Our War: 10 Years in Afghanistan
Series marking the ten-year anniversary of the war in Afghanistan, telling the story of the conflict through the words and pictures of the young soldiers themselves.
Ambushed - This opening part of the series tells the story of a close-knit group of friends from 3 Platoon, 1st Battalion Royal Anglian regiment, who were sent to Helmand province in 2007. For most of them it was their first experience of war. The whole tour was filmed on a helmet camera by the platoon's sergeant, who captured the moment when one of his men, 19-year-old Private Chris Gray, was killed in a Taliban ambush. The film explores the effects of his death on both his mates in the platoon and his family back in the UK.
The Invisible Enemy - The second episode focuses on a young platoon from the Grenadier Guards and their terrifying struggle with landmines, also known as Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs). Captain Alex Rawlins filmed his men as they lost of one their mates, 23-year-old Guardsman Jamie Janes, who stood on a landmine during a patrol. The film shows how Jamie Janes's death became a turning point in the British public's awareness of the human cost of IEDs and how a misspelled letter turned into a political storm for the then Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.
Caught in the Crossfire - The final part starts in 2009 and tells the story of 2nd Battalion Princess of Wales regiment as it comes to terms with new rules of fighting brought in to protect civilians. Private Mike McCabe is filmed being shot in the leg during a Taliban ambush. By 2010, the Scots Guards find themselves fighting a very different war - a battle for hearts and minds.
They struggle to train a local force, the Afghan National Police, who fight in a reckless and dangerous way. The risks are hammered home when Guardsman Daniel Clarke films a three-year-old girl who has been seriously injured by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by the ANP. The Scots Guards tour ends in tragedy when six members of the ANP are massacred in their sleep.
are the guns Famass
The so called worthless guitar playing scenes you tal about are the reality of war that is the reality of what keeps the troops sane and keeps morale up even when you've just watched your close friend and comrade get blown to pieces! If you don't like the real stuff, the stuff that tells you what its like for the soldiers on the ground then go youtube "Shooting and violence". Being a person who dreams of going into the army and through sandhurst, this program is perfect for me, as maybe one day I will find myself in a position where I will sing and dance around playing my guitar so that my troops don't give up hope.
This sucks! All it shows is these (I don't want to say it but..) stupid guys who are just ******* around. Like I don't want to constantly see the shooting and violence, I'm watching this so I can see what war is like in reality. But they seriously need to cut down on the worthless guitar playing scenes and **** like that.
Return to your infantile computer games boy! Try holding ground with air-power and we see who wins in the long run. You are running out of credibility fast so calling names is not going to take you anywhere.
Have the British people forgotten the Afghans whipped your asses badly three time before? At Gandamak they killed 16000 of you and Indian subjects. They are going to do it again. They are not in a hurry, they will do it in 30 or a hundred years if they have to, they have time and can take the casualties you can't. Weeping over a group casualty? That's what your actions do every day causing destruction the Afghans are loving you for it! Not! Are you prepared to exterminate half of all of the Afghan population, at least mentally? Course you have to be if you like to claim a "real" lasting victory. I can understand the historyless-brain-washed yankies rush to war but British? So cut the bullshit an say that its a war about resources.
The Taliban are the Pushtun Tribes . Number wise most of them reside in Pakistan and some in Afghanistan. The Pushtun Tribe is a fierce fighting tribe and once they resort to fighting , there is no match for them in the world, as they then don't care about their life and care about nothing. This comes from a Pak Pushtun himself and I know very well what is going on in Afghanistan.
afghanistans been at war for so long now and so many different forces have been there 'occupying' it that to get as irate over it as some comments suggest is pointless the afghans just want to be at peace and for civilians across the nation to be at peace. However for centuries the nation has been split by tribe aswell as allegiance to political and religious sectors. The taliban are one fundamentalist sect who have gained all their power off the back of the USSR (not russian) invasion. One of te most beautifull countries in the world was destroyed and their economy shattered. The taliban then helped remove them and pick up the civilian areas with employment (mainly poppy cultivation and the stabalisation of te country. HOWEVER they soon resorted to killing their own afghans in extremely brutal ways carrying out their interpretation of gods will and spreading their beliefs and power with a spear. This is not ISLAM but a sectarian belief. Equal in extremity to evangelical christians. The people of Afghan want peace the taliban do not. The NATO forces (British, American, Estonian, French, Australian +more) are there to push the taliban out of the country they use as their stageing area and poppy growing lands. They are wanted and needed by the afghans, why else would thousand be joining the ANA and ANP monthly from all tribal backgrounds to fight along side NATO forces to destroy the taliban.... And to say the war will never be won therefore the british are just on a crusade is stupid because the concept of the war is moronic. A war on an Ideal such as the war on terror or the war on drugs will never win because your fighting a way of thinking and living which will always exist for some. There are always those who dissagree.
Good luck to all on tour stay safe tread light be fair.
Great documentary. I'm American, and it was eye-opening to see how our British brothers are doing. My best to all our compatriots across the Pond. I hope the schools stay open in remembrance of the Major.
Warriors all over seem to be similiar, sometimes we are fearless, other times we hide our heads.
But nothing is as thrilling as being able to shoot back at folks that are shooting at you.
Whooooa daddy that NCO screaming is NOT helping.
propaganda for a retreating imperial force
Great docu, I'm enlisting the US Army as infantry and found this quite enlightening as to what I will be experiencing soon. I hope my tour fares better than theirs.
Cheers.
While you guys are arguing over which empire is more corrupt... your missing the point entirely. Watch Endgame on this site, then tell me which one is more corrupt.
the uk is just as corrupt as the americans..to not think so is funny,cause if they were not as corrupt they would be a wasteland of a island.unable to support its population.and with that its fuel needs and so on..anyway the war is a waste of time other then to make money and have ppl killed.i didnt watch it cause the us made war docs suck and never show real combat footage but dudes shooting into empty hill sides or open feilds or empty houses,,boring
@James Irvine
Vietnam wasn't a 1st. Do you want to list that goes some 40Y back?
I don't call that a "Youngster" in any manner but rather a delinquant who done his classes at the "School of the Assasins", Fort Benning, Georgia. USA that later had a "Fanchise" in Panama before Bush Sr. became intolerant ($) toward his partner Noriega that he entroned over there.
A specialist of drug deal was needed. Colonel North was thus assigned to the contrat drugs/arms deal. If you are unaware, you're too young.
Being that young, you as also unaware of all the civil abuse(S) your CIA have inflicted to the Chilian nation when they murdered the demotratically elected president Allende to enthrone the USA backed psychotic Pinochet.
All things considered, these criminals fit your USA apple pie way of life so well, you're look alikes sub-humans.
Pierre.
In the end, I didn't learn what they done wrong to get caught into that ambush. I guess that once one life is lost, it becomes useless to know the details.
In a previous comment, it was suggested that the Taliban are far from changing their social behavior and I agree totally with this.
The coalition should have simply parked a few destroyers and aircraft carriers in front of Afghanistan just to bomb the infratructures of the Taliban parliement & whatever army facilities they have. (1-3) months and then wait.
I guess that the "Allies" know how to source the information that could permit "Targetting bombing?
At least, they have the money to inquire!
~ 3 months pass by and repeat the destruction once more.
Again & again, over & over.
Anyhow, they'll now be faced with something like that while simple bombing from abroad would have been much, much less expensive. They could have kept on going for generations.
Pierre.
US embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul is getting targeted now. The West have lost this war. Even the best army in the world won't defeat the deluded ideology of the Taliban. This was by the way created by the CIA with the help of ISI to recruit fighters against the Soviets.
as usual the casulties are counted by the coalition forces which rarely if ever include the people that call afganistan their home.
how horrible is war...while one couldn't help but feel great pity for Gray, his family and his mates I also couldn't help but think about the dead Taliban kids as well...right or wrong...how horrible is war?
Anyone who liked this should read Patrick Bishops 3 Para.It tells the story of what happened in Sangin in 2006.This docu doesn't tell a quarter of how bad it was and what they went through.
@ Regan,Yeah the wars a load a shite but its the politicians that send em there!They're just doing a job and half of em don't even understand/agree with the reasons they are sent there.As for em being weedy and pasty faced,They went weeks without a resupply and came extremely close to running out of supplies.So what little food they had had to be rationed.Plus the constant fighting,stress and heat don't help.
Anyone who liked this should read Patrick Bishops 3 Para.It tells the story of what happened in Sangin in 2006.This docu doesnt tell a quater of how bad it was and what they went through.
@ Regan,Yeah the wars a load a shit but its the politicians that send em there!They're just doin a job and half of em dont even understand/agree with the reasons thay are sent there.As for em being weedy and pasty faced They went weeks without a resupply and came extremely close to running out of supplies.So what little food they had had to be rationed.Plus the constant fighting,stress and heat dont help.
these Brits look like whimps! the Taliban must be pissing themselves watching these weedy pastey faced brainwashed Poms coming to fight! And before anyone starts slagging me, I'm English myself and this war is a load of bol*ocks!
Poor kids, and even when they do get home it wont ever be over for them.
I love how the soldier said that they are doing good over there because the town went from empty to having trade again. Thus the sacrifices were not in vain.
It was the invasion's fault it was emptied in the first place!!!!
Should be re-titled "Their war" not "Our War" only ones that benefit are the elite!
Fighting and dying, Poor to middle class men being use by govt to make corporations and ruling class richer at the tax payers expense. We guard th corperations resources over there! They don't talk about the giant gas and oil pipe line that run through there.
Brave young men. But they were too young. Battle age should be between 30-45 years when men are grown. Sending in 22-28 years old men ... I dont know. Best.