0:00:15 > 0:00:22What we're going to do is difficult. It's finely balanced. It's
0:00:22 > 0:00:29dangerous. The terrorist attacks of 9/11 drew
0:00:29 > 0:00:39Britain's servicemen and women to a war 3,500 miles away. I wish you
0:00:39 > 0:00:39
0:00:39 > 0:00:45good luck, God's speed and I will stand at your shoulder throughout.
0:00:45 > 0:00:50For the past 12 months, I've been following Scotland's only commander
0:00:50 > 0:00:56unit to explore the hidden cost of the conflict.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00Here in Afghanistan, the realities of war are ever present. There are
0:01:00 > 0:01:10some casualties and a life-changing part of their future. This is the
0:01:10 > 0:01:46
0:01:46 > 0:01:53November 5th, 2008 and the battle Royal Marine Corporal Jay Hare has
0:01:53 > 0:02:03stepped on an improvised explosive device. The bomb has severed his
0:02:03 > 0:02:10
0:02:10 > 0:02:16leg below the knee. He has lost an The calm efficiency of the hospital
0:02:16 > 0:02:21team is evidence of more than just professionalism. Dealing with such
0:02:21 > 0:02:31traumatic injuries is part of their routine. Ten years on, limb loss is
0:02:31 > 0:02:34
0:02:34 > 0:02:38one of the signature injuries of Three years after the explosion,
0:02:38 > 0:02:44the man having surgery in the field hospital is back on his feet and
0:02:44 > 0:02:49dealing with his injuries. What sort of physical and emotional
0:02:49 > 0:02:53readjustment is needed when one day you're a fit young man and the next
0:02:53 > 0:03:03you have to start rebuilding your life?
0:03:03 > 0:03:04
0:03:04 > 0:03:09Jay lives near Arbroath with his wife and his two young daughters.
0:03:10 > 0:03:15He joined the marines a year before 9/11.
0:03:15 > 0:03:22When Jay went to Afghanistan, in 2008, he was an experienced
0:03:22 > 0:03:26corporal. But on foot patrol in the Sangin valley his life changed.
0:03:26 > 0:03:31It is unmistakeable when it happens to you. The pain registered,
0:03:31 > 0:03:37anything like that. It was ringing. It was as if the world had slowed
0:03:37 > 0:03:42down in many ways and there was an echoy pinging noise. I could not
0:03:42 > 0:03:47see anything. I could hear. I could kind of speak, but I couldn't see
0:03:47 > 0:03:54anything. Watching that footage of yourself, what was in your mind
0:03:54 > 0:03:57when you are looking at that? was upsetting, but I was seeing
0:03:57 > 0:04:00what the extent of my injuries were from the point of injury. To see
0:04:00 > 0:04:04what the lads had seen on the ground while I was lying there. I
0:04:04 > 0:04:10wanted to see that and compare how I looked then to know.
0:04:10 > 0:04:18-- to now. And I look at the injuries to my
0:04:18 > 0:04:23face, for instance, that was pretty horrific. Where would I start?
0:04:23 > 0:04:28Where would anyone start? Ten years ago, military hospitals
0:04:28 > 0:04:32in Britain were closing. Headley Court in Surrey was a former care
0:04:32 > 0:04:38centre for World War II pilots. Today, it's the visible embodiment
0:04:38 > 0:04:43of what a decade in Afghanistan has cost in flesh and bones. All the
0:04:43 > 0:04:49servicemen and women who have lost limbs and suffered life-changing
0:04:49 > 0:04:54injuries come through the doors. First to get prosthetic arms and
0:04:54 > 0:05:02legs fitted, then how to use them, and then for routine check-ups. Jay
0:05:02 > 0:05:06has made numerous visits here. From his home in Arbroath, it's a 1,000-
0:05:06 > 0:05:10mile round-trip. How are you getting on? Not too bad.
0:05:10 > 0:05:15Is it one of the older ones? It is getting a bit lose now. I could do
0:05:16 > 0:05:20with a new one. The standard of care for amputees
0:05:20 > 0:05:26at Headley Court is world class. But can this level of care be
0:05:26 > 0:05:31maintained in the outside world? This is state-of-the-art technology
0:05:31 > 0:05:34in terms of this when you compare it to the NHS. This is much, much
0:05:34 > 0:05:39more advanced? You are looking at a couple of thousand for something
0:05:39 > 0:05:43like that. If I was working in the NHS, I would have to make a special
0:05:43 > 0:05:49case for funding. It wouldn't be something that I
0:05:50 > 0:05:58would give out, like I could do here. Financially it's well above
0:05:58 > 0:06:01anything you would get in the NHS, certainly.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05As the majority of Afghanistan's wounded are still being treated
0:06:05 > 0:06:10within the military, promises that they'll receive comparable levels
0:06:10 > 0:06:16of care on the NHS are yet untested. There are fears it will be left to
0:06:16 > 0:06:23charities to provide the extra funding. There's a socket - getting
0:06:23 > 0:06:30that right... What is clear is that for the hundreds of young men like
0:06:30 > 0:06:35Jay who come through headly, amputation does not mean a life of
0:06:35 > 0:06:39dependence. They want to challenge themselves and confound the medics.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43That determination can have its drawbacks. You must have to reign
0:06:44 > 0:06:48them in sometimes? Yes. Especially people like Jay who are determined
0:06:48 > 0:06:52to get back to their work and do all the activities they were before.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56They are desperate to get on with it straight away. These are young
0:06:56 > 0:06:59guys coming in here. They are 18, 20's. When they have these injuries
0:06:59 > 0:07:03they have them for the rest of their lives. What might be right
0:07:03 > 0:07:13for them in their 20's and what we can get them back to in their 20's
0:07:13 > 0:07:23
0:07:23 > 0:07:29is not necessarily what they can do Despite his injuries, and until
0:07:29 > 0:07:36he's discharged, Jay is still a Marine with 45 Commando. Scotland's
0:07:36 > 0:07:42only commando unit. His comrades are preparing to go
0:07:42 > 0:07:52back to Afghanistan and are due to leave in less than a month.
0:07:52 > 0:07:58
0:07:58 > 0:08:01For 80% of the 700 men leaving here, Hold it there. Put your heels
0:08:01 > 0:08:09against the curb for me. Fold your arms and look straight into the
0:08:09 > 0:08:16lens for me. That's great! As casually as we on
0:08:16 > 0:08:19civvy street might queue for office ID snaps the Marines line up for
0:08:19 > 0:08:22the photographs which will be released to the media if they are
0:08:22 > 0:08:32killed in action. The grim likelihood is that some of these
0:08:32 > 0:08:37
0:08:37 > 0:08:42young men also risk becoming part of the Afghan legacy of amputees.
0:08:42 > 0:08:46Don MacLean is a Royal Marine reservist. By day he is a car
0:08:46 > 0:08:52salesman. He faces the same risks. For the next seven months he will
0:08:52 > 0:08:57leave the car showroom to put his life on the line.
0:08:57 > 0:09:04What's the relationship like between the regulars and the
0:09:04 > 0:09:12reservists? It's good. Tom is smiling. Now you answer that.
0:09:12 > 0:09:17Obviously we have mutual respect for each other, but.... It's good.
0:09:17 > 0:09:22It's friendly banter, shall we say? There's no getting away from that.
0:09:22 > 0:09:28And your fears, because the Marines have lost quite a few guys? They
0:09:28 > 0:09:36have. That is just part of the job. If you let it worry you, then
0:09:36 > 0:09:40you're not going to operate effectively. It's part of the job.
0:09:41 > 0:09:46The young Marines of 45 Commando don't have to look far for
0:09:46 > 0:09:55reminders of what might happen to them.
0:09:55 > 0:10:02Less than a month after Jay Hare was injured last time Paul Baz
0:10:02 > 0:10:06Barratt was to suffer some of the worst injuries of the war. His best
0:10:06 > 0:10:11friend Sergeant Major Steff Moran was one of the first on the scene.
0:10:11 > 0:10:17The Sergeant said he'd spent a lot of time in Afghanistan. It was some
0:10:17 > 0:10:21of the worst injuries he had seen in any one man.
0:10:21 > 0:10:31When I saw the nature of his injuries I thought he would be
0:10:31 > 0:10:38
0:10:38 > 0:10:43lucky to pull out of this. I had numerous injuries. My right
0:10:43 > 0:10:50leg, which was traumaticly amputated, just above the knee.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54My left leg was hanging off from just below my hip.
0:10:54 > 0:11:00Numerous internal injuries, a collapsed lung. Numerous broken
0:11:00 > 0:11:04bones in the body. The left hand side sustained crush injuries. Left
0:11:04 > 0:11:11pelvis, left leg, which was hanging off as well. My right hand side,
0:11:11 > 0:11:16sustained the blast injuries, which had the collapsed lung. A lot of
0:11:16 > 0:11:23damage to the right arm. Lost numerous fingers. My right ear
0:11:23 > 0:11:27and my right eye as well. So severe were his injuries the
0:11:27 > 0:11:32doctors in Afghanistan could do no more for him. He was sent home to
0:11:32 > 0:11:41hospital in Birmingham, to his family, not expected to live.
0:11:41 > 0:11:47couldn't talk. I was just, you know, couldn't control my tears. I was
0:11:47 > 0:11:53just so quiet. Then these two doctors, surgeons came, and do you
0:11:53 > 0:11:58remember they both stood at the bottom of the bed and they went,
0:11:58 > 0:12:04"Somebody watching you up there." A few people said that, that....
0:12:04 > 0:12:09doctors in bastion, they said they didn't expect him to live. They
0:12:10 > 0:12:19were job smacked when some came back on leave. They were gob-
0:12:20 > 0:12:20
0:12:20 > 0:12:26smacked he had survived. Dawn and 45 Commando, the unit face
0:12:26 > 0:12:31their final challenge before being deployed to Afghanistan. An 11-
0:12:31 > 0:12:36mile speed march carrying 40 pounds. It's one of the tests they have to
0:12:36 > 0:12:40pass to initially win their green berets. This march has special
0:12:40 > 0:12:50significance. It's the last time the unit will be together before
0:12:50 > 0:12:50
0:12:50 > 0:12:54they go to war. Quick march. For their commanding
0:12:54 > 0:12:58officer, the message is crucial. don't want to take the spring out
0:12:58 > 0:13:04of the step. I don't want to flatten the champagne. I want to
0:13:04 > 0:13:10say we've only played touch rugby so far. The match is ahead. I
0:13:10 > 0:13:14thought roughly the normal length, sort of seven minute s. It will be
0:13:14 > 0:13:19easier for them to cope with because they'll be outside. They
0:13:19 > 0:13:26will have just run 11 miles. So will you and I.
0:13:26 > 0:13:32Exactly! The Royal Marines pride themselves
0:13:32 > 0:13:42on their fitness. They are the physical elite. They know the
0:13:42 > 0:13:42
0:13:42 > 0:13:47insurgents IED can rob them of that which they most prize.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51Baz and Jay, both serving members of 45 have come to see their
0:13:51 > 0:13:58comrades off. That's all you wanted to do was be in the military, be a
0:13:58 > 0:14:04soldier, be a Marine and this has happened to you.
0:14:04 > 0:14:08Especially if you joined to be a career soldier. That's extremely
0:14:08 > 0:14:15upsetting in itself. Something you've always wanted to do just
0:14:15 > 0:14:20taken away from you, in a click of the fingers.
0:14:20 > 0:14:25Baz was aware his presence on the beach embodied the cost of the 9/11
0:14:25 > 0:14:33decade. It was a time of reflection for me.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36A lot was reflection. A lot was wishing it was me going out.
0:14:36 > 0:14:42A lot of it was wishing them all well.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46I wanted to be there. That was the thing. I wanted to be there to show
0:14:46 > 0:14:54the lads, look it doesn't matter how bad you think things are.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58A lot of Marines want to be Spartans, physically fit, be
0:14:58 > 0:15:08warriors, ready to go anywhere at the drop of a hat. You may look at
0:15:08 > 0:15:14
0:15:14 > 0:15:20yourself and think, you're not a With 45 gone, bfplt az and -- Baz
0:15:20 > 0:15:26and Jay have to focus on their future. For Baz it's a battle for
0:15:26 > 0:15:34physical mobility. There is also a job for him closer to home. It is a
0:15:34 > 0:15:39hidden treasure. And it is! Baz has been working to build a
0:15:39 > 0:15:43garden at the Marine's base. A place where wounded commandos can
0:15:43 > 0:15:48find peace and reflect. He's only been out of his
0:15:48 > 0:15:52wheelchair for a matter of weeks. One of my first challenges, believe
0:15:52 > 0:15:57it or not was to be able to stand up and have a pee again.
0:15:57 > 0:16:02But, you know, when I look at things like that, I have to thank
0:16:02 > 0:16:07my lucky stars, because where I am right now, it could always be worse.
0:16:07 > 0:16:14There's another challenge you have set yourself? The next challenge
0:16:14 > 0:16:19will be walking 10kms for March For Heroes. It's a walk in the park.
0:16:19 > 0:16:29a couple of months time. A couple of months time. I will not ask if
0:16:29 > 0:16:30
0:16:30 > 0:16:39you think you are going to do it? Failure's not an option. Walking
0:16:39 > 0:16:4410kms for his garden will be a Jay lost his leg below the knee so
0:16:44 > 0:16:48learning to walk again was less of a problem than for Baz. The blast
0:16:48 > 0:16:52of the IED caused terrible injuries to Jay's face, it was effectively
0:16:52 > 0:17:01blown off. He lost an eye and wears a prosthetic nose. Whfrpblgts asked
0:17:01 > 0:17:05what would I like to work on first, my face or my leg, I said my leg.
0:17:06 > 0:17:11think knowing what I know now, I would have gone for facial
0:17:11 > 0:17:17reconstruction first. But Jay now has a dilemma. He has to decide
0:17:17 > 0:17:21whether to have major reconstructive surgery. We're about
0:17:21 > 0:17:24to show you graphic pictures of Jay's initial facial wounds.
0:17:24 > 0:17:30They're disturbing. But to fully understand what he's gone through
0:17:30 > 0:17:33and why more surgery is so daunting, they have to be seen.
0:17:33 > 0:17:40Confronted with such devastating injuries, the surgeons were
0:17:40 > 0:17:44masterful. But rebuilding Jay's nose will mean growing tissue on
0:17:45 > 0:17:51another part of his face. If he goes ahead, it means in his
0:17:51 > 0:17:53struggle to look like his old self again, he will have to endure
0:17:53 > 0:17:57further disfigurement. It is something that always reminds me
0:17:57 > 0:18:01every day, when I have a shave or twice a day, I have to sort my make
0:18:01 > 0:18:06up out, you know, it's constantly there. I'm constantly looking in
0:18:06 > 0:18:09the mirror. It played on my mind. That's what probably made me an
0:18:09 > 0:18:14angry kind of person sometimes. People staring at you, thinking
0:18:14 > 0:18:21that people are staring at you, looking at old pictures of yourself
0:18:21 > 0:18:31and not recognising yourself in the mirror sometimes. It's May, and I
0:18:31 > 0:18:32
0:18:32 > 0:18:38join 4-5 Commando, who are now in Afghanistan's Nad-e'Ali south. They
0:18:38 > 0:18:43know the greatest danger is from IEDs. We'll be behind each other.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47If there's any prominent diversions off the path, if you see a scuff,
0:18:47 > 0:18:57if you're not sure where someone's stepped where they went, shout up,
0:18:57 > 0:18:57
0:18:57 > 0:19:04where did you go, where was it mate and we'll let you know.
0:19:04 > 0:19:10Caution is the watch word as X-Ray company begins a patrol. As a
0:19:10 > 0:19:16result of roadside bombed, over 200 British servicemen and women have
0:19:16 > 0:19:20become amputees, half suffering multiple limb loss. A marine
0:19:20 > 0:19:24reservist Don MacLean is a long way from the car showroom forecourt of
0:19:24 > 0:19:33his day job. The first patrol I did, you think that everything you stand
0:19:33 > 0:19:36on is going to explode. And you are, you know, your senses are
0:19:36 > 0:19:42heightened and you're looking round. Then you start to calm down. It's
0:19:43 > 0:19:46good to be able to establish what is normal out there, because if
0:19:46 > 0:19:53things aren't normal then you know something's going to happen. There
0:19:53 > 0:20:03was a strange feeling. Knowing that any time you could get shot at or I
0:20:03 > 0:20:03
0:20:03 > 0:20:08suppose blown up, if you like. avoid the IE dfrzs -- IEDs, the
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Marines try to find safe routes and then walk in each other's footsteps.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15On some of the routes we have bettary shuerpbs that it's clear
0:20:15 > 0:20:22because we have clear today a lot. We are absolutely following the
0:20:22 > 0:20:26footsteps of the man in front. Carrying as much as 100 pounds of
0:20:26 > 0:20:30equipment and body armour, with temperatures in the high 40s, they
0:20:30 > 0:20:35know each time they venture out into the Green Zone, they're just
0:20:35 > 0:20:39one foot step away from disaster. If it's going to happen, then it's
0:20:39 > 0:20:49going to happen. I suppose that was the mentality of a lot of us. If
0:20:49 > 0:20:51
0:20:51 > 0:20:55it's going to happen, it's going to happen. They fear not being brave.
0:20:55 > 0:20:59Those who have not been in a situation that's really tested them,
0:20:59 > 0:21:09I think the deepest fear is that they don't do as well as they can
0:21:09 > 0:21:13do. Ten years after 9/11 got us into Afghanistan, Britain and
0:21:13 > 0:21:21America are searching for a way out. It's not the first time great
0:21:21 > 0:21:25powers have come unstuck here. 45's base has a history of its own. This
0:21:25 > 0:21:29fort was built by the British 130 years ago. After them came the
0:21:29 > 0:21:34Soviets. They were here for ten years and lost 15,000 men in the
0:21:34 > 0:21:42process. Evefrplgly their exit strategy was to train up the Afghan
0:21:42 > 0:21:47security forces and leave them to Which sounds familiar. Now this
0:21:47 > 0:21:52same force is home not only to the Marines, but to the Afghan
0:21:53 > 0:21:56nationals on whose fast-track military training the UK's 21st
0:21:56 > 0:22:01century exit strategy is based. This is what military strategy now
0:22:01 > 0:22:05looks like in Afghanistan. At least it's what the Marines are trying to
0:22:05 > 0:22:09achieve in their little piece of Helmand. Their aim is to get on a
0:22:09 > 0:22:13level playing field with the Afghan Security Forces and form a
0:22:13 > 0:22:18partnership and then hand over control. Like all sporting
0:22:18 > 0:22:23metaphors, it's simplistic, maybe unrealistic, but at this stage in
0:22:23 > 0:22:28the campaign, it's all they've got. Spending time here and watching 45
0:22:28 > 0:22:32at work and at play, it's hard not to fear for these fit young Marines,
0:22:32 > 0:22:39who could join the growing number of seriously injured. They put
0:22:39 > 0:22:43themselves at risk every time they step outside this base. There's a
0:22:43 > 0:22:46glorious vanity about them all that I love. I'm sure shop keepers
0:22:46 > 0:22:53around Britain enjoying Royal Marines buying fancy clothes as
0:22:53 > 0:22:58well to perch on top of their perfect fi seeks. There's a mix of
0:22:59 > 0:23:08vanity and ruggedness and hardness. I mean some of them are just, I
0:23:09 > 0:23:15
0:23:15 > 0:23:19think of Olympic athlete status Afghanistan has taken a terrible
0:23:19 > 0:23:24toll these last ten years. Baz knows he's been given a second
0:23:24 > 0:23:29chance. You'll have all this dangling down here. You hold it
0:23:29 > 0:23:33with your left hand. But daddy can't. So all we do is simply
0:23:33 > 0:23:36back... He wasn't expected to live, let alone walk again. We started
0:23:36 > 0:23:41fly-fishing all three of us. To be able to do that, to take the girls,
0:23:41 > 0:23:44be able to do things with them, it's unbelievable. Nice and gently
0:23:44 > 0:23:49like that. I have to correct my walking now to
0:23:49 > 0:23:55be able to walk my girls down the aisle I suppose. I would never have
0:23:55 > 0:24:04believed anybody to have said "You'll be able to walk 10k".
0:24:04 > 0:24:0910k remains Baz's immediate challenge. Corporal Jay Hare has
0:24:09 > 0:24:14found solace in an unlikely setting. The wounds of his Afghanistan were
0:24:14 > 0:24:22physical and psychological. When I was first injured, up till probably
0:24:22 > 0:24:28the year-and-a-half point, I was still very angry, very upset, yeah
0:24:28 > 0:24:34maybe, drank a little bit too heavily sometimes, thought too much
0:24:34 > 0:24:38about mates that I'd lost. It could have been me, feeling sorry for
0:24:38 > 0:24:43myself. I know it probably upset people, close people, close friends
0:24:43 > 0:24:49around me, by having the evil tongue and the way I was acting.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53His search has taken him to the rolling hills of Royal Deeside to
0:24:53 > 0:24:58Horseback UK, a charity that teaches wounded servicemen and
0:24:58 > 0:25:04women to ride. If you're missing a leg or two legs, these things have
0:25:04 > 0:25:10got four. They can get you up a hill and move you at 30mph etc and
0:25:10 > 0:25:14more. If you're good on a horse, you can dart around, you still have
0:25:14 > 0:25:18that adrenaline. It calms you down. You have to be calm around the
0:25:18 > 0:25:24horse. How do you feel when you're on a horse, going 30mph, do you
0:25:24 > 0:25:28feel I'm Jay pre-the IED again? don't really think that. I think
0:25:28 > 0:25:33Jay don't come off at this speed! You don't want to go back in
0:25:33 > 0:25:36hospital. One of the thaings that we've seen in the last ten years,
0:25:36 > 0:25:39guys making it home who wouldn't have made it home ten years ago.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43With that comes a responsibility, in my opinion. If you're going to
0:25:43 > 0:25:49fix a man, you better give them a fixture. It's our responsibility as
0:25:49 > 0:25:52a society to be imaginetive about how we think of these young men and
0:25:52 > 0:25:54women's future and take some time and effort in helping them
0:25:54 > 0:25:58transition from the military world, which they're going to have to
0:25:58 > 0:26:07leave through injury, to the civilian world, which is very, very
0:26:07 > 0:26:11different to the intensity of Afghanistan. Right leg on, looking
0:26:11 > 0:26:16where you want to go. The horses have helped Jay overcome his demons.
0:26:16 > 0:26:21Now he's teaching others. When you get to where I am now, start
0:26:21 > 0:26:25turning and looking to where you want to go. He's ready to confront
0:26:25 > 0:26:30his future. I'm 90% sure that I'll go for facial reconstruction, but
0:26:30 > 0:26:34that was something that I either did immediately or the longer it
0:26:34 > 0:26:40took, it was harder and then the more I was thinking about it. I had
0:26:40 > 0:26:45to come to terms with it in my own mind and I'm probably going to look
0:26:45 > 0:26:50a lot worse before I look a lot better. Jay has regained his self-
0:26:50 > 0:27:00assurance and a new set of skills, building a life after the military.,
0:27:00 > 0:27:04
0:27:04 > 0:27:14Back in Helmand, the view from 45's HQ lookout point is a world away
0:27:14 > 0:27:15
0:27:15 > 0:27:18from a war zone. When do you go to school? One o'clock, until? The
0:27:18 > 0:27:25Marines have been making new young friends and settling into their
0:27:25 > 0:27:29routine. Armed contacts with the enemy are few. 45 don't know if
0:27:29 > 0:27:36this is a lull before the traditional summer fighting season
0:27:36 > 0:27:40begins or something more hopeful. But the threat of IEDs is constant,
0:27:40 > 0:27:46as the Marines were about to discover.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50The message over the radio which is "contact IED strike", and it's one
0:27:50 > 0:27:54of those moments that turns everyone's blood to ice. You're
0:27:54 > 0:28:00hanging on every word to see if there are casualties. When someone
0:28:00 > 0:28:05steps on an IED you clearly think the worst. A reservist, Don MacLean,
0:28:05 > 0:28:12had become the latest casualty of the war. I was the second man in
0:28:12 > 0:28:15the patrol. As we came through the, it was very high roots, it was like
0:28:15 > 0:28:22elephant grass you have out there. You're fighting your way through
0:28:22 > 0:28:26that. Next thing I know is there's a loud bang. I fell, hit the ground.
0:28:26 > 0:28:31I remember lying there and then just feeling, there was a bit of a
0:28:31 > 0:28:35delay in terms of shock. Suddenly you feel the pain. Not all the
0:28:35 > 0:28:40explosives had gone off. Really it was just the detonator and the
0:28:40 > 0:28:46pressure pad that had blown him onto his back and broken several
0:28:46 > 0:28:52bones in his foot. The greatest relief to everybody was how lucky
0:28:52 > 0:29:02we all were that to step on an IED and get away with it without
0:29:02 > 0:29:05
0:29:05 > 0:29:08Good running mechanics, yeah, driving with the arms. Imagine that
0:29:08 > 0:29:16balloon pulling your head up, keeping your spine nice and
0:29:16 > 0:29:22straight. And last little push now to the finish.
0:29:22 > 0:29:27To build his endurance for the 10k walk to come, Baz is training hard.
0:29:27 > 0:29:32What about the 10k, how big an effort is going to be required for
0:29:32 > 0:29:35him to do that? It's massive. It's absolutely massive, bearing in mind
0:29:35 > 0:29:39at the minute he's doing a mile- and-a-half. The unfortunate thing
0:29:39 > 0:29:44is because of how complex his injuries are, he often gets
0:29:44 > 0:29:48infections and illness, things like that. Obviously, it's setting him
0:29:48 > 0:29:51back with his training for the 10k. In the last few years IEDs have
0:29:51 > 0:29:56become more powerful, designed to increase the mutilation they
0:29:56 > 0:30:02inflict. One of the operations was where they remove ribs from my
0:30:02 > 0:30:08ribcage to rebuild the hand bone. Unfortunately that died. An the
0:30:08 > 0:30:12only way to keep my hand alive was to put my hand inside my tummy.
0:30:12 > 0:30:19It's a technique they've used since the First World War. I stayed like
0:30:19 > 0:30:23that for three to four weeks with my hand in my tummy and then let
0:30:23 > 0:30:30the skin attach itself to my hand and removed it. I could have said I
0:30:30 > 0:30:37wanted to be like Peter Andre, instead of getting the abs put in,
0:30:37 > 0:30:41I got them sculpted instead. Just kidding. I've got scars everywhere
0:30:41 > 0:30:46as you can see. Don MacLean, despite being dubbed the luckiest
0:30:46 > 0:30:53man in Helmand, after stepping on an IED is facing more surgery. He's
0:30:53 > 0:31:00already had six operations on his foot, but the surgeons pronose is
0:31:00 > 0:31:06includes devastating news. Because I'm likely to have pain when I walk
0:31:06 > 0:31:11and obviously, arthritis further down the line, that the best thing
0:31:11 > 0:31:18to do is either to fuse my bones where then I walk with a bad limp
0:31:18 > 0:31:27because I can't flex my foot as I could now, or ultimately it be
0:31:27 > 0:31:31holding me back too much and the best thing to do is amputate it.
0:31:31 > 0:31:35And you're feelings on potentially losing your foot? Probably cross
0:31:35 > 0:31:40that bridge when I come to it. I have thought about it and it's not
0:31:40 > 0:31:43as scary as it was. I'm sure that might change when they go to say,
0:31:44 > 0:31:49this is going to be the best way to have a quality of life that you
0:31:49 > 0:31:59want, so it's just take that, as I say, cross that bridge when we come
0:31:59 > 0:32:12
0:32:12 > 0:32:15The roadside bombs that mutilate also kill. The IEDs account for
0:32:15 > 0:32:24more than half of the deaths of British servicemen and women in
0:32:24 > 0:32:28Afghanistan. A vast slab of granite will make up the centrepiece of the
0:32:28 > 0:32:32marines memorial garden that Baz has been working on. On it is
0:32:32 > 0:32:37etched the name of every Royal Marine from 45 who's been killed in
0:32:37 > 0:32:41service. On their last two tours of Afghanistan, 13 names were added to
0:32:41 > 0:32:47that list. A fair few names on there that I
0:32:47 > 0:32:51know. It could have been my name on that memorial stone. Somedays you
0:32:51 > 0:32:55think, "There's things that are worse than dying, living the rest
0:32:55 > 0:33:00of your life with a disability that you will have to take care with."
0:33:00 > 0:33:10But it makes me stronger, because if I can't do it, then nobody can
0:33:10 > 0:33:17
0:33:17 > 0:33:26It's the day of the 10k walk and there's a large turnout in support
0:33:26 > 0:33:32of the garden. For all his training, to date the furthest Baz has
0:33:32 > 0:33:41managed to walk is two kilometres. His walk starts and to encourage
0:33:41 > 0:33:46him on, his dad and his daughter Rhea are coming too.
0:33:46 > 0:33:55The day will be a huge challenge for Baz's rehabilitation and his
0:33:55 > 0:34:01self-esteem. Oh, thank you! Can I have a kiss.
0:34:01 > 0:34:08Thank you very much. Walking with a heavy prosthetic leg means Baz uses
0:34:08 > 0:34:14far more energy than an able-bodied person. That's 107 minutes, so
0:34:14 > 0:34:23that's... Watch the kerb. That's probably the longest I've actually
0:34:23 > 0:34:32walked in one session. Steady boy. Morning. Keep up the good work.
0:34:32 > 0:34:42Thank you very much. It's swollen up. You can tell my stump. It's not
0:34:42 > 0:34:50in the socket properly. After four kilometres, the stump is beginning
0:34:50 > 0:34:55to rub raw. How do? Baz's trainer Sam is
0:34:55 > 0:35:05monitoring his condition. There's no chance that I'll give up
0:35:05 > 0:35:14
0:35:14 > 0:35:17or give in. It's not in my nature. Spwaz concerned. -- Sam is
0:35:17 > 0:35:27concerned. Baz is due to have an operation soon. Any infection could
0:35:27 > 0:35:41
0:35:41 > 0:35:51How painful is it Baz? A little bit. Baz battles on.
0:35:51 > 0:35:52
0:35:52 > 0:35:59Three hours in, and he's forced to take to his wheelchair.
0:36:00 > 0:36:09To his dad, he's unbowed. To do what you've done, you walked
0:36:10 > 0:36:10
0:36:10 > 0:36:51Apology for the loss of subtitles for 41 seconds
0:36:51 > 0:37:01He is adamant he'll walk across that line. I have been told he's
0:37:01 > 0:37:02
0:37:02 > 0:37:12not to overdo it, but he would just go on, any way. I'm very proud.
0:37:12 > 0:37:14
0:37:14 > 0:37:22All right? It's all right. It's taken five hours and a massive
0:37:22 > 0:37:27effort. Baz's triumph of marks the end of
0:37:27 > 0:37:31another stage in his remarkable journey. He'll soon be back in
0:37:31 > 0:37:41hospital awaiting a major operation, which he hopes will put him further
0:37:41 > 0:37:45along his road to rehabilitation. Three-and-a-half -- 3,500 miles
0:37:45 > 0:37:53away a young commando from 45 has become a new statistic. He stepped
0:37:53 > 0:37:58on an IED and has lost three limbs. In a sense, the number of
0:37:58 > 0:38:05amputations is the hidden legacy of the Afghanistan war.
0:38:05 > 0:38:08It's not the sombre spectacle of a frontline vigil. Tributes for a
0:38:08 > 0:38:13fallen comrade. It is not the ultimate sacrifice.