Our War: 10 Years in Afghanistan

Ratings: 7.95/10 from 38 users.

Our War: 10 Years in AfghanistanSeries 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.


More great documentaries

55 Comments / User Reviews

  1. TBNRKooby

    are the guns Famass

  2. James Berry

    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.

  3. Bettybarber91

    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.

    1. WesternApproaches

      75% of war is spent sitting around.

    2. TBNRKooby

      thats actually very true :)

    3. AllShookUp

      Those "stupid guys who are just ******* around" Have saved you from a lifetime of manipulation from the Taliban. How dare you say that about soldiers. This IS what war is like in reality and if you don't agree that somebody from your Country being shot by a member of the Taliban is violent enough then I think you have some serious issues.

    4. TBNRKooby

      You wanna go fight enemies you can barely see with no one assuring you that you wouldn't die.

    5. speck

      maybe you don't want to accept reality. these are front line infantry which represents a small percentage of armed services. other areas are just like regular jobs...nothing to write home about. even the front line can be extremely boring, think you may watch to many movies and whatever don't join you will be unhappy

  4. aramid

    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.

  5. Sniff_from_Ggb

    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.

    1. Tyson Wardleigh

      and how are they going to manage that when the allies have complete control of the air? dumbass

    2. Lblonde

      How dare you contradict anyone who is fighting for their country. No war is right I admit but they dont your opinion. Why dont you try fighting for something instead of sitting on your ass saying stupid things like "whip y asses badly"?

    3. WesternApproaches

      No they didn't.

    4. TBNRKooby

      You think you can do better

  6. Arif Khan

    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.

  7. Joe Palfreeman

    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.

  8. MG 42

    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.

  9. bcbingram

    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.

    1. from_the_bleachers

      Right, nothing is as thrilling as shooting at folks that are shooting at you for invading their land and occupying it. Amazing isn't it.
      Ask the thousands of dead U.S. and foreign soldiers how exciting it is.
      I wonder if some foreign force strolls down suburbia shooting and raiding homes, kidnapping americans to "interrogate" them, if you won't shoot at them only to have them thrilled shooting back at you..
      Warriors my ass.. Thugs is more like it.. Not all soldiers are warriors same as not all soldiers are "heros", some are just ignorant, racist and brainwashed trigger-happy a--holes..

    2. TBNRKooby

      you know, i bet at some point when you were a kid you were exaclty like bcbingram

  10. bcbingram

    Whooooa daddy that NCO screaming is NOT helping.

  11. Liebewitz

    propaganda for a retreating imperial force

  12. Yoaly Rodriguez

    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.


  13. MelanieHaynie

    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.

  14. Ðaniel Çurtis

    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

    1. James Irvine

      Corrupt as hell I agree, the reason the UK have got involved in most wars has been to protect their economic interests e.g. the UK got involved with WW1 primarily because Germany was becoming stronger as a nation and beginning to have aspirations to have a bigger empire abroad etc, it was the same reason the British invaded Russia previously. Also WW2 was conducted in a criminal manner, the allies knew they were going to be beaten and resorted to the lowest tactic imaginable to target civilians in their homes. It was the worst atrocity in history and some stories were invented I believe to cover it up and there is evidence for this but it will never be investigated properly because if they hadn't did that then they had likely lost the war. However since WW2 the UK has given up its empire and invited the world to share in their wealth and completely changed their game or maybe thats how they wish it to appear but what they are doing right now will result in the end of the UK as we know it. The British empire is dead and the commonwealth will lose its pulse also within the next few centuries at the most. People dont have the foresight to see past their own little cosy existence and this is why with the Queen of England as the head of state and their being the house of lords to control parliament, the UK has no selfish agenda at all at this time and is a blind man walking towards a death pit. All empires come to an end and have to adapt just as the Roman empire had to and did, the Romans became Christians the UK will become whatever anyone wishes it to be, the winner decides and the English, scots, welsh and Irish have no say in the matter. That doesn't sound like a country hungry to conquer but maybe one who has an image of being a knight in shining Armour with no regard for its own interests. Its a complete turnaround and so any examples of British aggression in the past are not applicable to the UK of today.

  15. Guest

    @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.


    1. James Irvine

      well Pierre no one said the Americans are good boys but the UK definitely are, the UK might have had an empire and people will claim they were tyrants but its not quite so. The UK adopted the customs of the local people like in India for example and they also played a big part in the abolition of slavery which the arabs started, i.e. stealing africans to sell. The west had no part in that. If the UK are involved with something you know that it is for good intentions. I dont pretend the British are not guilty of their fair share of evil like during the 2nd world war for example but I can assure you the UK is now clean and does not and would not get involved in shady wars for money or oil or anything else for that matter, only to help people such as the falklands war for example.

    2. Guest

      In no way did I ever mentioned anything about the UK.

      Yet! it dates back to previous centuries anyhow.
      And; Right: The UK is the first empire who gave back the autonomy to previously conquered countries.
      For the least, gave it back with minimal ordeals left aside India.
      I see Blair as a stupied Bush's yesman.
      The french intelligence was already aware that the african thing was a hoax but Bush used his weight and the 9/11 ordeal.


  16. Guest

    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.


  17. annoymouse5

    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.

  18. staszekgobi

    as usual the casulties are counted by the coalition forces which rarely if ever include the people that call afganistan their home.

    1. James Irvine

      you dont know anything about the taliban and what they did to people before 9/11. Women had to beg in the street wearing a tent because they were not allowed to work, people being hanged and shot for nothing, the army are doing something amazing for the people who dont want the taliban

    2. staszekgobi

      no, i won't shut up because my comment was about media's perception of whose life is of value and not about taliban, so unless you have something related to comment on i suggest that perhaps you should go back to your commonwealth way of thinking, ok?

    3. James Irvine

      it is a program about the troops who are helping the people, not about the people.

    4. staszekgobi

      ..."it is a program about the troops who are helping people"... you assumed a position of a person that is in a 'know' yet you post a sentence that has an i.q, level the size of a napkin, unless you are talking about the soldiers who bombed and killed directly or indirectly a million unarmed people, women and children in iraq and afganistan in that case accept my apologises.
      2 million tons of bombs where dropped in laos that's 5 times hieroshima and nagasaki combined together by the heroic u.s. b-52's in much the same fashion as they are doing right now.
      installing shah of iran in 1953 (tpajax project) was an act of kindness by u.s. and u.k.? an act which eliminated democratically elected leader of that country an act which greatly contributed to the turmoil in that part of the region. the benevolent u.s. forces have 900 bases around the world and why is that exactly?
      they stood by watching what pol pot will come up with next, the east timor was a genius act on behalf of u.s. government, the uprooted people of chagos with the help of u.k. thugs are now called "the sad people", guatemala, burma, peru, vietnam, venezuela, guyana, somalia, palestine, chile, dominican republic, panama, haiti, nicaragua... the list is much, much longer and you talk about my prejudice against the uk and us? you called that a crazy conspiracy? what are you?
      i respect the fact that you are expressing your opinion but who gave you the right to invade people's homes, land, lives, create a chaos in better part of the world, i ask again: who gave you that right?
      you have been indoctrinated into believing that u.s. and u.k. are the leading nations when it comes to representing democracy; blair had 12% support before the war, did that stop him?
      you talk about mad man from iraq, you mean the same one that was helped and supported by u.s. for all those years? is that the democracy you are representing?
      according to your statement, islamic extremists don't care about palestine do you? u.s. government deposits $7 million a day to israel which created a genocide in palestine and you talk about democracy?
      you talk of dirty bombs as if the ones dropped from 30,000 feet were cleaner?
      this is not about my fantasy vision of world peace but about your ignorance towards other people and their lives around the world.
      you support a pathocratic government and why is that my fault?
      you expressed your views so here are mine ok? i just feel sometimes that we live in a world where speaking the truth is a revolutionary act.
      my believe is that ignorance always feeds on gullibility, arrogance and stupidity and the bulk of your comments are the personification of it.

    5. James Irvine

      I guess you believe that 9/11 was an inside job, that Islam means peace and that santa really exists. You are judging the US on past conflicts like Vietnam which everyone knows and accepts was pure evil. However this situation is completely different.

  19. Bruce

    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?

  20. NODRAMA1

    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.

  21. NODRAMA1

    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.

  22. Regan

    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!

    1. SurvivorVeteran

      Why is this comment edited?

    2. Epicurus

      probably the bol*ocks part was edited.

  23. Irishkev

    Poor kids, and even when they do get home it wont ever be over for them.

  24. MatarD

    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!!!!

    1. TriforceV

      Its propagated to ensure the average viewer that watch BBC three, come away with the belief that these men scarifies were legitimized.
      Same reason why the mother of the soldier KIA was lied to about the manner of her son's death.

      Because if average citizen truly knew the horrors experienced during war, they might think twice regarding their enlistment.

  25. Achems_Razor

    Should be re-titled "Their war" not "Our War" only ones that benefit are the elite!

    1. BeardHero420

      7 July - 2005

      I believe it's their war, too.

      Just sayin'

    2. RileyRampant

      their treasure, our blood.

  26. PaulBraveheart

    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.

  27. Aldo Solari

    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.

    1. Xercès Des Stèles

      what are they gonna do untill they get 30? get educated and learn about the world a little more? if they could enlist them at 16 they would.

    2. Scindere

      It is much harder to convince a a 30 to 45 year-old to obey orders without question.

    3. SurvivorVeteran

      In that extra time, they may educate themselves and realize, they want no part in a terrorist act that masquerades as a "war on terror"

    4. Kris

      Yes, let's send the old f--ks that on average cannot keep up with the pace of combat. That makes sense. There's a reason most first rate military's have cut off ages for joining. I've seen people at the upper end of the acceptable age range die from just the training...it would be ignorant to train people that old for combat and expect them to survive, much less be efficient. Leave the war-fighting to the young and the trained. there are those in that age bracket that could make it, yes, and there are those in that age bracket that started young and still do it. Those people have conditioned their bodies to the rigors of combat. Average civilians age 45 would struggle at best and like I said, at worst die before even becoming real soldiers.