Introduction

Soldiers recount their experiences in one of the worst places of Afghanistan through helmet cameras and testimony years after their tour.

Outline

Taking Fire is a five-part documentary series which involves the participants filming their own personal war experiences while on a one-year deployment in Afghanistan. The show is a Discovery Channel series about the 101st Airborne Division, using personal hand-held and helmet cameras. The action unfolds during America’s farthest flung outpost in the Korangal Valley, deep in Taliban-held country throughout 2010.

The “rookies” wanted to capture what they saw using their personal cameras and bring the footage the people back home. The footage they brought back “documents” an eyewitness view of modern warfare in what is considered one of the deadliest places on earth.

The combat footage takes viewers into the heart of combat action, with a visceral perspective not captured by news reporters or traditional documentaries. The segments document the personal struggles, confusions, joys and sadness of war. The men in the Discovery Channel series left the United States for Afghanistan, seeking to serve their country. However, what they experienced was possibly something different from what they anticipated.

Taking Fire showcases American soldiers under intense fire from Taliban positions in Afghanistan. The men experienced IED explosions and being pinned down under enemy machine-gun fire, and many of the surviving soldiers gave accounts on the operations and spoke of their fellow soldiers who did not return. The footage seen in the show is approved for public viewing by the Department of Defence. The show contains upsetting images and redacted profanity.

Taking Fire Series

• Episode 01: Band of Brothers.
• Episode 02: Hero Flight.
• Episode 03: Flipping the Switch.
• Episode 04: Overwatch.
• Episode 05: The Long Road Home.

Series Inspiration

Kyle Boucher, a veteran of the 101st Airborne and now a Massachusetts firefighter, recalled thinking upon seeing the footage from the Afghanistan War and shared his 59-second video with documentary producer Laura Dunne about a firefight and a Blackhawk helicopter’s airlift of wounded from Boucher’s platoon.

Dunne was put in touch with several members of the unit who had recorded action on their helmet cams during their time in Afghanistan. JJ McCool, Ken Shriver, Chris Adams and Kyle Petry along with other platoon members.

She put the raw video footage together and the results make up the series Taking Fire, a five-part documentary on Discovery Channel.

Production & Filming Details

• Directors: Jim Nally and Stuart Strickson.
• Producers: Denise Contis, Dmitri Doganis, Laura Dunne, Susie Field, Dan Gold, Matthew Kelly, Lisbeth Lozano, Rebecca North, Sonia Pavlovic, Joseph Schneier, Sara Woodford, Tom Lindley, Lauren Muchan, Justin Rickett, Michelle Miyamoto Galvin, Melanie Gerry, Jeremy Llewellyn-Jones, Louise Norman, Jesse Vile, and Jessica Hartley.
• Narrator: Kevin Conroy.
• Music: Ty Unwin.
• Cinematography: Robert Hanna, Simon Fanthorpe, Andy Muggleton, John Vrilakas, and Richard Ranken.
• Editors: Dan Crouch, Napoleon Stratogiannakis, Paul Holland, Nadeem Khan, Matt Lowe, Duncan Moir, Stephen Moore, Dudley Sergeant, Jacob Thomson, and Chris Wright.
• Production: RAW ( as Raw Television).
• Distributor: Discovery Channel.
• Release Date: 13 September 2016 to 10 October 2016 (US).
• Running Time: 60 minutes.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

YouTube Link

Contains graphic content.