Armadillo

Dear hussars and ISAF Team 7. This is it.

Is the task important? Is it still relevant for us Danes?

These are obvious questions that you may be asking yourselves.

Your predecessors in Helmand have pushed forward...

and made a huge effort in aid of a civilian population...

that has lived under miserable conditions.

For this, several of our colleagues have paid a high price.

It's your duty to continue unhesitatingly in their footsteps...

now that your government has charted its political course.

-Yes. -When are you going to Jutland?

To Jutland? That will be on... Thursday.

-And the exercise will last for...? -Ten days.

That's it, I think.

It hasn't really dawned upon me that you're actually going.

It doesn't strike you until the goodbyes.

I've spent months trying to figure it out, and I gave up. I just don't get it.

You could say it's like football.

You learn so and so much through practice...

but you learn more by playing matches.

-You also enjoy the camaraderie. -Of course. That's part of it.

-It's a challenge and an adventure... -And that's what hurts!

-An adventure? I can't... -But I want the experience.

what's up? Did you get home, or what?

No... I'm here now.

Thanks for calling. Bye.

What a trendy hairstyle, Kim! Not bad at all.

-Is that our own logo? -No. It says "Spearhead."

The Asian guy with the t-shirt...

-He's the medic in my group. -Okay?

-What does he do? -Patch us up, when necessary.

-Does he go on patrol with you? -Oh, I see. Yes, he does.

-I think I'll head upstairs. -Okay.

See you, Mom.

-Goodbye. -Behave yourself.

I want you to make sure...

that you pay attention to your surroundings.

Even if you think it's safe and sound.

Forget about yourself and what you look like.

-I'm going to miss you. -I'll miss you, too.

-I love you. -I know.

-See you. -Take care.

See you.

Bye, Dad.

-See you. -I'll hold you to that, Mads.

-Promise? -I promise.

Welcome. Welcome.

-Did you have a good trip? -It was a bit long.

We haven't been bored in Armadillo.

400 shells were fired yesterday.

-It was fairly... -400?

A Taliban mortar fired at us, and we sent off 260 120 mm...

and 120 105 mm.

Air support and Apaches were called in. It wasn't boring.

The Taliban are much more on their toes than I had thought.

They are just 800 meters away from Armadillo and on the ball.

-So we'll confront them fairly soon. -It's good there's work for us.

You can count on some action. I promise it'll be interesting.

Six months without women.

-You're awfully cheerful. -After a long night.

-You have M&Ms? -Hands off. It's my dinner.

-Your dinner? -What's your problem?

Mini wears size 3 in jackets.

Is that why his helmet says "King of the Green Zone"?

Welcome. Grab some water. I have a few pointers.

Gun line is shooting. That's why it's so noisy.

If you hear what sounds like a rocket, it's the launchers firing.

They're fired at any time of the day.

There was one. That's normal.

Here are the shower containers.

That's the Green Zone. Observe as much as possible.

When there's contact, you're obviously more exposed...

so don't just stand there staring.

"Walk-ins" stop just over there and call for an interpreter.

It doesn't take long to figure out if they're dicking around...

or if it's something useful.

-You had some questions. -Yes.

How far north from Armadillo can we go...

before the Taliban get active?

About 800-1000 meters north of Armadillo.

From up here we can draw a line almost up to the Helmand River.

This area here is basically ours.

His objective is to move south and isolate us so we can't get out...

and to diminish our influence on the locals. That's what he wants to do.

Our patrolling forces him to meet us here and fight in this narrow pass.

These people are former mujahideen and used to fight the Russians...

in the exact same area, so they're used to fighting a superior force.

They're not afraid. Ten men might attack forty.

Being outnumbered doesn't stop them. Not at all.

-They've got big balls. -That's for sure.

Did you treat the ones who were killed and wounded in December?

Unfortunately me and J were the ones who found the dead on December 19.

We were first on the spot. I grabbed a detector and started sweeping.

As we went around the vehicle, the fucking beam from my headlamp...

caught this guy right in his face. He was staring, but dead, of course.

I closed his eyes and covered up his face.

And the last guy... There wasn't much left of him.

I collected body parts for six hours. Everything.

Fingers, a hand in a glove, a knee joint, a heart lying around...

It's hard to describe what it looks like in a place like that.

You also have to keep an eye on yourself.

You're not wacko, just because you laugh at some irrelevant stuff.

You need normality, 'cause this is so senseless that you can't grasp it.

-Susanne speaking. -Hi, it's Mads.

Hi, Mads. I was hoping it was you.

-How are you? -Fine. How about you?

That's much more interesting.

-I'm fine. we're in Armadillo. -Okay.

-What's Dad up to? -He sitting right here.

I'll let you talk to him.

-Hi, Mads. -Hi, Dad. How are you?

We're fine, Mads.

But yesterday your mother had a fright...

when the phone rang in the middle of the night.

I didn't hear it, but she did. It scared the living daylights out of her.

Your first thought is that something terrible has happened.

But it was a business call from India about something they're printing...

and they forgot about the time difference.

Since we left Denmark, the enemy's objective hasn't changed.

The Taliban's objective is to destabilize security in Helmand...

and undermine the locals' trust in the ISAF forces.

It's important to get into Haftaran and Athakhan...

to establish contact with the people. When you eat your field rations...

and there's something you don't like...

I suggest you save it and bring it on patrol.

Give it to the children as a sign of goodwill.

Rules of engagement.

Remember that self-defense can apply prior to being fired upon.

Such as by confirmed weapons or people moving into a position to fire.

Yes. Go get ready.

Listen up. Line up, so 6-5 can take our picture before our first patrol.

I don't have anything.

I can see why the wadis are dangerous.

They can easily hide an IED. The thought is sickening.

We're most likely to go around it...

so it would be stupid to put one here.

905, I saw a man run through the fence on the eastern side...

of the row of bushes that run from north to south.

Welcome to Nam.

-Hey, interpreter! -Follow me. Come.

Hayatullah, hurry. Don't let them onto the poppy field.

This way. Not in the field. I will show you.

9-0 here. Civilians are showing us the route around the field.

Salaam aleikum.

How are you? Alright?

-Read your book. -Are you reading? Yes.

-It's a madrassa. -Are you studying the Koran?

-Have things been calm? -How is the situation in the area?

-Calm? -No, where is it safe?

-Are the Taliban in the area? -They've taken the whole area.

How could you not know? They're everywhere.

Tell us if you see anything.

So we can get them out of the area.

We cannot cooperate with you.

You come with all your weapons, and then you leave.

We're staying here, and then the Taliban will come after us.

But if you don't cooperate, we cannot secure the area...

and then we can't build a school for your kids.

You have guns, they have guns. If I talk, they'll cut my throat.

-First patrol reporting! -Look at my back!

Look cool, man!

Just a sec.

First patrol reporting.

It didn't feel like anything. Not really.

I probably will, when we get into the shooting.

But this is also part of it. It's not all fighting.

Right, we're also here to help these poor people.

It's like going to the fun fair without trying the rollercoasters.

Alright, let's start the debriefing.

The patrol itself. How did it go?

Individual skills really sucked. Seriously.

How many got down on their knees on short stops?

So, eight men out of 50.

Do we agree that this has to be improved?

Get into the habit now. Get your fat ass down on its knees...

because at some point if you don't, then *pow* !

So kneel, damn it! Right. Anything else?

I think I ought to say what I got out of this patrol. And it wasn't a lot.

Remember this is an agricultural area.

The farmers have just sown their wheat. And we're ploughing it down.

I could only say that our security out there was to trample their fields down.

Nothing's happening out there yet.

The good old classic. The coolest thing about porn is the storyline.

I'd like doctors like that, if I had to go to the hospital.

Strangely enough it helped him!

It's weird, don't you think? You volunteer to sleep on a tiny cot...

and eat crap food for six months.

-I know there's more to it. -I'm doing it for the team spirit.

-Team spirit and adventure. -Yeah.

-How do your parents feel about it? -They're not overjoyed.

My parents were like: "Don't go on missions"...

So I decided to go to Kosovo, and on my first day at the garrison...

I still thought I was going to Kosovo.

But at the meeting we were told that Kosovo wasn't an option.

Here it's all 'Afghan'. I called my mother afterwards...

and told her I was going to Afghanistan after all.

She cried her eyes out.

Fucking hell, Rasmus. What time is it?

-41 minutes past. -What's this? A little mullah?

-Are those animals? Two foxes? -They sure aren't hedgehogs.

What the hell was that?