Blood, Sweat and Tears

As the BBC’s former defence correspondent, Caroline Wyatt spent more than a decade covering the war in Afghanistan. She first went there just after the 9/11 attacks, to report on the British troops joining the US-led coalition against Al Qaeda and their Taliban hosts. By the time combat operations ended in 2014, 454 British military personnel and civilians had died - and many more Afghan civilians. Following the final withdrawal of US troops last year – and the scramble for safety by Afghans who’d worked with the West – she set out to speak to British veterans of the conflict. To find out what had made them sign up to fight, despite the risks, and what the campaign’s ultimate failure means to them now. Like many who served in Afghanistan, Louise Jones signed up because she “wanted to make a difference”. She found watching the scenes unfold on television “painful”. It made her question how much she trusted those in power “when they say we want to commit to Ukraine, for example.” Harry Parker, a former captain in the 4th Battalion The Rifles, signed up at 26 just as the fighting in Afghanistan was reaching a crescendo. Eight weeks into his tour of duty he stepped on an improvised explosive device and lost both his legs. Meanwhile, his father General Sir Nick Parker was preparing to head out to Afghanistan to take over as commander of British Forces. “It only made me even more committed to make sure that we achieved our military objectives,” he says, “that we didn't squander young men and women's lives.” As a commando trained chaplain with the Royal Marines, Stuart Hallam ministered to young soldiers as they fought and died on the front lines. “We never come back to being normal in the same sense as we were normal before. It can be a very positive transformation. But nevertheless, it's a transformation.” Presenter: Caroline Wyatt Producer: Emily Williams A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4