Ross Kemp in Afghanistan is a Sky One British documentary series fronted by actor Ross Kemp about the British soldiers fighting in the War in Afghanistan as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission against the Taliban. The first two series involved Kemp and a small embedded film crew following troops fighting in Helmand Province, documenting their part in the ongoing Operation Herrick.
The first series, first broadcast in January 2008, followed the 2007 deployment of the 1st Battalion (1 Royal Anglians, "The Vikings") of the Royal Anglian Regiment. As a follow-up to the first series, Ross Kemp: Return to Afghanistan, first broadcast from 1 February 2009, followed the 2008 deployment of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (5 Scots), the 5th battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. Kemp and his crew participate in the Vikings' (Royal Anglians) initial training in Britain for the deployment. They then visit the unit during their six-month tour, filming both life at rest and on fighting patrols in Helmand. The series finally covers their return to the UK. In the second series, Kemp returns to Afghanistan to assess how the conflict has changed since his first visit in 2007.
A special two-part third series, entitled Middle East, follows Kemp as he visits soldiers working in Gaza and Israel. In the fourth series, Back on the Frontline, Kemp returns to the frontline with the Royal Marines as he re-visits Afghanistan two years after he last departed, to see how the country has progressed since his last visit. A final special, broadcast in 2012, entitled The Invisible Wounded, follows soldiers as they return home from Afghanistan, some of whom are forced to deal with the aftermath of PTSD.
Unlike a "traditional" war documentary, the first series was firmly positioned by Kemp as being the "soldiers' story", focusing on the experiences of the soldiers at home and abroad, and also features the views of their families. With a personal connection with the Vikings, Kemp is an ardent supporter of the men and the mission, and his film makes many criticisms of the situation the soldiers find themselves in.
During the filming of the first series, in one engagement the crew were pinned down by fire from the Taliban, with Kemp "nearly dying" with bullets passing "within inches". In filming the second series, Kemp runs into a possible minefield. The show was praised for the closeness and realism of the battle footage, and is believed to be the first documentary of its kind filmed in high definition.
Episode list Transmissions SeriesAirdates# of episodesDVD release dateDVD notes1: Ross Kemp in Afghanistan21 January — 18 February 200857 April 2008Contains all five episodes.2: Return to Afghanistan1 February — 1 March 200956 April 2009Contains all five episodes.3: Middle East3 January — 10 January 2010219 April 2010Contains both episodes.4: Back on the Frontline14 November — 12 December 2011516 January 2012Contains all five episodes.Special: The Invisible Wounded12 November 20121This special has never been released on DVD.
Background
Motivation Kemp expressed that the a main motivation for the series was to hear from the soldiers who generally don't have a voice compared to other public workers. Kemp stated: "I've got many friends who are in the services, but you never really hear a squaddie giving his point of view. I'd never heard one talk publicly and I wanted to hear that voice." This would be the view of the young men being sent to the foreign climes of Afghanistan from a situation such as being 18 years old and still living at home with mum and dad, as opposed to hearing from officers trained in media relations. The series would examine the experiences of soldiers at home, injured soldiers and the families of serving soldiers. Kemp wanted to ascertain the motivation of the troops, their level of political knowledge about the situation, their views on Muslims. Kemp stated his opinion that the public gaining an understanding of what it's like for the soldiers is a good thing whatever anyone's political views on the war., informing the public what was happening out there and what the soldiers are doing for the people back home who are "fortunate to live in a free country".
Setting up The idea of the documentary was first thought of by Kemp around January 2005, after the series on GangsThe Times Ross Kemp goes to war, 19 January 2008 when he came up with the idea of embedding himself with a unit. Kemp had initially wanted to do a series about troops in Iraq following the 2003 invasion and posed the idea to James Murdoch, head of Sky TV. Due to the prevailing sensitive political situation, the MOD were reluctant. as it was around the time of the controversial death of David Kelly.
After repeated enquiries to the MOD, they suggested and later approved a series in Afghanistan. The program also had support of a brigadier who had gone to school with one of the programme's makers. The commanding officer of the Anglians initially approved filming of the training by the crew on a probationary basis. The crew were subsequently deemed to have "handled ourselves reasonably well" and were allowed to go on the deployment.
Kemp's personal link to Anglians The Anglians were chosen as Kemp has a twofold personal interest in the Vikings. His father saw active service as part of the Anglians in the 1950s, and had served inMOD Defence News "We should be proud": Ross Kemp on his Afghan experience, 19 February 2008 one of the Royal Anglians predecessor units, the Royal Norfolk Regiment, for four years in Cyprus. Kemp also claimed to have an affinity with the soldiers in the Royal Anglians, as having grown up in Essex/East Anglia,Sky Online Ross Kemp in Afghanistan, Kemp's Journal, page 3 he had the same background and possessed shared life experiences as the troops who fall in the Anglians' recruiting area, albeit with an age difference. Kemp at 43 is significantly older than the current generation of front line troops, who are invariably very young, several just 18 years old.
Series in detail
Synopsis The series follows the soldiers of B Company of the 1st Battalion on their training for deployment, on fighting operations, as well as examining life and conditions at the Now Zad front line base.Sky Online Ross Kemp in Afghanistan Episode synopsis - Episode 3 At times the Taliban are no more than 50 metres away.Sky Online Ross Kemp in Afghanistan Episode synopsis - Episode 5 The series also features interviews with soldiers and their families while still in England before deployment; with the mother of the Anglians' first casualty in Afghanistan, killed in May 2007 in a firefight at Nawzad; with the family of one of the men killed in the friendly fire incident; and with a corporal who survived the bombing. The series runs until the soldiers return to the UK.
Timeline The crew trained with the battalion in January 2007 for eight weeks at Pirbright barracks, Surrey, and Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, in a cold British winter in freezing temperatures, three months prior to deployment for real. From March - August 2007 as part of 12th Mechanised Brigade, the 1st Battalion was deployed to the Helmand province of Afghanistan as part of Operation Lastay Kulang (Pashto for "pickaxe-handle".), the sixth phase of the ongoing Operation Herrick. During this six-month tour The Battalion's activities ranged from protecting convoys and guarding the Kajaki Dam to house to house clearances in Taliban held villages during major offensives in the Sangin ValleyThe MOD Oracle News, Ross Kemp In Afghanistan, 14 January 2008 At one point the soldiers are fighting for 23 days straight between rest periods. The crew spent two months in Afghanistan in three separate spells.Sky Online Synopsis - Ross Kemp in Afghanistan The crew first arrived at Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, the main British base in Afghanistan, before moving on to forward operating bases at Lashkar Gah, Sangin and Nawzad.
On arrival at Bastion, the crew are given a medical briefingSky Online Ross Kemp in Afghanistan Episode synopsis - Episode 2 before immediately accompanying an offensive operation in the 'green zone', a thin strip of farm land along the banks of the Helmand River, during which a corporal is killed when an improvised explosive device blows up his vehicle. While the crew is back in England, three soldiers are killed in a friendly fire incident.Sky Online Ross Kemp in Afghanistan Episode synopsis - Episode 4 Eight days after, the crew returned to Afghanistan for a second tour in late August for three weeks. On returning to the UK, Kemp met Defence Secretary Des Browne and gave MPs a preview of the series at the House of Commons.<
Training Training consisted among other things of sleeping out with the unit for about a month on Salisbury Plain, mock battles in a cold-war era mock Eastern European village, convoy protection, deployment from Chinook helicopters,Sky Online Ross Kemp in Afghanistan Episode synopsis - Episode 1 military tactics, and what to expect while in country. In mock battles, Kemp and others were judged to have been 'killed'. In an unusual practice not known for embedded journalists with the MOD, the crew were taught how to handle and fire weapons, namely the SA80 personal rifle and .50 calibre machine gun. The crew would not be carrying weapons in the field, but the commanding officer insisted the crew were trained to be able to defend themselves in an emergency.
Deployment incidents Convoy IED strike On the first operation in Afghanistan, a convoy a few hours out from the main base a Viking armoured vehicle was struck by an IED, which killed a corporal. The crew were in a convoy just ahead of the struck vehicle, and had apparently driven past the location of the IED.
Friendly fire incident On Thursday 23 August, in a "blue on blue accident", a fighting patrol north west of Kajaki was struck by friendly fire when the patrol called in close air support after they were attacked from a number of positions. Three soldiers were killed when bombs dropped by two American F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft hit their compound. The three fatalities were declared dead at the scene, while two more that were seriously injured were evacuated by helicopter to the medical facility at Camp Bastion.BBC News 'Friendly fire' kills UK soldiers, accessed 2 Aug 2008 The series features amateur video footage of the incident taken by the soldiers at the time.
Major engagement On his second day in Afghanistan Kemp "nearly got shot" when the crew were pinned down when accompanying B CompanyThe Times Ross Kemp under fire in Afghanistan, 7 January 2008 were ambushed in broad daylight while on an operation against Taliban compounds near Sangin. The patrol was designed to cause an engagement with the Taliban by patrolling into an area where they knew the Taliban would be likely to attack, allowing the patrol to counterattack and call in the heavy artillery. The contact started as the patrol walked into an area near Jucaylay village. The Taliban were hidden in irrigation channels in the fields and apparently knew the patrol was coming and had prepared an ambush. The contact occurred when the patrol stepped out of cover to go around a compound.
One round passed between Kemp's shoulder and head upon which Kemp stated he wet himself, although on another occasion he later claimed this may have been due to a split water pouch. The crew were pinned down by accurate fire from AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), with five to seven RPGs flying over their heads by just a metre and bullets passing inches from their heads and hitting the ground either side of them. Only after fierce return fire and a delay of three or four minutes could the crew be extracted.
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