Original subtitles

(birds chirping)

- ( soldier panting) - Soldier #2: You all right?

( Radio chatter)

Soldier over radio: 3-6, go ahead.

Soldier#2: Roger, we're set in.

Got security set up. Over.

Soldier #1: Roger. We're gonna start down.

( Radio chatter)

Yeah, prepare to copy, my group.

Soldier: Send it.

Whiskey Delta 9-1 430, break.

- 5-290s. - 5-290s.

( Chattering )

(soldier speaking over broken transmission )

Soldier: Behind the sacks, there's ammunitions.

Soldier: Sergeant Byrne, they're getting ammunition

from the house right now.

Soldier over radio: 3-3, this is 3-6.

Go ahead and move down.

Soldier #2: Roger, we're moving. Over.

Soldier #3: That's a good copy, 3-6 out.

Soldier: We're not going to get any closer standing here.

Soldier over radio: 3-3-3, this is 3-6.

Whenever you guys are ready, go ahead and push up.

- Soldier: Let's roll out! - Soldier #2: Come on!

(pulsating explosions)

- Soldier: Oh! - ( Soldier #2 grunting)

Soldier over radio: 3-6, this is 3-2.

I need you down here now, over.

Go there, start callin' a 914, right now!

Spread out and find your cover.

(machine gun firing)

- Hey, what are you doing? - Take these guys--

- Roger! - You guys have to move him.

- Let's go. - Let's grab that weapon.

I need you to stop this bleeding

- as soon as we got here. - I got it.

- Let's go, boys. Move. Move. - Soldier: Move, move, move.

- Let's get a head count. - Soldier: Keep going.

- Nice-- - Almost there, almost there.

- Estevez? - Keep going, keep going.

Soldier: Let's go, guys. Keep moving.

- Keep going, guys. - Smith?

- Keep going. - McKean?

Almost there. Let's go, all the way up.

Soldier: Fuck, I'm missing one.

- ( Explosion ) - Go! go! go;

- Go, go. - Where's he at?

(distant gunfire)

(explosion )

Soldier: LT, stay in the middle. Spread out.

All right? Spread out. Stay spread.

That way if he shoots again, he only gets one of us.

- ( Gunfire continues) - Stay spread.

Fuck.

(birds chirping)

Soldier over radio: We're pretty much

in an L shape right now, over.

Okay, roger. Just make sure

we keep that right flank security.

We got guys flanking hard on your right flank.

Soldier over radio: Roger, I copy.

Guys flanking hard on our flank.

Roger. You're about to get the brunt of it, over.

Come on, come on.

All right, let's go.

Soldier: Go, go, go!

- Get on line! - Contact! Contact!

Someone better flex-- flex right.

Immediately, flex right.

Immediately, flex right.

Right there, right there.

Get that saw up!

(all firing )

Soldier: Hey, cease fire. Cease fire!

Soldier #2: Cease fire.

Hold up!

- Everybody stop! - Soldier: Hey!

Soldier over radio: Index, index.

Index. End of exercise.

( Chattering )

Soldier: We gotta figure something out.

Eran Harrill: Barber, are you missing a lens?

Yeah, I got my dark eye pro on me.

In your glasses, are you missing a lens?

Barber: Yeah.

You're missing a lens?

He is, yeah.

Barber: I can see out of this one

more than I can this one.

Is that your firing eye? How'd you lose a lens?

Barber: My glasses were already broken

and while I was getting my dark Eye Pro out,

the movement and the contact, last iteration, it fell out.

So we're talking a week and a half ago.

Barber: Roger.

Eran Harrill: Goodness gracious, Barber.

You have other glasses you wear at home?

- Maybe. - So now you're missing a lens.

That means when you go back to civilian life,

you're still going to be missing a lens, right?

- Yes, sergeant. - Gosh, man.

This isn't a military thing. Guys, individual things.

You have to fucking correct that.

Like, your own self. You have to be like, "Eh,

"when I go back, I'm only going to have one lens.

"I got work. I got other things--

I gotta drive."

- You hear what I'm saying? - Yes, sergeant.

I shouldn't have to preach to you guys

how to be grown men.

And that's what I'm-- this conversation

is just teaching you how to be a grown man.

It has nothing to do with military.

Gentlemen, nobody's going to fucking care about you

more than you.

So if you don't care about you,

and we're not tracking on it. We're not going to push you

'cause we don't know.

- Make sense? - All: Yes, Sergeant.

All right.

Harrill: What happened with Barber at training,

I mean, is unacceptable.

But for me as a leader,

something that I have to correct.

Being a citizen soldier,

we all have our civilian obligations

that we have in addition to our military duties.

For instance, on this last appointment myself,

I was a marketing director.

Colt Floyd was a combatives and weapons instructor.

Damon Leehan was an X-ray tech at a hospital.

Jared Colson was a correctional officer.

Mycal Prince was a police officer.

He was the first K9 officer of his precinct.

Tyler Brown was a mechanic.

So you have this whole group of diverse individuals

who on the civilian side,

are doing regular, normal, everyday stuff.

But now, six months later,

they're on the side of a mountain

fighting alongside each other

in some of the worst conditions that you can think of.

What's up, man?

So today I'm getting together with Colt Floyd and Tyler Brown,

two guys that I deployed with back in 2011.

I'm gonna throw some burgers on. You guys want some brats too?

- Absolutely. - All right.

For me, one thing that I always felt

like I got in for was to deploy at some point in time.

So then to have an opportunity to get on this one

with the Guard seemed like another natural thing.

I don't think it still really hit me,

you know-- we're actually going on deployment,

going to Afghanistan, gonna be in some tough stuff.

And even up to Shelby-- my impression of Shelby

when we got there was just, like, you gotta be kidding me.

You know?

"This is gonna get us ready for war?"

Yeah-- �This is gonna get us ready for war?"

Harrill: Hattiesburg is just a tad bit different

from Afghanistan

- and Laghman Province. - Soldier: Poquito.

- ( Soldiers laughing) - Soldier: Just a little.

Take away the mountains, it was the same.

Take away the mountains, it was the exact same thing.

Soldier over radio: All right, fire, boys,

and engage your target. Engage your target.

Colt Floyd: Camp Shelby sucked for the terrain aspect.

But we had a lot of time

to really build that platoon relationship,

you know, amongst ourselves.

(all laughing)

That's where the whole bond starts- right there.

You know, Shelby--

that's where it really all started.

Soldier: Set him down, set him down!

Harrill: I remember one day, Sergeant Wolff

had everybody grab LT Leehan

and dunk him in the mud as an introductory

to being first platoon's platoon leader.

Cameraman: Leehan, still smiling.

No, get him! Get him!

(all laughing)

- Aw, man! - All right, everybody down.

Harrill: Just the way that LT Leehan handled that

really personified the camaraderie we would have

and the brotherhood that would be necessary

to get to the deployment.

Cameraman: Smile for the camera!

Welcome to First Platoon, sir.

A�: Ouch:!

- All right. - ( all applauding)

Yeah, I'd say Leehan helped me the most

because I felt kind of lost first coming in.

My first drill with you guys was in January

right before we left.

The next thing I remember

is us being told,

"Hey, we're only taking two platoons to Najil."

And we ended up going in way under-manned.

Harrill: This being my first deployment,

I definitely looked up to several individuals

for leadership and guidance.

LT Leehan was one of them.

Sergeant Erik Wolff and Sergeant Colson.

Sergeant Colson wasn't your typical leader.

Tons of experience and the most absurd appetite.

He'd always have food.

Jared Colson: 15 years I've been doing this.

I've been through a lot of fucking life experiences

that shape the way I look at things,

that change my outlook, my views, my perspectives,

the way I problem solve.

That's one thing that the Guard is able

to do very effectively.

We're able to look at things practically

and not just according to a manual.

Does that make sense?

We'd heard that we were going

to be walking into a firestorm in Najil.

We'd heard stories about Najil.

We'd heard it was a hot area.

So we were prepared.

We were prepared to walk into a shitstorm.

(rock music playing)

Harrill: COB Najil, our new home

for the next 10,11 months.

(man chanting prayer over loudspeaker)

Harrill: So I'll never forget, 4:00 in the morning hits

and they start their call to prayer.

It's all you could hear.

It was just silent other than that.

And that was kind of-- that was kind of freaky.

(prayer song continues)

The first full day, we had our first mission

to go to the cell tower.

We quickly learned that the cell towers

would be a huge focus point for the Taliban.

Tyler Brown: I had a sit-down

with the outgoing platoon leader.

He told me time and time again- he's like,

"They're out there.

You get to this point, you're gonna get hit.

You get to that point, you're gonna get hit."

You just kind of have this eerie feeling

like you're being watched.

Floyd: Then enemy maneuver pretty quick

on those mountains.

They've been running those mountains

for years and years.

They can have high ground on you in a pretty quick time.

That's pretty scary.

Harrill: How much further do we got?

Colson: See, right up there.

Come on, you got about 200 meters.

Harrill: I can do this.

(breathing heavily)

Harrill: Nobody shot at us.

We was just hot as shit and that was it.

Hold on, hold on, hold on.

I feel like I'm about to puke.

Colson: Yeah, well, welcome to Afghanistan.

You good to make it over to that cell tower?

Harrill: Yeah, I'll make it. I'll make it.

Colson: All right. Sip water. Sip some water.

Harrill: All right, all right.

It's just so mountainous. It's so mountainous.

Everywhere is up.

( Chuckles ) Everywhere you walk is up.

Harrill: We went back to the COB

and had tacos or whatever we had that day

and wrapped it up and called it a night.

Brown: It was a good amount of time

where it was just dead nothing.

We'd go out on patrols and no traffic

for almost a good month.

Jordan Alex: Come on. Get closer to him.

Get set, go!

Get closer to him.

Come on, Floyd! Come on, Floyd!

Aw, Floyd's down! Floyd's down.

Whoa!

Mycal Prince: Alex and his new pet monkey.

He's cleaning my head.

Is he getting bugs out of my hair?

Yeah.

They were watching us. They made us feel comfortable.

And maybe we got too comfortable.

Prince: Hey, that monkey really likes you.

How long do you think it will take--

He's got his nuts on my neck.

Floyd: I may or may not

have been commentating a little bit.

Okay, so we're back here live on location.

- Lieutenant Leehan. - This is good...

Floyd: We've got Prince on station.

Prince: Ready?

Let's blow this fighting position.

Go.

- Whoo-hoo! - ( guns firing)

I love Afghanistan!

One more! One more!

Who didn't pull their pin?

Soldier: Who didn't pull their pin?

It's still there. Let's do it again.

Yep, I got one more.

I've got three more.

Floyd: What's your assessment of this, Prince?

I like it. I'm having fun.

Floyd: Like it?

Here. You gotta grab--

( grunts)

Come on!

(all laughing)

Really?

On, shit!

Harrill: For that first month,

everything was silent.

We didn't see the enemy,

we didn't hear the enemy.

It felt like it was just my brothers and me

alone in the mountains.

You know, war-- war is boring

until it's punctured by these moments

or heart-stopping terror.

July 11-- that's a date that I'll never forget.

The Main Element was going to do a Key Leader Engagement

just south of Tili.

We were selected to the overwatch position

for that mission.

Tyler Brown; Punisher Base, 3-6.

Be advised, SP time now. Got 1-3 US PAX.

Hey, Alpha, spread out.

Harrill: Hey, don't bunch it up back there.

Keep your distance.

In Afghanistan, the one thing that was very important

to to always maintain the high ground.

Colson: It's hard to get high ground in Afghanistan

because in that country, there's always higher ground.

Keep your distance.

Typically, that higher ground is occupied by the enemy.

Harrill: Head on a swivel, guys.

Colson: We moved into our OP position.

There wasn't shit for cover and concealment.

2-1 Alpha, for 2-1.

Be advised, our element is in position.

How copy, over.

We would do Key Leader Engagements

with the village leaders or the elders.

Lieutenant Leehan would have us all stay back.

I would even stay back

and I'm always by his side.

Wagoner: There's Leehan crossing.

Harrill: All right, let's stay alert.

Wagoner: Keep your eyes peeled.

He'd be the one walking up to that key leader

and introducing himself to let them know

that we're here, we're friends.

We want to get the Taliban out of the area.

Looks like we need to wrap it up.

Leehan: Basically, our mission

was to come meet with the village mayor.

Link up with him,

see what kind of actions had been going on

as far as Taliban or any insurgency.

So we came out, I talked to him,

asked him for things that they--

he may need for the village.

He told us he needed security.

It developed from there

that they had some suspicious-looking people

that he did not know well

that were living within the village.

Cameraman: Okay, is there anything else

you'd like to add, sir?

All right, appreciate you doing this.

Soldier over radio: 2-2 Bravo 7, please.

201 to get all these people--

Soldier #2: Main Element returned.

Excellent, excellent.

Once we get those heights, we'll turn around and go in.

Harrill: Yo, you hear that?

Brown: Hear what?

Where the fuck did that come from?

(distant gunfire)

Colson: Contact, contact, contact!

Brown: Get down, get down, get down!

It's coming from the other side of the river!

LYQ", you good? GOFG, YOU good?

Whoa! Get over here. Get over here.

Harrill: Hey! Hey!

Contact! Contact! Over here!

What went through my mind was, Holy shit,

that's a machine gun.

And I just threw my stuff down, you know, hit the ground,

and started returning fire.

Colson: We started taking fire from three different points

on the high ground.

The mountains-- three different angles.

In that vill! In that vill!

Hey, right here! Right here! Right here!

Contact over here!

Brown: Right there on top of that big spur!

Colson: That draw right there.

That's the first time I heard the sound--

(imitates bullet whistling)

Bullets are impacting this giant boulder.

And it becomes immediately clear

that I'm not being guarded by the rock,

I'm guarding the rock.

Fragments chipping away in front of our faces.

( Grunts)

Colson: Damn it, where is that coming from?

Harrill: Hey, I'm in a bad spot! I've got to move.

It was very clear at that point

that we were kind of sitting ducks.

And we needed to move.

LT Brown spotted a kind of a courtyard

that was down the mountain.

The problem was just a straight run

and a prayer down a mountain that offered no protection.

Brown: Hey, listen, we gotta bound back, all right?

Harrill: LT just looks at us and he goes,

"When I say go, go."

Brown: Hey, pick out a spot!

Know where you're going before you get up!

As soon as we start shooting, go, all right?

Colson: Hey, cover us, cover us.

Brown: I've got you covered! Go!

Colson: Go! Go! Go! Go!

Brown: Go, go, move it! Let's go!

Let's go, Bravo! Let's go!

- ( Gunfire continues) - Move, move, move!

Harrill: Hey, hurry up! Hurry up!

Brown: Hey, let me know when you guys are set!

We're gonna come in after y'all!

Harrill: Bravo set, Bravo set.

Colson: Set!

Brown: I had the other guys move first

and I was the last one to go.

I already had a rock picked out before I got up.

Hey, I'm moving back! I'm moving back!

Harrill: Get behind that rock.

Brown: The rounds were just flying by us

left and right.

A round just went right by my face.

(bullet zinging)

Brown: Whoo!

Brown: All right, set!

2-1, 2-1, this is 3-6.

Harrill: Come and boogie!

Brown: We're about halfway back to you, all right?

Brown: We finally made it to cover.

Everybody was okay.

And while the guys were laying down fire,

I was calling back to the COB

trying to work in air support.

Five seconds. Ooh, that was quick.

Brown: Hey, bomb's inbound.

(exploding )

Soldier: Yeah!

Hell! Viper 1-6, Viper 1-6, that's a good impact.

Break, break. Hector two fours, two eight.

Harrill: It was definitely life or death.

I mean, there was no way

we were getting out of that situation

any other way outside of the air support.

LT Brown, leadership ability

was really telling at that point.

Here he is, a young second lieutenant.

He had no more war experience than most of us.

But yet, when he spoke, there was no question

we all knew that he had made the decision

and that's what we were going to do.

Brown: That definitely changed everybody

right then and there

within a matter of seconds.

Colson: Later on in the deployment,

we would patrol the area. We would patrol that road.

And I would look back on that high ground--

that OP that we had occupied.

And I thought to myself, How the fuck

did none of us get waxed that day?

You know what I mean? How did none of us die?

It was either sheer coincidence,

luck, divine providence,

however you want to look at it.

But somebody should have died that day.

Somebody should have died.

And if the tables were turned,

if it was us that occupied those high-ground positions,

we would have waxed every single one of them.

After that, all hell just broke loose.

(helicopter blades whirring )

Brown: The Mayal Valley was okay

until you got to a certain point.

And as soon as you hit Kandahar, Parmawan,

you knew shit was going to hit the fan.

We were headed to that area to get 'em

to come out and fight.

Up to that point, we were having a hard time

identifying where these guys were shooting from.

- ( Gunfire) - ( soldier shouts)

(shouting continues)

Brown: At first, it was only small arms fire.

And then an RPG hits the turret

with my platoon sergeant in it.

- ( Gun fires ) - Byrne: Oh, shit.

That was right over my head!

Hey, I just received fire from our 3:00.

Right over my head.

- ( Gunfire continues) - Come on!

- ( Crashing ) - ( soldier shouts)

Sergeant Byrne's..

Turret in his vehicle was blown to shreds.

They call it over the radio, you know--

"We think his arm's broke. The turret's off the truck."

Move it, let's go!

Harrill: So we get called out to plus them up

and provide extra security.

By the time that we got out to their position,

bombs had already been dropped

to defuse the situation.

And at that time, Lieutenant Brown

had got the call from command

to do a BDA--

a Battle Damage Assessment.

Brown: 2-1 Bravo, 3-6.

Go for 2-1, Bravo.

Brown: Hey, 2-1 Bravo,

can you get with your 2-6 element?

I need you guys to push up and conduct a BDA

where that bomb just hit.

Harrill: Hey, roger, that's a good copy.

2-1 Bravo out.

Colson: 3-6, 2-1 Alpha, over.

Brown: This is 3-6. Go ahead.

Colson: Roger. Be advised,

we're Oscar Mike, over.

Brown: Roger that. I need you guys

to hurry as fast as possible.

Colson: Roger.

Colson: We found the best route

we could up the mountain.

It was rugged terrain.

Soldier: They better hurry up

before we get our truck blown up.

Floyd: There's always a sense of urgency.

Just think about those trucks being stopped.

Immediately, they're soft targets.

Brown: It was just a matter of time, I felt,

before an RPG was just going to rip through the side

of the vehicle.

Soldier: That corn is way too close

for my comfort, brother.

There's something moving in that cornfield, man.

Soldier #2: All right, keep your eyes peeled.

Keep your eyes peeled.

(bullet zinging, glass breaking)

Solder: What was that?

Soldier over radio: 100 meters.

That was an RPG!

Soldier: Vehicle just got hit by an RPG!

Harrill: Fuck. Fuck.

(gunfire)

We need those guys down here now!

Brown: 2-1 Bravo, 2-1 Bravo. This is 3-6.

Harrill: 3-6 go for 2-1 Bravo.

Brown: Be advised,

we're under heavy contact down here.

I need you 9W5 to hurry up.

Harrill: Roger. We're moving out now.

Alex: We gotta move. We gotta move.

We can't stay here.

Soldier: I can't!

- ( Gunfire) - Soldier #2: Move forward,

move forward!

- It's blocked. - Move forward!

Soldier over radio: 200 meters.

Prince: In that cornfield right there!

Soldier: Hey, who found us?

Driver, move! Move!

Harrill: Sir, how are we getting down?

-( Bullet zinging) - Harrill: Contact! Contact!

- Where is it? - Colson: Shh. Hey, hey.

Shut up, shut up.

Let's move down in that ravine right there

and reconsolidate from there. Roger?

- Harrill: Yeah, roger. - All right, get your guys.

Damn, I'm out. I'm out. I need more rounds.

I need another round of ammo.

There is was, an RPG right beside us.

- RPG-- oh! - Damn it!

Brown: Roger. I'm feeling this is a serious kick.

We need air support like an hour ago, over.

Soldier: Fuck me!

(gunfire continues)

Colson: We ran into about a 35-foot drop-off.

Just straight down-- straight drop-off.

Harrill: There was only one way that we were going

to leave that mountain.

And that was jumping down this-- this cliff.

( Harrill panting ) We can't go down that.

Colson: There's enemy combatants

on the other side of this ridge over here

firing down on the village. We gotta go down.

- We gotta go down. - Harrill: Okay.

How are we going to do that?

Colson: We gotta shed our gear.

Brown: The whole time we were sitting there,

rounds were just coming off left and right.

But there was no way we were leaving

until we got those guys down.

(all shouting)

Byrne: There's muzzle flashes coming

from all over that fucking cornfield.

Floyd: It's jammed again. I hate this thing. Shit.

Just had a round crack over my head

and this thing's jammed. Argh! It's jammed.

Hey, Sergeant Byrne, it's jammed.

Soldier: All right, take it easy. Take it easy.

Soldier #2: Take it slow, take it slow.

Harrill: Thank you-- shit, shit, shit, shit!

Oh!

Floyd: Oh, it's not-- it's nut fucking moving!

Why the fuck is this piece of shit not working?

Fuck it.

( Fires )

Oh, God. Shit.

- Oh my-- - Colson: You good?

I'm good. I'm gonna be all right.

My hand's fucked up.

Colson: Hey, everybody good?

- Yeah. - Any broken bones?

Nah.

All right, come on. Let's go.

Harrill: 3-6, 2-1 Bravo, we have all made it

down the cliff and suited back up.

We are now headed back towards your direction,

towards the truck on the road. How copy.

Air support's on their way.

Here come the birds!

( Radio chatter)

Soldier: Fuck yeah.

Let's air support this bitch.

Colson: Yeah!

Well, you know, that's what happens

when people shoot at you.

Fuck.

Floyd: 2-1 Bravo, what's your location?

Harrill: Roger. We're coming up

right behind you in the truck right now.

Floyd: Roger. See if maybe you can

hurry it up a little bit.

You guys are kinda taking your sweet time. Over.

Harrill: Roger that. 3-2.

I'm trying to get back for Taco Tuesday as well.

How copy-

Floyd: Yeah, roger. 3-2 out.

Harrill: We all made it-- we all made it off the cliff.

Colson: I remember thinking after I came home,

I swore to myself I was never going

to climb another flight of fucking stairs

for the rest of my life.

I was gonna take the elevator everywhere I went

just 'cause I was so damn tired of climbing.

When I commissioned,

I had two contracts sitting in front of me--

the Fires brigade and the Infantry brigade.

So I'm sitting across the desk

from the female that was there.

And she's like, "All right,

you get 10 grand to go to the Fires brigade.

But you have to give it up to go to the Infantry brigade."

That was the first time I had heard that--

that I had to give up my bonus.

And I was like, "Gosh dang."

But I wanted to go to Ranger school,

so, you know, I picked-- I picked the Infantry.

Looking back on it now, like, do you ever think

to yourself, "I should've took the 10 grand"?

No, no, never, man.

I don't" I don't regret giving that up.

Not one second.

I wouldn't trade it for nothing.

(man chanting prayer over loudspeaker)

Harrill: On the morning of August 14th,

we were sent on a mission to do convoy security

for a support company.

Our mission was to move supplies

up to Alingar District Center.

Along Route Iowa.

Erik Wolff: All Red elements, all Red elements,

let's go ahead and move out.

We have been cleared to continue mission, over.

Wagoner: On the way to the FOB, we had some intense talks

in that truck.

I remember Lieutenant Leehan telling us

that he got off the phone with his daughter

I believe the night before that.

Her pet passed away

and so he was dealing with that.

And he just-- he wanted to be there

to help with his daughter

and give her the support.

Hey, guys. what are you up to?

I am-- I'm in a truck. Army truck.

Anyways, I thought I'd give you guys a video.

Just say hi and I miss you guys.

Love you.

Anyway, I'll talk to you later. Love you, bye.

Wolff: On the way up to Alingar District Center,

we had no issues.

No sights, no true intel

of any possible IEDs being set up.

Wagoner: The IED threat-- it was always there for us.

You're just anticipating that detonation

on your truck.

- ( Thumping ) - Whoa, whoa.

Wolff: We arrived at the Alingar DC on time.

Echo Company off-loaded their trucks.

Wagoner: Unloading took a little bit longer

than we thought we really needed to get out.

So Lieutenant Leehan decided

that we were going to be lead vehicle.

Hey, it's Daddy.

Just thought I'd say hi. Hi, Ethan.

Hi, Ethan. Love you, buddy.

All right. Give your mom hell. Love you.

Wagoner: Being the first in the convoy,

me and Lieutenant Leehan would dismount,

do our checks on certain areas.

If something didn't look right, we would just get out,

check it, and then if it was good,

we'd get back in and drive off.

Wolff: Red-1, this is Red-7.

Need you to go ahead and halt the convoy. Break.

Wagoner: Hold on, hold on.

Yeah, it's nothing good.

Wolff: Better go ahead and get your dismounts out.

Need to go ahead and start clearing the route

for IEDs.

Break.

Wagoner: MZ, if I were you, I'd walk behind us.

- There you go. -( radio chatter)

Wolff: Report anything out of the ordinary

back up to me and I will relay to Red-G

and up to Battalion, over.

Soldier over radio: 2-3 Alpha, this is 2-7.

- Leehan: See anything? - I don't see anything.

- Just garbage? - Yeah.

Soldier over radio: Roger, Red-1, I copy.

Route's clear.

Go ahead and load up, dismount,

and then continue on the mission.

2-1 Bravo, this is 2-3 Alpha. Over.

Wagoner: Leehan, are we good to start moving?

Hey, start going. You're good.

Leehan: He's got-- oh, he's got room, sir.

Soldier over radio: 2-2 Bravo 7...

...to get all these people out--

if we can get them to our location, over.

Leehan: Trying to get some speed to get up the hill.

Hey, driver, when you stop, man, you've got to try

to be aware of your surroundings.

Wolff: Red-B, Red-6--

(explosion )

(muffled shouting)

Soldier: Oh, we're hit.

- IED. - Soldier: Shit.

Wolff: IED! IED! IED!

Hit the number one VIC!

Wolff: Red-S, Red-S, This is Red-7, over.

Wolff: Red-S, Red-S, This is Red-7, over.

(shouting, clamoring)

(radio beeping)

Wolff: Red-S, Red-S, This is Red-7, over.

( Beeping )

Wolff: Dismounts, I'm getting

negative response from Red-6.

Wagoner: We were all buckled in and hanging upside down

trying to think to yourself, what just happened?

And we kept screaming for Lieutenant Leehan

and we weren't hearing anything.

You know, you just knew.

- We've got guys down. - It's Leehan!

Hey! We need the medic!

- He can't breathe. - They're coming right now.

Medic!

Leehan is not responding!

You all right, man?

Medic: Anywhere else hurt? In your chest?

You felt-- your arms?

Legs? X-ray, this is 2-6...

Wagoner: Get his fuckin' kit off.

Soldier: Leehan!

Wolff: The noise of that IED going off

sounded like no other explosion I'd ever heard before.

I tried four or five times

if not more to try to raise his truck

on the radio.

Red-G, Red-S, this is Red-7, over.

Negative contact. Red-7 out.

All I ever got back was static.

The one thing that sticks to me about Damon

was just his smirk.

No matter what was going on, good or bad,

he always smirked.

Soldier: Aw, man!

All right, everybody down.

Cameraman: Smile for the camera.

Smile for the camera.

Welcome to First Platoon, sir.

- All: Ooh! - All right.

Wolff: He was truly irreplaceable.

He was the glue that kept-- kept us together.

I would say we were best friends.

I had to cram all those emotions

down deep inside

to continue on the mission.

Harrill: The memorial service for LT Leehan

was going to be a Mihtarlam

It was about a three, four-hour drive.

We wanted to make sure that we were there

so we could pay our respects

to an incredible leader.

Brown: I think we were almost halfway down there.

And I'm in the lead vehicle with Sergeant Prince.

Prince is in the turret

and we're slowly creeping up the hill.

And Prince tells me to stop,

tells us to stop. So Colt stops the vehicle.

Hold on, hold on, hold...

Prince: It's right there.

Yeah, it's an IED.

Brown: Hey, roger, be advised,

3-2 Alpha has eyes on a possible IED. Over.

Really? Another IED?

It's right here. I'm looking at it.

Is it this little paper bag thing?

Wagoner: Yeah, it's the paper bag thing.

Yeah, with fucking wires hooked on it?

Yeah.

Who called that?

Brown: Roger, 2-1 Bravo.

Be advised, Prince has eyes on it.

That's a good fucking spot.

Brown: Hey, good job, Prince.

I wouldn't have even seen that, man.

Soldier: Nice job, Prince.

Brown: We finally get a call from battalion

telling us to hold tight, EOD is on the way.

We decide to set up 360 security around the IED.

Soldier: As-salamu alaykum.

2-1 Bravo, this is 3-6. Over.

Harrill: Roger, Go for 2-1 Bravo.

Brown: Get with your 2-7 element

and see if I can get some of you guys

to push to the high ground to provide security. Over.

Harrill: Roger. That's good copy.

Brown: 2-1 Bravo, 3-6.

Let me know when you guys get set in.

Harrill: Right, that's a good copy.

- RPG! . ( explosion)

- Whoa! - Shit, that was close.

I head an RPG over our heads.

(explosion )

Soldier: RPG! RPG!

Hey, we gotta go. We gotta go, we gotta go.

Harrill: 3-6, be advised that the RPG

hit about 30 meters from us. Break.

( Beeping )

We're going to push up and we're going to try

to get a clear view across the river. How copy?

Hammy, Hammy, come on! Come on!

Let's go! Come on.

Brown: Hey, Prince! Hey!

They're shooting from the other side of the river.

Hey, look on the other side!

Gunter! Hey, go grab some ammo from the truck.

Hurry up!

Prince: Damn it, show me some movement.

Harrill: All right, now there-- there's buildings up there.

There's buildings up there. Okay, all right.

We're in this dangerous situation.

You got three IEDs

that are daisy-chained together.

And the trigger man is out there still somewhere.

At any point in time, they could set these off.

Brown: 3-6, 3-6, 2-1 Bravo.

Colson: 3-6, go ahead.

Harrill: Roger, 3-6, be advised

that there's some buildings up here

that we're going to have to clear.

Once we get them cleared, let's try to establish

a clear line of sight along that road

watching the rest of the convoy. How copy?

Brown: Hey, roger, I copy all.

Don't push too far into that village, though.

(Harrill panting) All right.

All right, no, I'm right behind you.

I'm right behind you. I'm right behind you.

- All right. - Is it clear?

- You see anything? - Hammy: All clear, all clear.

All right.

Harrill: You see anything?

All right, go through the next one.

Now see that? See that clearing right there?

We can see over the road.

I'm taking over here. Hammy, come over here.

Set up right there.

Brown: Roger. Be advised,

they're setting up position. How copy?

Soldier: 663!

Brown: Hey, Prince, you got eyes on those guys over there?

- Prince: I'm looking! - Brown: Hey, make sure

you're watching down in that group of trees.

Prince: Hey, sir, sir! Across the way.

- Movement on the roof. - Brown: What?

Harrill: You good?

You good?

All right.

Hey, we got a guy on the roof. Hey.

Hammy, get up here. Get up here.

Right across the river. Right up on the roof.

3-6, be advised, directly to our right,

we have some villages.

It looks like there's individuals still on the road.

We'll keep you advised of the situation. How copy?

Brown: Roger that, 2-1 Bravo. Good copy.

Soldier: He does not look like a local Afghan.

Harrill: I think he has a weapon.

Let me see.

Yeah, he has a weapon.

All right.

You got a clean shot.

(gun firing)

Did you get him?

I got him.

Brown: 2-1 Bravo, 3-6.

Road is clear. We're ready to move out.

Get your guys to move back down to the base.

3-6 out.

Brown: Finally EOD shows up.

You know, we're telling-- we're briefing him,

"Hey, we just got hit, you know, twice.

We need you to take care of this IED

so we can get out of here."

Soldier: EOD is up! We're ready.

Yep, let's get going.

Soldier #2: Yeah.

Harrill: It's a good thing that Sergeant Prince

spotted the IED

'cause with that, he saved a lot of damn lives.

Damn.

Soldier: That was-- that was, like,

actually way bigger than the first two.

Soldier #2: Yeah, that looked like the actual charge.

Yeah.

From the point of us loading up

and actually arriving in Mihtarlam,

I bet we stopped, like, six or seven times

due to the damage that the RPGs did on the vehicles.

Remember, we used one of the medic's surgical tape--

Yeah, tape on the brake lines.

Put the tape on the brake lines.

We made it through,

so talkin' about adapting and overcoming--

Specifically, 'cause I remember thinking,

"Gosh damn it, can't you just leave us alone?"

- Right, give us a day. - For one day? For one day?

Can you just leave me alone for one day?

- Let me go do this? - Yeah.

And then you can jack with me all you want--

- We'll play tomorrow. - All you want.

Yeah, they just-- they wouldn't let up.

(gun firing)

(firing continues)

Officer: Present arms!

Leehan's father: One of the things that Damon did

was he went out with the interpreter by himself

without his guys.

Finally got to the point where the interpreter

was very nervous. He didn't even like it.

And so his wife called and said, "Hey,

"I think you need to talk to your son.

He's kind of putting himself in harm's way."

And so the next time he called,

I talked to him and I said, "Hey,

"I know you're trying to bridge the gap

"and you're trying to be a good soldier,

"but, you know, we just want you home.

We don't want you getting hurt."

And he said, "Yeah, I know, Dad.

"But, you know, this is something

I have to do to show trust."

So he did what he believed in.

As a result, we found out at the funeral

that 350 Afghan leaders

and village people came to his sending-off.

Because he did touch them.

Wolff: A couple weeks after Damon died,

I was told that Lieutenant Leehan

was not going to be replaced.

We were completely satisfied with this.

We had created that family

and didn't want anybody else in it.

We were gonna fight with what we had

and we were going to continue on and get the mission done.

Brown: When Leehan got killed, it was the first time

we'd lost somebody.

A lot of us, including me,

wanted that-- that revenge

to go out and kick some ass and get 'em back.

But at the same time,

you know, being in a leadership role,

I had to make sure that everybody stayed calm,

cool and collected as a team.

The second platoon was going to conduct a KLE

somewhere towards Alishing DC.

I'm on the COB for QRF

and we get a call saying second's hit an IED.

Brown over radio: 3-2, this is 3-6.

Soldier: 3-6, 3-2, go ahead.

Brown: Get your guys out and let's push through

on the east side of this little brush

right here through the corn.

See if we can spot this guy.

Camera rolling?

Alex: Yeah, I just started it up again.

Let's give 'em a brief.

Just wanna welcome everybody

to Damn-sure-bad, Afghanistan.

We've got Daniel Marquez on station with me.

Just had an IED blast.

We're going to try and find this little corn ninja

down here in the corn.

I'm gonna shoot his fuckin' ass off.

- I'm gonna shoot him. - shit's gonna be crazy.

- Alex: Hey, Sergeant Prince? - Yeah?

You got that incendiary?

Prince: Yeah.

Alex: You should let me have it.

Prince: You can't throw it. It'll burn down everything.

Alex: We're gonna go in there!

Prince: I know. You can't throw it

when you're in there.

Alex: Not if we're exfilling.

Brown: All right, let's move.

Look at the size of that hole.

Gosh damn, that's a big one.

There's no wonder we couldn't find it.

It was damn near dug underneath the asphalt.

Hey, see if we can spot the wire.

Brown: You know, the money comes from America

to pay these Afghan contractors to build these roads.

But at the same time, the Taliban uses their funds

and power to come in

and have these construction workers

put these IEDs in the road as they're paving over it.

You know, there's little to no chance

to even be able to know that they're under there.

All right, hey, hey,

push out, see if you can find the end of the wire.

Rog, you gotta spread out a little bit.

You guys let me know

if you can see anything on the ground.

Harrill: 3-6, be advised, we have eyes on your element

as you move through the cornfields.

Brown: Roger, I copy all. 3-6 out.

Alex: Hey, you guys stay spread out.

Sir, this looks like the end of it.

Floyd: If that's the end of it, he can't be too far off.

He could be right out there in that corn.

Brown: Hey, when we push through this corn,

y'all try to be quiet so we can hear this guy moving.

Make sure you guys stay spread out.

All right, hey, just push up to the edge.

We'll stop right here.

Brown: You guys stay spread out.

Hey, look.

We've got movement in the corn right there at 1:00.

Harrill: That's ANA.

That's not ANA.

What the fuck is that?

Alex: I wish we could make it

down to that creek down there.

Brown: They're gonna fucking draw us down there

and then they're gonna fucking hit us.

Alex: Exactly what I was thinking too.

Harrill: 3-6, be advised that there is smoke

coming from the village.

Not sure if it's an indicator of negative activity.

Just want you to be cautious

that we have eyes on it as well.

How copy?

Brown: It's probably a fucking signal.

Go in a little bit more?

Hey, get with the plan.

Brown: The ANA just keep walking out into the open.

You'd like to think that the people

are leading your counterpart ANA forces

are on your side, but who's to say?

Who's to say who they're taking money from?

Who's to say who their allegiances are to?

Alex: Hey, sir, should we follow?

Sir, are we going?

Brown: No. Hey, we're not pushing any farther.

This is bait for an ambush.

Brown: To advance any further through the corn

was just not tactically a good idea, in my opinion.

So we pulled back and didn't go any further.

We want to fight on our terms. We don't want to fight

below our strength.

Harrill: After being in Afghanistan

for nearly six months,

you could really start to feel the bond

that had been created.

Brown: You've already weeded out

all the guys that are too scared,

that have made it known that they don't want

any part of the fighting.

What's left is brothers, and that's it.

Harrill: We would have these late-night family talks

on the HESCOs

making fire pits and kind of reflecting.

Sergeant Colson found his appetite.

On every mission we went in,

he was always managing to find food somehow.

Sergeant Prince, a K-9 officer

back in the States,

he would adopt this puppy.

Well, there's Prince with his new puppy.

Prince: Come here. Come here. Come here.

Come here, come here.

There you go. You big dummy.

Brown: Prince found his K-9 unit.

Prince: Screw that.

Harrill: But you could never shake the feeling

that that one big mission was right around the corner.

(call to prayer playing)

Raymond Viel: Operation Brass Monkey

was going to be one of the largest missions

that we were going to do.

Brown: When me and my platoon sergeants

seen the plan that they had just come up with

and where we were going to be,

we immediately felt like

we were in an extreme disadvantage.

Just in case y'all don't see this,

it was good knowing all of you.

Megan, I love you.

Jesse, I hope you don't die too.

Cameraman: We'll be all right.

Brown: The first night that we were planning

to get picked up and brought out there,

we were told the mission was cancelled.

So I passed it out to all the guys--

"Hey, stand down. We're cancelled."

Then the next day we hear, "Hey, ifs back on.

You guys are going tonight." Spin everybody back up.

"Hey, we're going tonight. Get ready."

And sure enough, it got cancelled again.

The battalion commander said,

"It's done. We're not going."

And I remember going and laying down

to sleep that night, just kind of relaxed.

Nothing to worry about.

It was either 5:30 or 6:00 in the morning.

Sergeant Duff beats on the door.

(banging on door)

"The mission's back on.

Here's the time the birds are gonna be here

to pick you up."

Viel: Ultimately, the goal of the mission

was the clear the valley.

We knew there was Taliban in the area.

Wanted to locate them

and take their arms away from them.

Basically, we were going into No Man's Land.

(rock music playing)

# We're out here in No Man's Land I

# We're out there in No Man's Land I

# The only way out of No Man's Land I

5 My brothers, my God and me I

# I said, the only way #

# Out of No Man's Land I

5 My brothers, my God and me I

# Hoo-ah! #

Soldier: We were going back into a place

that no American forces had ever been before.

Soldier: Quickly, quickly.

Harrill: Go, 90, 90, 90, 90-

Brown: Hey, spread out, all right?

Stay spread, stay spread.

Keep going, keep going-

Prince: Well, Mom, this is what I signed up for.

Brown: My bird landed in our position

further to the northeast. And my platoon sergeant,

his guys landed lower in the valley.

Our grid is 92698.

The plan was, once we hit the ground,

set up 360 security

and hold tight till daybreak.

Soldier: Hey, Johnson,

you're scanning over there, right?

Scan from here to there.

Theo, you scan from there to there.

(distant motor humming)

Brown: As daybreak was approaching

and light was coming,

we instantly got a worse feeling

because now we could actually

see the type of terrain

we had just been dropped in.

So I sent two of my guys down to the edges

to find a way down the cliff.

Floyd: Look how steep that shit is.

Alex: Straight down, right there.

Floyd: Dude, there is no way

we're getting to the bottom of that.

And they came back, and they was like,

"Sir, there's no way."

You know, "There's no way we're getting down this."

(plane engine roars)

Prince: If I understand this, there's the Taliban,

the New Taliban, and then the Real Taliban?

Dan Kruse: This is the Haqqani network here.

You have the Haqqani network and then you have

some Taliban offshoots and just friggin' thugs.

- And then-- - Prince: So we're battling

thugs right now?

No, we're battling the Haqqani network.

We haven't fought the Haqqani network yet.

There are four JPEL targets in this area alone.

JPEL means they got a hit out on their head.

And in this area alone, there are four.

So, yeah, keep down and keep your eyes open too.

You have no idea what's up this back way.

(motor rumbling)

Morgan Ashworth: I remember sittin' in the valley

talking with somebody and we came to the conclusion

that, "You know, if we die here,

"the worst part of dying for us

"is that the hair on our arms

won't raise up at our funeral

when they play the National Anthem."

- Hey, John, anything? - No.

No news is good news.

Soldier over radio: 2-1 Bravo, what's going on?

Prince: You see right between those trees?

- Big rock on that ridge? - Alex: Yeah.

Just to the right of it.

Alex: Yeah, I can see it.

Floyd: If we can get over to that,

I bet we can make it up that side.

Roger, 3-6. What I'm seeing,

we got vertical danger areas.

There's no way we're going to be able

to get through this way, break.

Viel: We can back up with 3-3.

We're going to move back to your location, over.

Brown: Roger, that's good copy. 3-6 out.

Brown: Then just kind of out of nowhere,

this little fellow comes up out of the riverbed.

Floyd: Hey, sir, we've got a kid

coming up out of the riverbed.

Brown: Hey, bring him right over here.

Hey, Gunter, go grab the Tarp.

Floyd: Hey, Prince, go ahead and bring that kid up here.

Brown: Hey, ask him where he's from.

Ask him where he came from.

He just so happens to be

from the village we're going to.

Wolff: He spoke perfect English.

He's like, "Just go down this little goat trail.

There's a riverbed and you can cross there."

You never really know who your friends

and enemies are.

( Chuckles ) The country's entirely corrupt

at every level.

Generations of people who know nothing but war.

You know? And they're very self-serving.

Brown: The boy takes my other two guys

back down there and he shows them how he got up.

So they come back to me like,

"See, sir, we can make it down there."

You know, "it's gonna be tough and dangerous,

but if we have to go,

this is the only way we're going to be able to go."

Brown: 3-2, 3-2, this is 3-6.

Floyd: 3-6, this is 3-2. Go ahead.

Brown: Hey, be advised,

I need you guys to pull security on this side.

Myself and 3-3 are going to make our way

down this side, over.

Floyd: Hey, Jordan,

keep eyes on that riverbed.

They're going to go ahead

and move through.

(man speaking Pashto over radio )

Kruse: What did he say?

(man continues in Pashto)

He's telling them,

"Get ready and wait for my order."

Kruse: Hey, Sergeant Byrne?

Hey, they said, "Get ready and wait for the order."

Byrne: 3-6, Romeo, 3-7.

Can you just relay Taliban

and other enemy traffic? Break.

Brown: They were calling out where we were,

how many guys we had.

They pointed out that we were in two different locations.

Brown: 3-2, 3-2, this is 3-6.

Floyd: 3-6, 3-2, go ahead.

Brown: Hey, be advised, we all made it to the bottom.

We're going to push up on this other side.

Once we get set in, I'll have you guys

start moving this way.

Floyd: This is 3-2. Roger.

Brown: Be advised, we're picking up

a lot of radio traffic from L-0-V-I.

Break.

Brown: They're calling out locations on our movement.

So make sure you guys got a head on a swivel

and get ready. Over.

( Man speaking Pashto over radio )

Kruse: What did he say?

Interpreter: "You can take

a lot of ammunition from the house."

Kruse: Hey, Sergeant Byrne?

They're getting ammunition from the house right now.

( Chattering )

Floyd; 3-6, 3-2, over.

Hey, this is Arrow 3-6. Go ahead.

Floyd: Roger, 3-6.

Just let us know when you're set in

and we'll conduct movement through the riverbed. Over.

Brown: We're set in.

You guys go ahead and move this way.

Floyd: Roger, this is 3-2. We're moving. Over.

Brown: That's good copy. 3-6 out.

Alex: Sergeant Floyd sent me up front.

I took point of our element

and Sergeant Prince took up the trail.

Kruse: Yep, we got a guy.

Where at?

Kruse: See the very tip top?

Just to the right of that, we got a guy.

Mike Kennemer: See if he has a weapon

and light his ass up.

Kruse: I can't tell if this guy's

got a weapon or not.

Hey, Sergeant Byrne, he's got a weapon.

It looked like an RPG.

Hey.

Your rifle...

Kennemer: Do you have him good in your sights?

There's a slab of rock he's hiding under.

Floyd: 3-6, 3-2.

Brown: 3-6, go ahead.

Floyd: Roger, we're caught up. Over.

Soldier: We're not getting any closer sitting here.

Brown: Hey, 3-3,

this is 3-6. 3-2 is ready.

Whenever you guys are ready,

go ahead and push up.

- Alex: Let's roll out. - Floyd: Come on!

- Cover! - ( explosion)

(soldier grunting)

Floyd?

(explosion )

Alex: Now there's stuff flying over my head

and the CamelBak landed in front of me.

So I knew something bad happened.

And...

Alex: Get up, get up, get up!

(gunfire)

Go. Spread out.

Brown: 3-2, 3-3. Be advised. Direct hit, direct hit.

(gunfire continues)

Soldier on radio: We got eyes on...

Soldier #2 on radio: Do we have any... over?

Soldier: Hey! No, no!

Fuckin' hit-- fuckin' hit.

(chattering, shouting)

Justin Smith: Bomb inbound!

Bomb's inbound!

Cover!

(explosion )

Motherfucker.

Harrill: Coming down, coming down.

Soldier: Reset!

- Where do you want it? - Hey, we need to move.

Take these guys out...

(overlapping chatter)

Get these guys up and move 'em, let's go!

Rogen

Soldier: 2038 to 2-8,

move it down the ridge, approximately 150 meters

in a large group of trees.

Brown: Coleman, I need you to stop his bleeding

- as soon as you get up there. - I got it.

Let's go, boys. Move, move.

Move, move, move.

Hey, LT, I'll show you right where I saw 'em.

Brown: Where, man?

That RPG

came from that fuckin' big rack face, 100 meters.

Straight- right there. Right there.

It came right on top of that big rock.

Let's get some mortars down here.

- Mortars. - Anybody with mortars...

Smith: If you've got a mortar in your pack, get it out!

Hey. Am?

Anybody with mortars, bring 'em down!

Soldier: ...176 meters.

Hey. Am?

(gun firing)

Soldier: 263 degrees, be advised--

Brown: 320s on that motherfucker!

320,910 up!

Soldier: Stay right there. I got more rounds coming.

(explosion )

Smith: Up 10 meters. Up 10 meters.

( Chattering )

Hey.

Kruse: Keep your eyes on that road over there.

Sounds like they have reinforcements on their way.

We're spread pretty thin and if they come at us,

- they got us. - Kennemer: Oh, I know.

Roger. From that last impact,

move up the ridge

approximately 50 to 60 meters.

- All right, no more mortars. - Soldier: No more mortars!

Cease fire!

Smith: Bombs inbound!

Soldier #2: Bombs inbound!

(bomb exploding)

Once the engagement went to a lull,

gave me the ability to assess casualties

a little bit better.

Floyd: All right, let's get a head count.

Keep going, brother. You're almost there.

- Floyd: Maxon, two... - Almost there, almost there.

- Tevis... - Keep going, keep going.

Floyd: Let's go, guys. Keep moving.

- Smith. - Keep going, almost there.

- Floyd: McKean. - Let's go, all the way up.

Keep going, guys. You're almost there.

Almost there.

- Almost there, dude. - Floyd: Torres...

- Almost there. - Floyd: Sherlow...

- Almost there. - Floyd: Fuck, I'm missing one.

Watch up there, watch up there.

- You got it? - Yeah.

There you go.

Kennemer: Hey, start scanning that ridgeline up top.

We got somebody up there.

Christopher Gunter: 3-6!

Hey, what's up? I'll relay!

Sergeant Prince is hit!

Hey, Sergeant Prince is hit!

Brown: How? Gunshot or what?

What?

(soldier shouting)

(explosion )

Brown: How's he hurt?

Alex and I, we took off

kind of back that direction

and started looking for Prince.

That's the guy that I was missing.

( Radio chatter)

Alex: Where's he at?

Fuck.

Floyd: 3-6, this is 3-2.

I need you down here now, over.

Brown: I take off running down to where Floyd's at.

Gunter! Start calling a 9-line for us!

Right now!

Gunter, make it quick.

Gunter: 3-7, 3-7, 3-6 Romeo, prepare to copy 9-line.

Brown: I come around kind of the corner

and Floyd's standing right up in the middle of the trail.

And I stop.

(exhales)

You know, he's just looking at me

with a-- with a blank stare on his face.

And he-- you know, he said,

"Prince is dead and he's fallen off the side."

Brown: Say again?

Alex: I fucking pulled him out and his fucking...

- He's dead? - Yes.

Brown: We're going back to get him

as soon as this bomb drops, all right?

Soldier: Gonna be southwest 150 meters

down the ridge line, large group of trees.

You were just there right beside him?

Call sign Juliet Bravo.

Kruse: You doing all right?

Just calm down.

Remember your training

and just let the rounds fly. All right?

Sergeant Prince, man.

Kruse: You can't worry about that now.

All right?

Right now we got to make sure you get home.

Rogen

Three friendly wounded.

One friendly KIA.

You all right, brother?

Yeah. I got hit with some frag and it took my leg out.

Brown: Hey, guys, we gotta remember,

we gotta spread out, all right?

Brown: We took a few minutes. I got a team together.

And I said, "All right,

"as soon as this bomb hits 'em,

"we're going to-- a group of us

are gonna go down and-- and get Prince."

03-- 28-- cleared hot.

Brown: After the birds drop this bomb,

me, Carlson and Alex

are going to go down and get Prince, okay?

Roger that. We're watching.

Brown: You guys continue to drop mortars

the entire time we're down there.

Roger that.

Gunter: I'm going with you.

I'm leaving my kit right here.

Hey, get this off.

Get this off.

Suck it up, all right? Suck it up, all right?

Soldier: Copy that.

Sir, One Mike you'll be in, this may be danger close.

Brown: Hey, One Mike, we've got a bomb inbound.

3-3, I need you to continue with that 9-line.

I need it ASAP. You need to tell the birds

they need to be escorted out of here.

Soldier over radio: We've got enemy

within 200 meters of our location.

Roger, line one.

Whiskey Delta niner-one,

44-niner-52884.

Break.

Soldier over radio: Line two,

036 Romeo 47-15.

Line eight, you in.

Coming through.

Hey, man, hey, hey. Stay with it, stay with it.

What you gotta do?

What's the next thing you gotta do?

- I gotta-- - What's the next thing

- you gotta do? - I got to--

Tell me what it is out loud. Say it.

Make sure everybody's safe and I get the 9-line called in

- and we get-- - Is the 9-line done?

- Roger. - What's the next thing

you got to do?

- Make sure-- - Hey, don't flag your weapon.

Okay? Who do you got to make sure is okay?

I gotta make sure Max and Tevis--

Where are they?

They're down there. They were hit.

LT is checking on them now.

Okay, so you need to go back there.

Okay. Right? Is that what you're saying?

Rogen

Are you-- are you good to go back there?

- Roger, sir. - You sure?

Yes. 3-7, 3-6 on my way.

Floyd: Roger. Say again line one

and line eight, over?

Roger. Line one,

Whiskey Delta, niner-1452...

52885.

( Chattering )

9-line is called up.

3-7. 3-6...

Smith: Bomb inbound! Get down.

(Taliban speaking Pashto over radio )

Interpreter: Shooting four more rockets.

Kruse: They're gonna-- they're gonna shoot

four more rockets.

Four more rockets.

Soldier over radio: Copy that.

- Hey! - What's up?

LBI says we got four more RPGs inbound!

All right?

SWT's coming on station now.

Hector, 2-8.

Harrill: The guys knew

that by going down to get Prince,

that they themselves

may not make it back up.

It didn't matter.

You're never going to leave your brother behind.

Brown: You know, at worst, if an RPG did hit us,

you know, we'd just deal with it after it happened.

Come on, come on.

Tell them to hit that shit already.

Brown: Tell him he better not fucking miss!

Brown: Hey, bomb inbound!

- Cover! - There it is!

(explosion )

Soldier: Good bombs, good bombs!

Hey, hold this rocket.

(more gunfire continuing)

Hey, save your ammo! Save your ammo!

Let's go get him. Let's go get him.

Brown: Let's move.

Hey, we're going down to get him, all right?

Watch out.

Please be advised that we're currently

gonna keep shooting mortars.

- I've got comms. I'm gonna go. - Roger that.

Let's go.

Brown: Let's go, let's go, let's go down and get him.

- Stay spread. - LT, stay in the middle.

Hey, spread out, all right? Spread out. Stay spread.

That way, if he shoots again, he only gets one of us.

Stay spread.

( Man speaking Pashto over radio )

Hey, Sergeant Byrne?

They're preparing for another attack right now.

They think they're heroes now

and they're going to hit us again.

Soldier over radio: 3-6, 3-7.

They're going in for another attack.

Brown: You got security.

We gotta get out of this area, guys.

Viet: We could get that bird

to drop the hoist right here.

Brown: No. We gotta move him up to the corn, out of this way.

Out of this area, all right?

We might need another guy down here.

Viet: We need another guy down here.

Send one more guy down here.

Brown: Alex, you take the weapons, all right?

We gotta get his kit. Where's his rifle?

Oh, by the way--.

One, two, three.

- ( Grunting ) - ( gunfire continues)

Alex: I need to grab his legs more.

I'm sorry, brother. I'm trying.

Alex: I'm going to grab his legs, I guess.

We don't we get some more guys.

Viet: We need another guy down here now!

Brown: Give me another guy!

Viet: We need two guys!

Two guys. Two guys down here now!

Hey, hurry UP!

(explosions continue)

Come on, brother.

I got him down here. He's not going down.

(all grunting)

- ( explosions) - Motherfuckers.

One, two, three.

One, two, three.

(grunting)

I gotta move spots. Get me another guy up here.

Straight up the side.

( Panting )

( chattering )

- One, two, three. - Okay.

- ( Explosion) - One, two, three.

(all grunting)

Oh, shit.

Sorry, brother.

One, two, three.

(explosion )

Smith: Bombs inbound!

(shouting )

One, two, three.

(grunting)

( radio chatter)

Kruse: Hey, Sergeant Byrne?

Sounds like they got somebody with that bomb.

Gunter: Hey, Code 3-6, there's a flag

up in those fucking trees, a white flag.

Up, right below those rocks right there.

Just below that tree line, there's a white flag.

(soldiers cursing, chattering )

You grab one side, I grab the other.

You want to take a break for a second?

I got security.

One, two, three.

(helicopter blades whirring )

Company, atten-hut!

- Specialist Gunter. - Here, first sergeant.

Sergeant First Class Byrne!

Here, first sergeant.

Sergeant Prince!

Sergeant Mycal Prince!

Sergeant Mycal Lee Prince!

Brown: Sergeant Prince, you were a husband,

a father,

a friend to many,

and will always be a brother to us.

You will never be forgotten, brother.

Thank you for the time

and the memories you spent with us.

# Lord #

# My Lord #

# I need your helping hand #

# I was taught #

# To be patient #

# And I was taught #

# To be kind #

# But I don't mind #

# And oh #

# My Lord #

# I need your helping hand #

# Lord #

# My Lord #

# I need your #

# Helping hand #

# Yeah #

Brown: ...your village.

(villager speaking in Pashto )

When's the last time you seen any of them come by?

- ( Speaking Pashto ) - In your village?

Floyd: We were all smoked,

mentally, physically, emotionally.

But I think what defined us,

having lost those two guys,

we still were able to maintain that certain level

of professionalism.

You know, "We're going to finish this.

This is not going to be in vain."

You know, that just kind of solidifies

the bond, man,

you know, the brotherhood.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it.

You know, it was a shitty place to have to live

for, you know, a year. But it was our place.

You know, we owned it.

And I'd be lying as well if I said

that I didn't miss it.

For as sucky as it was, it was our suck.

And you woke up every day knowing what your suck was.

You know? And more importantly,

who was going to go through your suck with you.

There was a saying, "There's no stronger bond

than shared pain."

Floyd: Boy, that's sure true.

- Couldn't be any more true. - Yeah.

- I'll see you, man. - See ya.

- Be good, man. - Sir.

I'll see you. Always good seeing you.

- You too. - All right, take care, guys.

See you, man.

( Chattering )

Get in a little tighter.

There's no way for me to express how important it is

that I get to look you in the eye

and talk to you today.

So what I want to tell you

is that term "citizen soldier" and what it means.

What did you see yourself doing in the service?

Now think about 1775,

when Boston is under siege

and the Redcoats are coming.

And Paul Revere gets on his horse

and rides through the countryside

saying, "The British are coming, the British are coming."

All right?

And blacksmiths and innkeepers drop their hammer,

drop their plates and towels and bedding,

drop what they're doing and move to the green

at Lexington and Concord to meet an enemy

that was threatening their communities.

We've been doing this stuff since 1636.

All right?

The citizen soldier has been alive since 1636,

over 370 years.

So I tell you this whole story because I need you.

Your state needs you and your community needs you.

All right? We need you to choose

to keep the title "citizen soldier."

There is something noble,

something honorable,

something romantic about that term.

And I just hope that you guys take that term,

"citizen soldier," with you till the day you die.

# Hey #

# Brother #

# You gotta stand #

# Upright #

# Right #

# You came with #

# To come #

# To come alive #

# Wouldn't you think that they forgot? #

# I'm just trying to get some sleep #

# The long and restless nights #

# Through darkness #

# It's the torch you have to keep #

# The fire burns within me #

# A' I'm out, I'm done #

# Who'll light the torch when I'm gone #

# It's all yours to carry #

# A' I'm out, I'm done #

# Who'll light the torch when I'm gone #

# Who will even shed a tear I

# If I could never come? #

# The ghost of me #

# Of yesteryear #

# illuminates you on #

# The fire burns within me #

# A' I'm out, I'm done #

# Who'll light the torch when I'm gone? #

# It's all yours to carry #

# A' I'm out, I'm done #

# Who'll light the torch when I'm gone? #

# Hey #

# Brother #

# You gotta stand #

# Upright #

# Right #

# You came with #

# To come #

# Alive #

# Yeah #

(shouting, laughing)

(all laughing)

Soldier: Okay.

Come on!

Hey, hey, he?

Hey, what's up? This is Roche,

on this episode of MTV Cribs.

As you can see, we're remodeling right now.

We ain't got much--

got a bunch of grenades. Got my gun.

Got a machine gun with fuckin' thermals.

Uh, got a nice big rock wall.

There's a hot tub down there.

There's a pool down there with a creak thing.

Cameraman: Oh, shit, we're recording. Do a dance.

Oh, shit. Hey, work it!

Go ahead.

He's a pissed off guitar player.

(strings clatter)

It sounds like shit!

(all laughing)

# I tend to the dark #

# Lying cloaked #

# With insight #

# To defend this heart #

# We must cut like knives #

# So wait for me #

# On wounded knee #

# Cut from thee #

# Oh, so faithfully #

# And when the light goes out #

# It's the torch, it's the torch #

# It's the torch that shines on #

# And when the light goes out #

# It's the torch, it's the torch #

# It's the torch that shines on #

# Why should I lie #

# When it's cold by my side? #

# And how can I live #

# When you're supposed to die? #

# You keep saying wait for me #

# Wait for me, wait for me #

# Wait for me #

# Is it ever my turn? #

# There's no way for me, way for me #

# Way for me, way for me #

# Do these embers still burn? #

# And when the light goes out #

# It's the torch, it's the torch #

# It's the torch that shines on #

# And when the light goes out #

# It's the torch, it's the torch #

# It's the torch that shines on #

# And when the light goes out #

# It's the torch, it's the torch #

# It's the torch that shines on #

# And when the light goes out #

# It's the torch, it's the torch #

# It's the torch that shines on #

# I still see you through the waves #

# It's on fire, it's on fire #

# No more past or sunny days #

# They're on fire #

# They're on fire #

# Do you see me behind closed eyes? #

# I'm alive, I'm alive #

# Keep my bedside cold at night #

# I'm alive #

# I'm alive #

# And when the light goes out #

# It's the torch, it's the torch #

# It's the torch that shines on #

# And when the light goes out #

# It's the torch, it's the torch #

# It's the torch that shines on #

# And when the light goes out #

# It's the torch, it's the torch #

# It's the torch that shines on #

# And when the light goes out #

# It's the torch, it's the torch #

# It's the torch that shines on #

# Wait for me, wait for me #

# Wait for me, wait for me #

# It's the torch that shines on #

# Wait for me, wait for me #

# Wait for me, wait for me #

# It's the torch that shines on #