Air Force Afghanistan E05 (2009)

There are emotional scenes tonight at RAF Honington. The Air Force WAGs say goodbye to their men, who are leaving for a tour of duty guarding Kandahar air base in Afghanistan.
But whether the girls left at home will be reassured by this new documentary series about life at Kandahar is doubtful - now not only do they have the Taliban to worry about, there’s the Thai massage parlour on the base to occupy their waking thoughts.
When one of the new arrivals describes the surprisingly well-equipped Kandahar as being like a summer camp, he’s right in some respects.
There’s American football, ice hockey (without the ice), a pizza bar that’s open till 2am and a weekly market where you can go to be ripped off by the locals.
In fact, everything about this series - from Dexter Fletcher’s jokey, blokey voiceover to a lengthy report on Kandahar’s Strongest Man contest - seems designed to distract us from the serious purpose of the troops’ presence.
But all those jets, bombers and unmanned reconnaissance planes on the base aren’t simply elaborate fairground rides, and occasionally the war is allowed to intrude on proceedings. As the new boys make their first, nervous mission outside the wire, pilot Richard Hillard takes to the air in a Harrier GR9 jump jet laden with rockets and bombs weighing over 2,000lb.
His mission is to take some aerial photos - until he gets a call that the ground troops are under attack...

[@garyfrench6536]

It's mad seeing how the other half lived. When I went on leave I transited through Kandahar for 24 hours. It was a shock to my system.
I remember it taking IDF and some random going mental at us as we hadn't donned our body armour and helmets even though we weren't even remotely bothered.

[@johnnunn8688]

US General didn’t return the AVM’s salute. How ignorant and disrespectful!

[@spartanbanjo2118]

Not too sure but I think that's so then if enemy are watching they wouldn't know if he is a high ranking official

[@johnnunn8688]

@@spartanbanjo2118, in combat yes, that’s a thing but not when being met in a secure location.

[@EDProductionsYT]

Most American generals are

[@Daculaboy]

​@@EDProductionsYT why salute their bitches ? 😂

[@jonny62ezyyy16]

The American military in a nutshell

[@BucyKalman]

A human-controlled drone is very different from an autonomous AI robot killer. As always, people are afraid of technologies they don't understand, but there is a legitimate debate whether we are prepared to cross the line of AI weapons or not.

[@mahadehasankhan8536]

Hi. Every one. My. US. Air force.

[@muhammadarifkhan6791]

The reality of American force

[@jebbus8387]

these are brits

[@juicyj3819]

I wonder if Kate is single? 🤔

[@Ta-up1yt]

enemy lines,ha,ha you were the fuck,n, enemy!

[@Hero.Lone-Wolf]

This is why we lost the war...smh....

[@danielleeming1027]

And whys that?

[@newguy954]

@@danielleeming1027 the narrator tells us the women who visit the bazzar gets a chance to brush up on her arabic in afghanistan whose official language is pashto and dari not arabic

[@lovechineseforever9434]

LOL YOU LOST