Soldier

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What does it take to be a frontline soldier in the British army?

Who has what it takes to be a frontline soldier? At Britain's biggest garrison, fresh recruits are pushed to the limit - physically and mentally. Only the very best will make it.

Series 1

The BBC West region started on 1st September 1957 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One West.

BBC One West HD

BBC One West Midlands

BBC One Yorkshire HD

Simulcast of network BBC One in high definition. From 03/11/2010

BBC One HD

BBC One Cambridgeshire

BBC One West

BBC One Channel Islands

BBC One Oxfordshire HD

The BBC South region started on 5th January 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South.

BBC One South

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region. Separated as BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One London HD

The BBC North East & Cumbria region started in 1959 (tbc) as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One North East & Cumbria.

BBC One North East & Cumbria HD

BBC One Nightlight

BBC One Channel Islands HD

The BBC South West region started on 20th April 1961 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One South West.

BBC One South West HD

BBC One North West

BBC One region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

BBC One East Midlands HD

BBC One Yorks & Lincs

BBC One London

London

BBC One Cambridgeshire HD

BBC One North East & Cumbria

The BBC East region started on 1st May 1959 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One East.

BBC One East

BBC One Oxfordshire

BBC One West Midlands HD

BBC One East HD

BBC One East Midlands

BBC One South West

BBC One North West HD

BBC One South HD

BBC One Yorks & Lincs HD

Formerly part of a wider BBC One South East region that included London and part of the South region. Separated from BBC One London 2001-09-03 following reorganisation of the South East region.

BBC One South East HD

BBC One Yorkshire

BBC One South East

BBC One Scotland

Scotland

Simulcast of BBC One Scotland in high definition. From 14/01/2013

BBC One Scotland HD

BBC One Wales

Wales

BBC Northern Ireland region started on 19th April 1955 as part of the BBC Television Service, before becoming BBC One Northern Ireland.

BBC One Northern Ireland

Simulcast of BBC One Wales in high definition. From 29/01/2013

BBC One Wales HD

Simulcast of BBC One Northern Ireland in high definition. From 24/10/2012

BBC One Northern Ireland HD

Kim Rossiter

Mark Rossiter

Lorraine Charker-Phillips

Simon Dickson

Fran Baker

Leanne Troop

Rosie Gray

Paul Wells

Kate Bennison

Lynsey Masters

Label1 Television Ltd

Soldier: Series 1: Episode 3

Episode 3

BBC One - Soldier, Series 1, Episode 3

As recruits face the reality of the infantry, they fight to stay on the course.

Recruits fight to keep their place in the army while the instructors reveal the reality of modern warfare.

The gruelling training course is reaching the halfway mark. Forty-five joined the platoon – now only 34 remain. Who is prepared to do whatever the army asks of them? The instructors offer raw and honest insights into the realities of modern warfare.

On a formal warning, Pte Josh Harte is given a final chance to turn things round. Ex-footballer Pte Curtis Dryden is beginning to impress the trainers after a challenging start, while Pte Owen South worries if he has got what it takes to fit in.

Recruits’ reactions to noxious gas are tested as they are ushered into a tiny room filled with CS gas and asked to remove their masks. At the live firing ranges, they are handed their biggest weapon so far: the general-purpose machine gun that can fire 100 rounds a minute over a distance of 800m. Recruits need to be 60 per cent on target to pass the test and to take on the coveted gunner role during training exercises. Pte Owen South is keen to use the machine gun but struggles to hit the mark.

As the platoon braves the elements of operating in freezing conditions in the North Yorkshire countryside, its endurance is put to the test. During a blizzard, Lt Wahab sets shivering recruits off on a navigation exercise. Armed with a map and compass, some of the recruits fail to reach the checkpoints in the two-hour time window. For 29-year-old Pte Jerry Okyere from Ghana, it’s the first time he has seen snow. He is one of five recruits from the Commonwealth in the platoon who are hoping to join the infantry.

A trip to the war memorial at the National Arboretum in Staffordshire brings all the learning and pressure from the training team into sharp focus. The recruits are given a poignant insight into the sacrifice that they must all be prepared to make if they take on the difficult job of an infantry soldier. One of the training team, Cpl Dean, knows this only too well, as he remembers a colleague he lost during the conflict in Afghanistan. Back at the barracks, 20-year-old Pte Josh Harte comes under pressure again when the CSM inspects his kit. He is left fighting to hold on to his place in the platoon.

Everyone is left in shock and surprise when one recruit doesn’t return after weekend leave and goes Awol.

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