The Lost Platoon Our War


The Lost Platoon

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Transcript


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This programme contains very strong language and some scenes which some viewers may find upsetting.

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Where I lived you either work in a chicken factory or went on the dole.

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It was basically a case of, "What am I going to do with my life?"

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And I was 15 years old and I decided to go and join the army.

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Luke Langley is 22. He's going to Afghanistan for the second time.

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See that, yeah?

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You know when Daddy goes away, isn't that far away?

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You're all the way there, Daddy's going to be down there.

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The first time Langley went to war in 2009

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his platoon held an isolated fort deep in no-man's land.

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That used to be Daddy's boss, that did.

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Seven Platoon's commander was Lt Mark Evison,

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a rising star in the Welsh Guards.

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At the time, British forces were overstretched

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in one of the most dangerous areas of Helmand.

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"We are walking a tightrope.

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"Injuries will be sustained

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"which I will not be able to treat

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"and deaths could occur which could have been stopped."

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Seven Platoon's lifeline

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was their ability to summon devastating firepower

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at a few minutes' notice.

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This film is about the day that lifeline failed...

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..and Seven Platoon had to fight alone.

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It was the most scared I've ever been in all my life.

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I said, "We're on our own, bud. We haven't got the fire support."

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I've never felt as lonely as I did in that ditch.

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In Afghan there was never "Look after number one."

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It's always, "Look after numbers two and three

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"and numbers two and three will always look after you."

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And that's the way we were that fucking day.

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Seven Platoon's commander, Lt Mark Evison, was 26 when he went to war.

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"Afghanistan 2009. 15 April.

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"It is always the hardest part to start a journal.

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"Where to begin?

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"Anticipation, excitement, fear,

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"all words which could be used to describe

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"what one should be feeling right now

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"but the only one that I really feel is uncertainty."

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He was in my platoon at Sandhurst.

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He was one of those guys that sort of, everything seemed effortless,

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which is pretty painful, when for you it's a struggle.

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For a lot of us, you want to be a hero,

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and Mark was exactly the same

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he wanted his moment in Afghanistan

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to be a hero, to lead his men well.

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In the weeks running up

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there was lots of black humour being bandied around, as you can imagine.

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I asked him for his motorcycle if anything happened.

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He asked me for my DVD collection. It was that sort of atmosphere.

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A lot of officers try to distance themselves from the men.

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You listen to them because they command,

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but you haven't got that friendship bond.

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But with Mark, you did.

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When we were back in the UK

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he'd go out drinking with you.

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He was just a really nice bloke.

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But at the same time he could turn and be the officer

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and the commander who he really had to be at the time.

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No-one took him for granted just cos he was a nice bloke.

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I though I was fit until I met him.

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Bloody hell! He was a fit guy.

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"007" they called him.

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"I just want to get stuck in and see for myself what it is like.

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"How will I react with my first contact?

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"Will I freeze, or hopefully prove my worth?"

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In the spring of 2009 the Welsh Guards

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took over a string of remote bases in Southern Helmand.

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Mark Evison and his platoon

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were assigned to a fort known as Haji Alem.

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Evison was delayed by a brief illness.

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Seven Platoon went on to Haji Alem without him.

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This is Spooner, rooting for a fag!

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Like many British soldiers before them,

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they recorded their war on video.

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Few in Seven Platoon had seen combat.

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Most were barely out of their teens.

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I think I was, like, born to do it.

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I did want to join the Paras,

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first thought, then obviously, being Welsh and that,

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I thought, Welsh Guards.

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The only thing I wanted to do was I wanted to go on patrol

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and carry a weapon.

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You felt powerful. You do feel like you're untouchable.

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I loved that weapon.

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I were really young and my mum asked me,

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"What do you want for Christmas?"

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And I said, "I want a trifle."

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She went, "A trifle?! With cream?"

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I went, "No, with bullets!"

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I joined up, wanted to got to war,

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to have a blast, fire my weapon, and having fun.

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I wanted to be a soldier, bring peace,

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see the world, like.

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When you're a scrapper, you're a scrapper.

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In my eyes the infantry was the one, because they want the scrappers.

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That boy inside me that joined the fight, it must have been because

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I wanted to take men to fight, I wanted to lead them to fight.

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Haji Alem was 4km from the main Forward Operating Base in the area.

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Haji Alem was like an island in a sea of fucking Afghans.

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In the middle of nowhere basically.

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It looked like, you know one of those Western forts you see?

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Back in the Cowboys and Indians days?

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It looked exactly like that.

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Just a keep with a metal shitty door at the front.

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It must have been about 50 by 60 metres.

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Like a football pitch basically. It's got massive sangars in it.

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Owned by some drug lord.

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Used to have his family and his own little army in there.

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So it had four big towers which stood four, five metres tall.

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DISTANT GUNFIRE

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It was dead quiet until you heard the odd gunfire from somewhere else,

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either a FOB or a PB, 10k away.

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The crack, "Tshuu!" Cos it was obviously that quiet at night.

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You know, just, "Papapapapa! Papapapapa!"

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The sky just feels so empty really, I know there's stars there,

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but you just think to yourself,

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I'm here, and I was in Rhyl not so long ago.

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Where we was, was a very, very dodgy place

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The first road, basically, is the enemy FLET.

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The forward line, basically, where they can shoot at you.

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A few kilometres down the road

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was the biggest Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan.

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The Taliban had, like, a massive training base

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in Southern Helmand, called Marjah.

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We were basically there as the buffer to stop them

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infiltrating into the rest of Afghanistan.

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That would be the first contact

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a lot of the young Taliban coming through would have,

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would be fighting us.

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Just use us as target practice for their blokes.

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One of the lads used to nickname the Taliban

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the hide and seek champions of the world, cos you'd never see 'em.

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I've seen about two. They just literally vanish.

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You don't even know where they go.

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We were all, "Yeah, I want to go to Afghan, I want to kill people

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"I want to get the first confirmed kill

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"in, like, fucking North Wales or wherever."

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But when it first started to happen

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and people are actually in contact

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I think they started to realise what they were actually fucking in for.

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On Seven Platoon's first day at Haji Alem,

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shots were fired from across the canal.

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Within five minutes I just seen a village elder come round the corner

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with about four people, carrying, like, a fucking stretcher.

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In the crossfire, the son of a village elder had been hit.

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We done our best, we treated him as if he was one of our own.

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The American Black Hawk come in.

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When it lands it's like the scene out of The Mummy

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where the sandstorm comes in, it just goes, "Wwccchhht!"

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Sweeps through fucking everything.

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It was a 15-minute flight from Haji Alem

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to the operating theatre at Camp Bastion, 30k away.

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But then we heard three hours later that he died.

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So that was a bit of a fucking wake-up call.

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I were thinking, "Fucking hell, it IS real."

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The next day, Mark Evison arrived at Haji Alem

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to take command of his platoon.

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"It is good being back.

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"The Platoon cheered me when I turned up

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"and so for some strange reason I think they must have missed me."

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This was a man that wanted to take the fight to the Taliban

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and knew what he was on about.

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The first thing he wanted to do was go and just study all the ground,

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what routes the Taliban would be using,

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and their possible firing points.

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Seven Platoon had been at Haji Alem a week

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when Evison took them out on their first major patrol.

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"Around the fort, it is hard patrolling country.

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"There is not much cover and therefore movement is restricted.

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"Extraction back is difficult."

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Their route would take them just a few hundred metres from the fort.

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The patrol moved down irrigation ditches

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which carried water to the opium fields.

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It's like the most horrible, stinkiest pool

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you can ever imagine in all your life.

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Full of shit. Absolutely fucking stunk.

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But that's what we mainly used to walk to compounds and that,

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and obviously to keep us safe.

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GUNFIRE

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You think to yourself, "Fuck me! This is really happening.

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"I'm here, I'm getting fucking shot at here. For fuck's sake!

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"What's going on?"

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Just turned 20 about two weeks ago, there I was.

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The first time you get shot at, you hear it,

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and you see, like, dust kicking up,

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and you just stand there like a deer caught in the headlights.

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"I'm actually getting shot at! I can't be getting shot at!"

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It would take just minutes

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for the platoon's two-man fire-support team

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to bring massive firepower down on the Taliban.

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Andrew Spooner was in charge of fire-support.

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His number two Steven Gadsby was wearing the video camera.

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Clever lad. He has like a degree so he's a lot more intelligent than me.

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I knew if something happened to me

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Gadsby would be right there next to me like he was all the way through.

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Once a patrol called for support, an Apache attack helicopter

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- or AH - could be launched from Bastion within minutes.

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The fire-support team could also call in long-range artillery

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from Forward Operating Base Silab, 4km away.

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You all right, there, mate?

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On this occasion, an Apache attack helicopter was already close by.

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The fire control radio gave Gadsby and Spooner

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instant communications with British bases

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and with the Apache pilot hovering nearby.

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# Let's get it on! #

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With an attack helicopter overhead, the Taliban quickly melted away.

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As Evison's platoon patrolled back to the fort,

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the Taliban struck again.

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Spooner radioed Camp Bastion

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to get the Apache helicopter back overhead.

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There was no reply. The fire control radio had gone dead.

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Hello, Witchcraft 42, Witchcraft 42, this is Witchcraft!

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Hello, Witchcraft 42, Witchcraft 42, this is Witchcraft 44 Bravo!

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Radio check. Over.

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The patrol had lost a vital link

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to the long-range firepower which was available to back them up.

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And the Taliban were closing in.

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The fort - and safety - lay across the canal.

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But Evison and his men

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would have to get back without any outside help.

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Evison launched a handheld missile

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to give the platoon some cover as they crossed the canal.

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Go on son! Fuck off!

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Wahey!

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Go on!

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Go on, boys.

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As they prepared to run across to the fort,

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Evison's interpreter noticed bullets coming from behind them.

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While Evison regrouped the platoon,

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Spooner was able to inspect his fire-control radio.

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The fire-control radio was a satellite radio,

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far more capable than the standard army radio.

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The cable from the antenna to the radio were broken, we snapped it.

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So that radio were useless.

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What had started as a routine patrol

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had turned into a dash for home under enemy fire.

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GUNFIRE

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It had been Mark Evison's first experience of combat.

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"More luck than anything else

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"saw the platoon back behind sturdy walls

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"and laughing at the contact we'd just been in."

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It's a fucking cracking buzz, like,

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everyone going, "Whooar!", like that, fucking loving it.

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I loved the fucking feeling, I did, I just loved getting shot at.

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Obviously not in that way, but the feeling, the adrenaline rush.

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The combat high you feel is amazing but at the same time

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you don't realise that it's probably fragging with your head in a big way.

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Your body shakes, your stomach turns, everything slows down.

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You don't want more, but you want more at the same time.

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"Come on, let's fucking go out for one more! Let's go and smash 'em!"

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Then you realise, then fucking you calm down a bit,

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and you've got to go again tomorrow.

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"For me it is still the fear of making a wrong decision

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"which sits heavily on my mind.

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"I am responsible for every person within this Patrol Base

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"and I fear we will not always be as lucky as we were today.

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"At least today I proved to myself

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"that I will not freeze the next time I get shot at.

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"I do not expect this to be in the distant future."

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The two dozen men of Seven Platoon in their mud fort

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tried to make the best of life under siege.

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"The fort is now fairly sorted.

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"There are showers, one a week,

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"a chill out area with BBQ - nothing yet to cook - and a gym.

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"The loos are fairly basic with just a hole in the ground for pissing

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"and an ammo tin for turds,

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"which must be burnt by the unfortunate individual

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"who fills it up.

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"We could be here for six months

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"and so it is good to get it up and running to a good standard

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"so the boys can relax."

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You know when life is bad

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when all you look forward to is a contact to keep you busy.

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I remember sitting around, thinking Afghan

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wasn't what people made it out to be, like, it wasn't war.

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Apart from one or two shoot-outs nothing had really happened.

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"The biggest fear I have is keeping the morale up of the men.

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"Life is hard in these forward patrol bases

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"and we need all the morale we can get."

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If you weren't on patrol life were very dull.

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So we made our own sources of entertainment.

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And it got disgusting.

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Deal or no Deal with ration boxes.

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Squaddies Got Talent.

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Me, Barclay and Mr Evison was the judges.

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In the final we popped a smoke grenade

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as if walking on to a stage, and things like that.

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Everyone had to come up and do a thing.

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Me and Hobbs couldn't think of one

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so me and Hobbs just did the disappearing act.

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We got on there and then went, and they were there for 20 minutes,

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"Where have them two cunts gone?!"

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I had a pack of cards and I walked over

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and said, "Right we're going to play a game of Cowboys and Indians.

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"I'm going to be an Indian and I want the judges to be the cowboys."

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Squirted a pack of cards and said, "Round them up, cowboys."

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They just turned round to me and said

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"The funniest part of that is going to be watching you pick them up."

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Lucas ate a raw onion then downed a bottle of water and started spewing.

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He was sick into a cup, and then he would drink his cup full of sick.

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Because you're in such an extreme place

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normal things and jokes don't seem as funny

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cos everything else is so extreme,

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so I think your sense of humour matches it.

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I tried doing a magic trick, and that were shit, I got booed off.

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There was loads of horrible things,

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my mind's tried to block out half of them!

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Good memories, they are.

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A kilometre away from the fort was a key road junction

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known as Green 5.

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But the fort didn't have a clear line of sight to Green 5,

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and the Taliban were able to plant bombs there unhindered.

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We had no eyes on Green 5 hence why we got cut off

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because Green 5 was our main supply route

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and they used to IED it to the max.

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It became eventually a huge operation just to get to us,

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which took a couple of days.

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It was a logistical nightmare.

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The spare parts Spooner needed for his fire-control radio

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had to come by road via Green 5.

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I didn't have a spare antenna for this, not the same cross-wing one.

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They were like rocking-horse shit, they were in rare supply.

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It would take another two weeks for the replacement antenna

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to reach Haji Alem.

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"7th May. Our first base attack last night."

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GUNFIRE

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In his diary, Evison noted the name of his opposite number,

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the Taliban commander whose men were closing in on the fort.

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"Ferooz was again mentioned on the ICOM

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"as the main player instigating the attack.

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"The signal strength was high, showing his proximity to the fort.

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"The most frustrating thing is that they take us on, on their terms.

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"It is almost impossible to identify the firing points.

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"Without that knowledge I cannot make decisions and I'm fairly useless.

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"There is a definite lack of steer from above

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"as to how to play this one.

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"I am yet to be given a definite mission

0:22:080:22:11

"and clarity as to my role out here."

0:22:110:22:13

On the 9th of May, two weeks after arriving at the fort,

0:22:150:22:19

Evison set out on his second major patrol,

0:22:190:22:22

towards a group of compounds across the canal.

0:22:220:22:25

They were known Taliban firing points

0:22:250:22:28

so Mr Evison wanted to see what the fuck they were doing basically,

0:22:280:22:31

he wanted to have a look.

0:22:310:22:33

The compounds were a stone's throw

0:22:330:22:34

from where Evison's men had been ambushed a week ago.

0:22:340:22:37

I said to the boss, I said,

0:22:370:22:40

"Sir, if we go up there we're going to get smashed"

0:22:400:22:43

Spooner's fire control radio was still out of action.

0:22:450:22:48

So we had to revert back to the old sort of radio,

0:22:480:22:52

the Bowman radio, which the range and chance of getting

0:22:520:22:55

a signal on that is quite... it's not as easy.

0:22:550:22:58

The army's standard Bowman radio used a waveband

0:23:000:23:03

that was prone to atmospheric disruption.

0:23:030:23:07

I can remember getting across the bridge across the canal,

0:23:070:23:10

went to send a radio check, wasn't working, couldn't get through,

0:23:100:23:13

and I just thought we were in a blackspot for some reason.

0:23:130:23:16

I remember a couple of the lads

0:23:160:23:18

saying they were having difficulty on their radios.

0:23:180:23:20

The most important thing in battle is comms.

0:23:200:23:23

And if we didn't have comms back to 2 Company HQ,

0:23:230:23:28

i.e. zero, we were dead.

0:23:280:23:30

As soon as I lost radio communications out of Haji Alem,

0:23:300:23:33

I wish I'd turned round and said to Lt Evison "We should go back."

0:23:330:23:39

I thought I could have got it further down the road.

0:23:390:23:41

There was no reason for me to think otherwise.

0:23:410:23:43

I thought I was just in a black spot.

0:23:430:23:45

Carry on, we'll pick them up, it happens all the time with radios.

0:23:450:23:49

The civvies were just dropping their tools and running away.

0:23:490:23:52

No one was there to be seen

0:23:520:23:53

so we knew something was obviously happening.

0:23:530:23:55

As Evison's patrol approached the crossroads

0:23:550:23:59

his interpreter was listening in on the Taliban.

0:23:590:24:02

300 metres into the patrol the chatter picked up saying,

0:24:030:24:06

"Yeah, they've got eyes on us."

0:24:060:24:07

I can remember Mr Evison passing it down,

0:24:070:24:10

"Tell 'em they're getting ready, they're going to be opening fire"

0:24:100:24:14

We heard a scream come down the ICOM radio pretty much saying, "Fire!"

0:24:140:24:18

GUNFIRE

0:24:180:24:20

-Fucking get out. They're coming. Is that recording?

-Yeah.

0:24:200:24:24

GUNFIRE

0:24:240:24:26

Spooner, wearing the camera, took cover next to Langley.

0:24:260:24:31

It was just a shit-storm.

0:24:310:24:34

No crack and thump, it was just, "Doof-doof! Doof-doof! Doof-doof!"

0:24:340:24:37

As if it was our own blokes firing.

0:24:370:24:39

Cos they must have been about 40, 50 metres away.

0:24:390:24:41

From that we got hit by, I think it was two or three firing points.

0:24:410:24:44

I remember seeing an RPG coming,

0:24:460:24:48

just come over the fucking top of us.

0:24:480:24:50

And then they contacted us from the right,

0:24:500:24:52

from about four, five firing points.

0:24:520:24:54

Contact right!

0:24:540:24:56

That's where I basically just grabbed my LMG

0:24:560:25:00

and just swung it round, and let off, like, a burst of 20 rounds.

0:25:000:25:04

So now we're in a fire-fight.

0:25:040:25:06

GUNFIRE

0:25:060:25:07

At that point we'd lost all comms pretty much.

0:25:070:25:10

You have dead spots, basically, like mobile phones.

0:25:100:25:13

Me and Spooner just had to revert

0:25:130:25:15

to being an infantry soldiers that day

0:25:150:25:17

and just join in with the sections.

0:25:170:25:18

By this point, if Spooner's radio been working,

0:25:200:25:23

he would have called in artillery fire

0:25:230:25:27

from the forward operating base 4k away.

0:25:270:25:30

If we'd had a replacement for that little cable

0:25:310:25:33

I'd maybe have got guns, mortars,

0:25:330:25:35

I would have got some sort of aircraft.

0:25:350:25:37

I would have jumped at the opportunity to call an Apache.

0:25:370:25:40

Me and Gadsby would have been doing our usual thing of giggling

0:25:400:25:43

while we blow up the Taliban.

0:25:430:25:45

But we didn't and Mark got hurt.

0:25:450:25:47

The 20-man patrol was divided into two sections.

0:25:490:25:54

One led by Mark Evison, the other by Lance Sergeant Peek.

0:25:540:25:59

Mark Evison is in clean view of one of the compounds

0:26:030:26:06

we was getting fired at.

0:26:060:26:08

Peek shouted across to Mr Evison, "Get in the compound!"

0:26:080:26:12

And he pushed into Compound 1.

0:26:120:26:16

Evison's section was now inside Compound 1.

0:26:160:26:19

Langley and Spooner were with Lance Sergeant Peek

0:26:190:26:24

in the irrigation ditch across the road.

0:26:240:26:27

And something whizzed past me and Langley.

0:26:340:26:36

Fuck!

0:26:360:26:39

"Did that hit the fucking wall? We're getting contacted from behind now!"

0:26:390:26:42

Fuck! They're firing straight down the road,

0:26:420:26:44

it just hit the fucking wall!

0:26:440:26:46

That fucking wall!

0:26:460:26:48

So at this point now, we're in the middle

0:26:480:26:51

and they were just shooting at us.

0:26:510:26:54

I think it was something like 15 firing points.

0:26:540:26:57

The Taliban were smart,

0:26:570:26:58

we were fucked from the very beginning of that patrol.

0:26:580:27:00

Cut down there again?

0:27:000:27:02

GUNFIRE

0:27:020:27:04

Where did that come from?!

0:27:040:27:06

If I were them, I'd have been pissing my pants laughing.

0:27:060:27:09

"Look at these idiots, we're going to shoot them,

0:27:090:27:12

"they're getting brassed up."

0:27:120:27:14

You could tell we were outnumbered, we were basically just surrounded,

0:27:140:27:18

getting shot at like fish in a barrel.

0:27:180:27:20

What? That's coming from behind us, dude!

0:27:200:27:24

They had trapped us in a 360 ambush.

0:27:240:27:27

They'd started firing in on automatic fire

0:27:270:27:30

into Compound 1, where Mark Evison was.

0:27:300:27:34

Within the walls of Compound 1

0:27:340:27:36

Mark Evison couldn't see what was happening outside.

0:27:360:27:39

And he couldn't get a radio signal.

0:27:390:27:41

We couldn't get comms. So everything's word of mouth then.

0:27:420:27:46

So, old school. So everybody's screaming.

0:27:460:27:48

To get a radio signal,

0:27:480:27:50

Evison stepped into the doorway of Compound 1.

0:27:500:27:53

I told him to get the fuck back in there, like,

0:27:530:27:57

they're coming from everywhere.

0:27:570:27:58

And that's when the burst

0:27:580:28:00

of three to five rounds come through that doorway.

0:28:000:28:03

He actually just stood, took it as if he was fine,

0:28:060:28:10

speaking on the radio until he seen a bit of blood on his hand,

0:28:100:28:13

he actually realised that he'd been shot.

0:28:130:28:16

His face just went pale.

0:28:160:28:18

I heard Lance Corporal Evans screaming, "Man down!

0:28:190:28:23

"The boss is down! The boss is down!"

0:28:230:28:26

In the ditch, a stone's throw from Compound 1,

0:28:260:28:28

Langley and Spooner didn't know their commander had been hit.

0:28:280:28:32

I heard somebody scream.

0:28:390:28:41

I was like, "No, it's probably somebody just shitting themselves

0:28:410:28:43

"or something like that."

0:28:430:28:46

And this bright red ginger head poked up over the wall

0:28:460:28:48

which was Evans 74.

0:28:480:28:51

I got on a haystack myself and shouted over to them.

0:28:510:28:53

"Man down." That's when it's time for you to man up.

0:29:000:29:03

Which is what you'd expect of your mate if it was you.

0:29:070:29:09

"Oh, fuck. Fucking hell, who is this now?!"

0:29:100:29:13

Then I thought, "Here we fucking go."

0:29:130:29:15

Everyone expects it eventually, it's just a matter of time.

0:29:160:29:21

Medic, we've got a man down!

0:29:210:29:23

He'll have that fucker.

0:29:230:29:25

Inside Compound 1, Guardsman James, who'd had first aid training,

0:29:250:29:30

attended to Evison.

0:29:300:29:32

I took his body armour off.

0:29:320:29:34

And...it was just blood everywhere.

0:29:340:29:38

He had a gunshot wound to his shoulder.

0:29:380:29:44

I was an emotional wreck.

0:29:460:29:49

I was crying, you know, and...

0:29:490:29:51

He lost consciousness on me.

0:29:530:29:55

I punched him into the chest.

0:29:550:29:57

I managed to get him back round.

0:29:570:30:00

In the ditch, Langley and Spooner

0:30:000:30:04

heard another shout from Compound 1.

0:30:040:30:06

Langley wanted to put up a smoke screen

0:30:150:30:18

so the medic could run across the road to Compound 1.

0:30:180:30:22

There was a bit of a fucking fuck-about with the smoke grenade

0:30:220:30:26

He made a right meal of it.

0:30:290:30:30

"You skinny little rat, you can't even pull the pin out of a grenade!"

0:30:320:30:35

Twisting it and pulling it, and he chucks it...

0:30:380:30:40

..and nothing happens.

0:30:430:30:44

I turned round to Lacy and was about to say, "Are you going anyway?"

0:30:440:30:47

And he just went, "Get me the fuck over there."

0:30:470:30:49

The guys pointed me to the compound the door I needed to go through.

0:30:490:30:53

I was like, "Right, rapid fire!"

0:30:530:30:54

We just unleashed hell on the fucking Taliban.

0:30:570:31:00

HEAVY GUNFIRE

0:31:010:31:04

We sent a wall of lead flying at them.

0:31:040:31:07

If I was at the other end of that I wouldn't want to hang around.

0:31:070:31:10

Lacy got about half way across.

0:31:100:31:12

The guns jammed. There was no fire.

0:31:120:31:14

Spooner had to change a mag.

0:31:160:31:17

I had a stoppage and then Gadsby had a stoppage on his LMG.

0:31:180:31:22

-Aaargh!

-You all right?

0:31:220:31:24

Running for my life basically.

0:31:240:31:25

I managed to run past the door, couple of metres past the door,

0:31:250:31:28

saw it in the corner of my eye, ran back.

0:31:280:31:30

There was fucking rounds pinging off the wall behind him

0:31:300:31:33

like there was in a film trick, like, chasing him,

0:31:330:31:35

and fuck knows how he got in the compound alive.

0:31:350:31:38

As the medic examined Evison, a guardsman in Compound 1

0:31:390:31:44

got through to Lance Sergeant Peek on the radio.

0:31:440:31:46

All I could hear was, "It's the boss."

0:31:460:31:49

Old muggins got to step up,

0:31:490:31:51

and I got to become the platoon commander.

0:31:510:31:53

Peek now had to relay this information back to Two Zero,

0:32:200:32:24

the forward operating base 4k away.

0:32:240:32:27

It was four minutes since Evison had been shot.

0:32:380:32:40

A 9-liner is a standard casualty report.

0:32:450:32:48

At first I got told that he got shot in the hand.

0:32:480:32:52

So I sent up my 9-liner as a walking casualty.

0:32:520:32:57

"Walking wounded" meant that Evison would be listed

0:33:000:33:04

as a low-priority casualty.

0:33:040:33:06

In the chaos, Peek hadn't yet realised that Evison couldn't walk.

0:33:060:33:10

At this point then I got a platoon of fucking boys,

0:33:160:33:19

I'm in a 360 ambush, I got a casualty,

0:33:190:33:22

I didn't go into the careers office thinking

0:33:220:33:24

I was going to be doing that, let's just put it that way.

0:33:240:33:27

Spooner warned Peek to request a Black Hawk helicopter,

0:33:350:33:39

call sign, "Shocker", and not a large twin-engined Chinook.

0:33:390:33:43

We had nowhere to land a Chinook.

0:33:430:33:45

We couldn't secure an area big enough

0:33:450:33:47

so if they send a Chinook we're fucked, how can we deal with that?

0:33:470:33:51

So he needed to get that message across.

0:33:510:33:53

Because my radio wasn't working that day, I achieved nothing.

0:34:030:34:07

I achieved nothing. My purpose there... I didn't have one.

0:34:070:34:11

I asked for mortars, I asked for Apache,

0:34:110:34:15

I asked for anything and everything.

0:34:150:34:19

Two Zero needed to know which compounds

0:34:300:34:32

the Taliban were firing from.

0:34:320:34:34

But Peek's radio kept breaking up.

0:34:340:34:37

I was trying to explain where I'm getting fired upon.

0:34:370:34:40

So I'm telling them where I was,

0:34:400:34:42

but it kept going "uh-uh-uh", like, sort of blanking out.

0:34:420:34:46

So I'm telling them which compound I'm getting fired upon,

0:34:460:34:50

however, they couldn't work out where I was.

0:34:500:34:52

I looked at Langley, I said, "We're on our own, bud.

0:34:590:35:02

"We haven't got the fire support."

0:35:020:35:05

He just looked at me as if, "What the fuck are we going to do?"

0:35:050:35:10

I was in the ditch, and I thought, "I'm going to die here."

0:35:100:35:13

It was the most scared I've ever been in all my life.

0:35:130:35:17

We're on the ground and there's no help, basically.

0:35:170:35:22

You can't stop and think, or really be scared,

0:35:220:35:25

you can't let your emotions take over you,

0:35:250:35:28

you've got to be like a machine

0:35:280:35:30

and just fight through it, and just keep on going.

0:35:300:35:33

The whole platoon becomes... It's a strong bond.

0:35:330:35:38

You love each other, basically.

0:35:410:35:43

A quarter of an hour after being hit,

0:36:100:36:12

Evison was stretchered out of Compound 1

0:36:120:36:15

and over to the irrigation ditch.

0:36:150:36:17

They'd had Taliban in the poppy field, plus the road was heightened.

0:36:180:36:22

So the plan was take him on the stretcher down the irrigation ditch.

0:36:270:36:30

The way back to Haji Alem was down two narrow ditches

0:36:300:36:35

which ran side by side.

0:36:350:36:37

Cos I were giving covering fire I had to take the front ditch.

0:36:370:36:40

An Apache attack helicopter had been sent from Camp Bastion

0:36:450:36:49

to assist the patrol.

0:36:490:36:51

It was heavily armed and looking for targets.

0:36:510:36:55

Spooner told Gadsby to make contact.

0:36:550:36:58

Before Gadsby could react, an order came from Lance Sergeant Peek.

0:37:050:37:08

Gadsby crossed over into the back ditch to help carry Mark Evison.

0:37:150:37:18

I can remember saying, having a laugh with him,

0:37:180:37:21

"You weren't expected that in the morning at breakfast!"

0:37:210:37:24

All that sort of stuff, just to keep him talking.

0:37:240:37:26

If he's talking he's conscious, isn't he?

0:37:260:37:28

He was all right, chilled out, relaxed,

0:37:280:37:31

he had morphine, couldn't feel the pain

0:37:310:37:34

The bullet had sliced through an artery in Mark Evison's shoulder.

0:37:340:37:38

He'd been bleeding heavily now for nearly 20 minutes.

0:37:380:37:42

It was a slow move, the irrigation ditch was probably two-foot wide.

0:37:420:37:45

There was mud everywhere, like, up to your knees.

0:37:450:37:50

It's not a stable stretcher.

0:37:530:37:55

It's a sheet, pretty much, and that was filling up with water,

0:37:550:37:58

and it kept getting heavier and heavier.

0:37:580:38:01

It just seemed to be like a dead weight laid inside a bag.

0:38:010:38:04

So you're all bumping into each other

0:38:040:38:06

and because it was awkward, the boss, I think he slipped off once or twice.

0:38:060:38:11

The stretcher party still had 200 metres to go.

0:38:110:38:14

But they were barely moving.

0:38:140:38:15

Cometh the man, cometh the hour. Joe Korosaya stepped in.

0:38:180:38:21

I asked the medic if I can...

0:38:210:38:26

Is it possible for him to be put on my back?

0:38:260:38:31

I was counting the steps, and there was blood dripping out of him.

0:38:340:38:38

So he told me he was...

0:38:380:38:41

He could feel blood dripping out of his chest.

0:38:410:38:45

It didn't look like him.

0:38:450:38:47

It just looked like a rag doll just covered in blood.

0:38:470:38:50

He took off and I thought, "Look at him go, he's blasting down there."

0:38:530:38:56

Getting shot at, no regard for his own safety,

0:38:560:38:58

just wanted to get his mate out of there.

0:38:580:39:00

"Sir we're going to the PB now.

0:39:000:39:03

"You'll be safe, don't worry."

0:39:030:39:07

Spooner gave covering fire

0:39:070:39:08

as Korosaya powered down the parallel ditch

0:39:080:39:11

carrying Evison on his back.

0:39:110:39:14

We were in contact the entire the way down.

0:39:220:39:24

The Apache attack helicopter had been hovering for ten minutes.

0:39:310:39:35

The pilot couldn't see any Taliban from the air.

0:39:350:39:38

And because the patrol couldn't communicate with Two Zero

0:39:380:39:41

to tell them exactly where the Taliban were,

0:39:410:39:43

the Apache was powerless to help.

0:39:430:39:46

I'm thinking, "This is shit, Andrew.

0:39:480:39:50

"This is shit, this is shit, this is shit."

0:39:500:39:52

I'd never felt as lonely as I did in that ditch.

0:39:580:40:02

Guardsman Korosaya had carried his commander 200 metres

0:40:050:40:10

through the irrigation ditch and up to the compound by the canal.

0:40:100:40:15

He was exhausted.

0:40:150:40:17

Gadsby picked Evison up, and headed for the bridge.

0:40:190:40:23

Over the bridge

0:40:230:40:24

gave me less cover but was a much faster option.

0:40:240:40:27

I could hear all the enemy fire coming in.

0:40:310:40:33

I could hear it hitting the bridge,

0:40:330:40:35

I could hear it go down the canal and hit the water in the canal.

0:40:350:40:39

I was thinking, "You fucking idiot."

0:40:390:40:41

I remember running across and tucking my arms in to my sides.

0:40:410:40:45

If I'm going to get shot in the side, if I put my arms there

0:40:450:40:49

at least it might hit my arm-bone and ricochet off.

0:40:490:40:52

The only thing on our side was they were shit shots.

0:40:520:40:54

If it was us in that position waiting for them

0:40:540:40:56

there wouldn't have been anybody left standing.

0:40:560:41:00

GUNFIRE

0:41:000:41:03

It had taken Seven Platoon

0:41:060:41:08

less than 35 minutes to get Evison back to the fort.

0:41:080:41:12

Assuming a medevac helicopter would touch down in the next few minutes,

0:41:140:41:18

Spooner went to clear the landing area.

0:41:180:41:21

Then he took off his helmet and went to the radio.

0:41:250:41:29

The camera carried on recording the voices of Mark Evison

0:41:360:41:39

and the men trying to keep him alive.

0:41:390:41:41

On the radio, Spooner asked Forward Operating Base Silab

0:41:430:41:48

when the medevac helicopter was due.

0:41:480:41:51

They know Lt Evison had been shot,

0:41:510:41:53

but I can remember speaking to Captain Lambe at Silab,

0:41:530:41:57

asking me to verify, has he been shot in the hand or in the shoulder?

0:41:570:42:00

What aircraft do you want?

0:42:000:42:02

So they didn't even have a clear picture of what were going on either.

0:42:030:42:07

Amid the chaos, a Chinook helicopter had been sent by mistake.

0:42:080:42:13

It was too big to land inside the fort.

0:42:130:42:17

I asked on the radio, and they said,

0:42:170:42:19

"Oh, they sent a Chinook by accident."

0:42:190:42:21

I sent them a new 9-liner.

0:42:210:42:23

I sent them everything, and I'm getting different excuses why.

0:42:230:42:28

Outside Haji Alem the rest of the platoon

0:42:420:42:45

were still fighting for their lives.

0:42:450:42:48

Joe Korosaya, who'd carried Mark Evison most of the way,

0:42:480:42:51

was at the end of his strength.

0:42:510:42:54

I ran down the canal.

0:42:540:42:57

I went straight down.

0:42:570:42:59

I fell inside the water, just didn't want to move any more.

0:42:590:43:06

I just wanted to stay in that canal,

0:43:070:43:10

I think I would fall asleep in that canal.

0:43:100:43:14

It's quite hard to keep the boys going,

0:43:140:43:17

and sometimes you just want to stop.

0:43:170:43:20

"Fucking hell, can't be arsed now, enough's enough."

0:43:200:43:25

I froze, pretty much nearly, at one point.

0:43:250:43:28

I was so...

0:43:280:43:30

..traumatised, and so upset by it all.

0:43:330:43:37

Peek hit him on the head, "Get a fucking grip!"

0:43:370:43:40

Yeah. A bit of encouragement!

0:43:400:43:43

It gave me the motivation to get over that ditch

0:43:430:43:47

and up the other side.

0:43:470:43:49

If you took them in there,

0:43:490:43:50

you've got to be able to get them out of there as well.

0:43:500:43:53

Under heavy fire, Gizzie clambered out of the canal.

0:43:530:43:56

I was just about to get my head over.

0:43:560:43:58

And then...boof! Just got fucking shot then.

0:43:580:44:00

I shouted, "Man down! Man down!" as I was in the water

0:44:000:44:04

and it all got echoed.

0:44:040:44:06

The pain was just too much.

0:44:060:44:08

I never had pain like that before in my life.

0:44:080:44:11

I thought, "That's it. I'm fucking gone, I'm dead."

0:44:110:44:15

21 years of age, fucking dying.

0:44:150:44:19

Then I seen Langley's head coming over the fucking canal.

0:44:190:44:22

I thought, "Here we go!"

0:44:220:44:25

"Hey, Giz, who's been fucking hit?" And he went, "Me!"

0:44:250:44:28

"What the fuck d'you mean, you?"

0:44:280:44:30

He goes, "I've been shot in the foot, I'll be all right.

0:44:300:44:33

"Just crack on, leave me." I'm like, "Shut up, you stupid cunt."

0:44:330:44:36

"I owe you 50, I'm not leaving you here!

0:44:360:44:39

"Come on, a real man always pays his debts."

0:44:390:44:42

And as we got into the straight 50, 60 metres that runs into Haji Alem

0:44:420:44:47

he just screamed as hard as he could, "You fucking Taliban cunts!"

0:44:470:44:52

People was on the radio all the time saying, "Where's the helicopter?!

0:45:070:45:11

And then, "Yeah, it's en route. Oh, no, it's not en route."

0:45:110:45:13

I felt like the entire platoon were asking where was it

0:45:130:45:16

and why haven't I sorted it out yet?

0:45:160:45:18

And they're still asking me, "Spoons, where's the MERT?"

0:45:180:45:21

Like somehow I can make it physically get here quicker.

0:45:210:45:24

There was still no sign of the MERT - the medical helicopter.

0:45:290:45:34

The flight time from Camp Bastion was around 15 minutes.

0:45:340:45:37

It had been nearly an hour since Evison was shot.

0:45:370:45:41

I couldn't understand it, why it wasn't there.

0:45:470:45:51

There was a lot of anger inside the checkpoint

0:45:510:45:54

because the helicopter took so long.

0:45:540:45:56

I just felt like shit,

0:45:560:45:57

so I'm asking again, "What's happening?!"

0:45:570:46:00

Gadsby picked up his camera and switched it off.

0:46:170:46:20

It would be another nine minutes before the helicopter arrived.

0:46:200:46:24

From that point on he just got worse and worse and worse.

0:46:260:46:28

To where they had to give him mouth to mouth and stuff

0:46:280:46:32

to keep him alive.

0:46:320:46:34

We'd slap him across the face,

0:46:340:46:35

"Wake up, stop being daft, stop being a fanny", basically.

0:46:350:46:40

We lost him twice in the PB, I think.

0:46:400:46:43

That's when you know it's pretty bad,

0:46:430:46:47

and the chance of making it...

0:46:470:46:50

through that is obviously going to be quite tricky.

0:46:500:46:53

As the helicopter arrived

0:46:550:46:57

Mark Evison lost consciousness for the last time.

0:46:570:47:00

I put Gizzie on, fucking Gizzie give me the old thumbs-up,

0:47:010:47:04

and I just looked left,

0:47:040:47:06

and I could just see Mark Evison's hand hanging off the stretcher

0:47:060:47:09

and just blood dripping from it as they put him on.

0:47:090:47:13

"Life is fragile

0:47:170:47:19

"and out here it feels like it can be removed in an instant.

0:47:190:47:22

"It almost makes life even more valuable

0:47:220:47:25

"and shows the fragility that many in the West

0:47:250:47:27

"I believe do not understand."

0:47:270:47:31

At that time no soldier flown back to the UK had ever died.

0:47:310:47:35

So we were like, "He's fucking safe, we've done a good job.

0:47:350:47:39

"We done exactly what we had to fucking do. Happy fucking days."

0:47:390:47:43

We were all fucking head-shocked.

0:47:510:47:52

We were all fucking sat round thinking, "How the fuck am I alive?

0:47:520:47:55

"How the fuck am I alive?"

0:47:550:47:58

We fucking worked for each other,

0:47:590:48:01

every man carried on with the battle and kept on fighting until the end

0:48:010:48:05

which is what it fucking means to be a soldier.

0:48:050:48:07

By the time Mark Evison got to surgery at Camp Bastion

0:48:100:48:13

there was no more blood left in his heart.

0:48:130:48:15

The surgeon would later testify

0:48:170:48:19

that Mark's injury had not been survivable.

0:48:190:48:22

He was flown back to England where he would die

0:48:220:48:26

with his family by his side.

0:48:260:48:29

"May 7th. Spoke to Mum this morning.

0:48:340:48:37

"I hope I have not scared her too much.

0:48:370:48:39

"Don't think I should have mentioned the ambush a few days ago."

0:48:390:48:43

Gizzie was treated at the same hospital as Evison.

0:48:470:48:51

He met Mark's mother.

0:48:510:48:52

Hardest thing I've ever done.

0:48:540:48:57

Like, I know her son is...

0:48:570:49:00

You know, obviously he's about to die.

0:49:000:49:03

She was asking, was he OK?

0:49:030:49:05

Stuff like that. "Was he good to youse?"

0:49:050:49:08

He was a brilliant bloke,

0:49:080:49:10

I couldn't praise him no more, cos he actually was.

0:49:100:49:13

I don't know how I didn't cry,

0:49:130:49:17

I just tried to keep myself strong for her.

0:49:170:49:21

Mark Evison died on May 12th 2009, three days after he was wounded.

0:49:230:49:29

"It is hard as the two worlds are so far apart.

0:49:290:49:32

"I hope this journal will help to put things in perspective

0:49:320:49:36

"for those back home who want to read it."

0:49:360:49:40

At Haji Alem, Seven Platoon

0:49:400:49:42

had not been given the news of their commander's death.

0:49:420:49:45

I phoned my missus and she said, "Are you all right?" I said, "Yeah."

0:49:450:49:49

She said, "Oh, it's just come on the news,

0:49:490:49:52

"Mark Evison's dead."

0:49:520:49:56

I had my cry, and then you've just got to dry your tears

0:49:560:50:01

and look at your boys and tell them, like.

0:50:010:50:06

The fucking boys were devastated,

0:50:060:50:09

and in the middle of the night we built a pukka cross.

0:50:090:50:12

And as we were coming to the end of building the cross

0:50:120:50:15

a load of green tracer come up.

0:50:150:50:18

They fucking chose the wrong night

0:50:180:50:19

to fucking come and start shooting at our compound

0:50:190:50:22

with automatic fire.

0:50:220:50:24

You want to kill them. No matter what.

0:50:260:50:29

In some ways you want to blow them up,

0:50:290:50:32

in some ways you want to shoot them and then retrieve the body.

0:50:320:50:36

Just a lot of mixed feelings.

0:50:360:50:41

Woo-hoo! Yeah!

0:50:440:50:48

That night, a lot of ammunition got fired.

0:50:480:50:50

It were brilliant. I needed that.

0:50:500:50:55

"I seem to be the only one here

0:50:570:50:58

"who believes that war might not be the answer

0:50:580:51:01

"to this particular problem.

0:51:010:51:02

"We must work on relationships with the Afghans

0:51:020:51:05

"if we are to build a future for them.

0:51:050:51:07

"Maybe my perspective will change in the next few days and weeks."

0:51:070:51:11

A hard summer's fighting lay ahead for Seven Platoon.

0:51:110:51:14

But some of them would find

0:51:140:51:16

the homecoming which followed harder still.

0:51:160:51:19

I come home, and I'm walking through town

0:51:230:51:26

and it was on a Sunday, and it was fucking dead.

0:51:260:51:28

And I thought, "I can't fucking do this.

0:51:280:51:32

"I want to go fucking back to Afghan. I can't fucking do this."

0:51:320:51:36

I couldn't really cope so I started drinking a lot

0:51:380:51:41

and I was looking for a fight, almost.

0:51:410:51:45

I've killed people.

0:51:480:51:50

You wouldn't really think that to look at me.

0:51:500:51:52

And I've seen my mates get hurt.

0:51:520:51:54

And I've seen my mates die for this country.

0:51:540:51:58

And sometimes I do ask myself, "Is it all worth it?"

0:51:580:52:03

I think a lot of people in fucking Seven Platoon,

0:52:040:52:07

that were in that Seven Platoon,

0:52:080:52:10

heads are fragged, in a big fucking way.

0:52:100:52:15

Some nights I'm lucky to get an hour's sleep.

0:52:170:52:21

Any bang, I jump.

0:52:210:52:23

Your body just goes hot.

0:52:230:52:27

I used to start shaking, your stomach is turning.

0:52:270:52:33

You feel angry.

0:52:330:52:35

You have sort of flashbacks, you have nightmares.

0:52:350:52:38

But it's not just nightmares of that place, it's like day to day.

0:52:380:52:43

I'd fall asleep, I'm in the supermarket,

0:52:430:52:48

but I'm fighting the Taliban in the supermarket.

0:52:480:52:52

So, it's sort of, I'm in a 360 ambush in a supermarket. Stuff like that.

0:52:520:52:56

It's just weird dreams like that.

0:52:560:52:58

I was drinking, a lot.

0:53:010:53:03

Well, every day.

0:53:030:53:05

And I started fighting.

0:53:050:53:07

Lance Sergeant Peek is currently being treated

0:53:070:53:10

for post-traumatic stress.

0:53:110:53:14

He's being medically discharged from the army.

0:53:140:53:17

You can see an injury.

0:53:170:53:19

This, you can't.

0:53:190:53:20

It dragged me right down to the bottom

0:53:200:53:23

and I'm slowly making my way back up.

0:53:230:53:26

I didn't have a father I could be proud of

0:53:270:53:31

so my daughter's going to have one that she can be proud of.

0:53:310:53:35

I won't tell her bad stuff, you know,

0:53:350:53:37

I'll tell her the happy stuff, like Squaddies Got Talent!

0:53:370:53:40

Spooner has left the army.

0:53:400:53:43

I miss the army.

0:53:440:53:46

You feel part of a team, of something bigger.

0:53:460:53:49

It sort of gave my life meaning.

0:53:490:53:51

If you're going to be a soldier you've got to accept

0:53:510:53:54

the consequences of what may happen to you.

0:53:540:53:56

You can't pick the war you're fighting.

0:53:560:54:00

You choose to join the army and you fight the war you're sent to fight.

0:54:000:54:03

I think about it a lot, about what happened that day,

0:54:030:54:08

but not to the extent where it depresses me.

0:54:080:54:11

I don't want to be one of those people where I'll live my life

0:54:140:54:18

based on one event that happened to me.

0:54:180:54:21

Cos it's only going to go bad from there.

0:54:210:54:24

Medic! Medic! Medic!

0:54:240:54:27

In your life there's, like, milestones.

0:54:270:54:30

For me, there's always the before that day and the after that day.

0:54:300:54:34

The Welsh Guards are going back to Afghanistan.

0:54:400:54:46

Luke Langley is going with them.

0:54:460:54:49

I don't feel that, personally, for me, that I fucking finished the job.

0:54:490:54:53

At the moment I've just found it easier to fucking try and forget

0:54:550:54:59

about everything that's fucking happened and try to block it out

0:54:590:55:02

and put it to the back of my mind.

0:55:020:55:05

Not to deny that it happened,

0:55:090:55:13

but to just carry on with my fucking life, and think,

0:55:130:55:16

"That's behind me, it stays there for now."

0:55:160:55:19

Until one day when I feel strong enough

0:55:190:55:21

I can look back on it and really think about

0:55:210:55:24

what I fucking went through as a young fucking lad.

0:55:240:55:30

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