Combat School

Forty men and women from 1 Platoon, Mike Company, 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment begins mission-specific training for the most intense combat situation any of them have ever faced.

With the reality that 1 Platoon is further behind in training than any other platoon at Fort Bliss, company commander Oberwarth does not mince words to get them motivated.

After intense training in Texas, 1 Platoon returns home with change in the air. The soldiers move to the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre in Wainwright, Alberta for the most realistic, complex and technologically advanced combat training in the world.

Without their leader, Captain Cox, 1 Platoon is assigned to a remote forward operating base for guard duty.

When 1 Platoon tries to protect a disabled helicopter, Warrant Rhodenizer - commanding the platoon in Captain Cox's absence - is "critically injured" by shrapnel.

After months of demanding training, the 'battle-ready' troops of 1 Platoon, Mike Company, 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment finally arrive in Afghanistan - their home for the next six months.