Daniel Cann

By Ross Kemp

Published 2009 by the Penguin Group Ross Kemp has morphed from a soap star and actor into a serious and acclaimed investigative journalist and television presenter. In the last five years he has had two well-received books published on his experiences whilst filming the ‘Gangs’ series for Sky One. This latest book charts his experiences and insights on the so-called ‘War on Terror’ as he joins his fathers old regiment the Anglians whilst stationed in Afghanistan.

From his training on Salisbury Plain, to joining the British forces at Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, Kemp avoids sensationalizing and point scoring by telling it as he sees it. This is a sincere and honest account with no political agenda unlike the World’s press and media reporting from there. Kemp gives a voice for all of the servicemen stationed there and the book is all the better for it. This is essentially then the soldier’s story of being on the frontline.

Nothing is glossed over, Kemp comments on the sanitary conditions the forces face with the constant threat of D and V (diarrhoea and vomiting), the searing heat often as high as 50 degrees during the day and freezing at night, dust, sand, heat glare, inadequate rations and the most basic of equipment. Kemp makes no bones in letting the reader know just how stretched our troops are in the harshest of environments and in the most dangerous country in the World.

The views and experiences of the soldiers that Kemp meets make for fascinating, sobering and poignant reading. Prior to reading this book my only knowledge was gleaned from newspaper commentary, television and the Internet. This book really brought it home for me as much as possible without actually being there what it is like and exactly what our troops face on a daily basis.

In the course of two summer tours and a winter tour Kemp goes on many patrols with the soldiers and throughout the course of the book he is involved in several fire fights or ‘contact’ with the Taliban where he and his crew also face incoming bullets and RPG’s. He is there when the dreaded IED’s (Improvised Explosive Devices) are set off accidentally and he meets and talks with many soldiers who have lost limbs and suffered atrocious injuries as a direct consequence. The book describes an eerie night patrol with the sound of jackals and dogs howling whilst clerics chant. The fear and uncertainty is palpable and Kemp excellently and vividly captures the soldiers’ feelings and constant discomfort against a well-entrenched enemy. The harsh realities and the effects on the servicemen and their loved ones are constantly and painfully recounted here as the long conflict (in its eighth year at the time of writing) continues unabated.

I felt I had learned a lot by the end of the book and understood this terrible situation more, testament to Kemp’s writing and heartfelt reporting. He is never afraid to send up his television tough guy persona and he is always open about his fear and emotions as he reports on what he has witnessed abroad and at home. There are also several fascinating encounters with Afghan civilians and I was hooked by what their take on the conflict was. There is plenty of insight and different perspectives on the war here.

There is a glossary of terms at the back of the book, which I found invaluable in understanding events unfold. Too often books on the military are full of jargon leaving the uninitiated bogged down and often in the dark. This time I could follow everything with ease.

All in all this is yet another brutally stark and honest effort and I recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about our country’s involvement in Afghanistan. This is not a polemical book with a set agenda, rather it is a straightforward account of life on the front line for a soldier, at turns horrifying, insightful, graphic but totally rewarding and educational.