Ross Kemp: Back On The Frontline

The actor returns to Afghanistan to discover what has changed since the conflict began in 2001. In the first edition, Kemp joins the Whiskey Company for a night raid to capture a high-level insurgent, who is suspected of training 15-year-old boys to be suicide bombers. He also learns about counter-insurgency, a way of fighting the Taliban.

The actor meets up with a group of American soldiers for the first time, discovering how the company has lost three men during this tour. Plus, he learns how counter-terrorism forensic methods perfected in Northern Ireland are being used to fight the Taliban.

The actor joins the Afghan Army as they undergo training from General Caldwell, the second-highest-ranking American officer in the country, ahead of a planned withdrawal of British troops in 2015. Plus, he spends more time with the Kilo Company of the United States Marine Corps and learns how poor sanitation and food are making it a difficult tour.

The actor joins troops as part of the first-ever operation planned and executed by the Afghan National Army without the benefit of outside assistance. If the mission to prevent insurgents from firing rockets into the capital of Helmand Province is successful, it will provide a template for when British troops withdraw from the country in 2014.

The actor comes face to face with the Taliban for the first time when he visits Pul-e-Charkhi prison, before revisiting Whiskey Company to gauge the success of their counter-insurgency methods. Having returned to Afghanistan to explore the human and financial cost of the conflict, and discover why troops remain there after 10 years, Ross reflects on his time in the country.