The Darkest Hour

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 yourseIves.

Your predecessors

in HeImand have pushed forward -

- and made a huge effort

in aid of a civiIian popuIation -

- that has Iived

under miserabIe conditions.

Forthis, several of our coIIeagues

have paid a high price.

It's your duty to continue

unhesitatingIy in their footsteps -

- now that your government has

charted its politicaI course.

- Yes.

- When are you going to JutIand?

To Jutland?

That wiII be on ... Thursday.

- And the exercise wiII Iast for ...?

- Ten days.

That's it, l think.

It hasn't really dawned upon me

that you're actuaIIy going.

It doesn't strike you

untiI the goodbyes.

I've spent months trying to figure it

out, and I gave up. I just don't get it.

You couId say it's Iike footbaII.

You Iearn so and so much

through practice -

- but you Iearn more

by pIaying matches.

- You aIso enjoy the comradeship.

- Of course. That's part of it.

- lt's a chaIIenge and an adventure ...

- And that's what hurts!

- An adventure? I can't ...

- But l want the experience.

What's up?

Did you get home, or what?

No ...

I'm here now.

Thanks for caIling.

Bye.

What a trendy hairstyIe, Kim!

Not bad at aII.

- 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?

- Patches us up, if necessary.

- Does he go on patroI with you?

- Oh, l see. Yes, he does.

- l think l'II 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 yourseIf

and what you Iook Iike.

- l'm going to miss you.

- l'll miss you, too.

- l love you.

- l know.

- See you.

- Take care.

See you.

Bye, Dad.

- See you.

- l'll hoId you to that, Mads.

- Promise?

- l promise.

WeIcome. WeIcome.

- Did you have a good trip?

- lt was a bit Iong.

We haven't been bored

in ArmadiIIo.

- lt was fairIy ...

- 400?

A Taliban mortar fired on us,

and we sent off 260 120 mm -

- and 120 105 mm.

Air support and Apaches

were called in. It wasn't boring.

The TaIiban are much more

on their toes than I had thought.

They are just 800 m away

from ArmadiIIo and on the ball.

- So we'll confront them fairIy soon.

- lt'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 cheerfuI.

- 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 heImet says

''King of the Green Zone''?

WeIcome. Grab some water.

I have a few pointers.

Gun Iine is shooting.

That's why it's so noisy.

If you hear what sounds like a

rocket, it's the Iaunchers firing.

It's 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 combat,

you're obviousIy more exposed -

- so don't just stand there staring.

''Walk-ins'' stop just over there

and caII for an interpreter.

It doesn't take long to figure out

if they're dicking around -

- or if it's something usefuI.

- You had some questions.

- Yes.

How far north

from ArmadiIIo can we go -

- before the Taliban get active?

About 800-1000 m

north of Armadillo.

From up here we can draw a line

almost up to the HeImand River.

This area here is basicaIIy ours.

His objective is to move south

and isolate us so we can't get out -

- and to diminish our influence on

the IocaIs. That's what he wants to do.

Our patroIIing forces him to meet us

here and fight in this narrow pass.

These people are former mujahedeen

and used to fight the Russians -

- in the exact same area, so they're

used to fighting a superiorforce.

They're not afraid.

Ten men might attack forty.

Being outnumbered doesn't

stop them. Not at aII.

- They've got big baIIs

- That's for sure.

Did you treat the ones who were kiIIed

and wounded in December?

UnfortunateIy me and J were the ones

who found the dead on 12.19.

We were first on the spot. I grabbed

a detector and started sweeping.

As we went around the vehicIe, the

f***ing beam from my headIamp -

- caught this guy right in his face.

He was staring, but dead, of course.

l cIosed his eyes

and covered up his face.

And the last guy ...

There wasn't much Ieft of him.

I coIIected body parts for six hours.

Everything.

Fingers, a hand in a gIove,

a knee joint, a heart lying around ...

It's hard to describe what

it Iooks like in a pIace Iike that.

You aIso have to

keep an eye on yourseIf.

You're not wacko, just because

you Iaugh at some irrelevant stuff.

You need normaIity, 'cause this is so

meaningIess 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.

- l'm fine. We're in ArmadiIIo.

- Okay.

- What's Dad up to?

- He sitting right here.

I'll Iet you taIk 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 middIe of the night.

l didn't hear it, but she did.

It scared the daylights out of her.

Yourfirst thought is that

something terribIe has happened.

But it was a business caII from India

about something they're printing -

- and they forgot

about the time difference.

Since we Ieft Denmark,

the enemy's objective hasn't changed.

The TaIiban's objective is

to destabiIize security in HeImand -

- and undermine the IocaIs' trust

in the lSAF forces.

It's important to get

into Haftaran and Athakhan -

- to establish contact with the people.

When you eat yourfieId rations -

- and there's something

you don't Iike -

- l suggest you save it

and bring it on patroI.

Give it to the chiIdren

as a sign of goodwiII.

RuIes of engagement.

Remember that self defense

can appIy prior to being fired upon.

Such as by confirmed weapons or

peopIe moving into a position to fire.

Yes. Go get ready.

Listen up. Line up, so 6-5 can take

our picture before ourfirst patroI.

I don't have anything.

I can see why the wadis

are dangerous.

They can easiIy hide an IED.

The thought is sickening.

We're most likeIy to go around it -

- so it wouId be stupid

to put one here.

the fence on the eastern side -

- of the row of bushes

that run from north to south.

WeIcome to Nam.

- Hey, interpreter!

- FoIIow me. Come.

HayatuIIah, hurry.

Don't let them onto the poppy fieId.

This way. Not in the field.

I wiIl show you.

the route around the fieId.

SaIaam aIeikum.

How are you? AIright?

- Read your book.

- Are you reading? Yes.

- lt's a madrassa.

- Are you studying the Koran?

- Have things been caIm?

- How is the situation in the area?

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