:54:18 > 0:54:21based on one event that happened to me.
0:54:21 > 0:54:24Cos it's only going to go bad from there.
0:54:24 > 0:54:27Medic! Medic! Medic!
0:54:27 > 0:54:30In your life there's, like, milestones.
0:54:30 > 0:54:34For me, there's always the before that day and the after that day.
0:54:40 > 0:54:46The Welsh Guards are going back to Afghanistan.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49Luke Langley is going with them.
0:54:49 > 0:54:53I don't feel that, personally, for me, that I fucking finished the job.
0:54:55 > 0:54:59At the moment I've just found it easier to fucking try and forget
0:54:59 > 0:55:02about everything that's fucking happened and try to block it out
0:55:02 > 0:55:05and put it to the back of my mind.
0:55:09 > 0:55:13Not to deny that it happened,
0:55:13 > 0:55:16but to just carry on with my fucking life, and think,
0:55:16 > 0:55:19"That's behind me, it stays there for now."
0:55:19 > 0:55:21Until one day when I feel strong enough
0:55:21 > 0:55:24I can look back on it and really think about
0:55:24 > 0:55:30what I fucking went through as a young fucking lad.
0:56:11 > 0:56:15Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd