WEBVTT - Season 06 Episode 1: Lying in Wait (Rerun) 0:00:10.280 --> 0:00:14.040 Daoud watched nervously as the choppers descended from out of 0:00:14.120 --> 0:00:18.680 the dawn sky, their giant blades throwing ominously as they 0:00:18.760 --> 0:00:22.320 dropped closer to the ground, kicking up dust and beating 0:00:22.400 --> 0:00:27.320 back the green shoots of wheat now oscillating wildly before him. 0:00:27.480 --> 0:00:30.800 He turned sharply and made a quick retreat back into 0:00:30.840 --> 0:00:35.320 his house, bolting the door behind him. Then, peering out 0:00:35.400 --> 0:00:38.440 from the corner of a window, he watched as the 0:00:38.479 --> 0:00:42.240 first pair of camel colored combat boots hit the floor, 0:00:42.840 --> 0:00:47.159 soon followed by numerous others, and prayed to Allah that 0:00:47.280 --> 0:00:52.360 he would be left alone. Moments later, there came a loud, 0:00:52.680 --> 0:00:57.640 insistent knock at the door. The men, he assumed were 0:00:57.720 --> 0:01:02.200 Americans strangers, the people he'd been warned not to co 0:01:02.280 --> 0:01:05.560 operate with. They were joined at the door by a 0:01:05.600 --> 0:01:10.080 more familiar face, who put the strangers short, insistent words 0:01:10.120 --> 0:01:14.480 into Pashtu so that he could understand their demands. But 0:01:14.600 --> 0:01:18.520 Daoud was finding it hard to concentrate two distracted by 0:01:18.560 --> 0:01:22.880 the service rifles in their hands. Just a few weeks ago, 0:01:23.440 --> 0:01:26.880 men not unlike these killed a ten year old boy 0:01:27.080 --> 0:01:30.840 in Daoud's village. Just another of the tens of thousands 0:01:30.840 --> 0:01:34.120 of Afghan civilians that would fall victim to a war 0:01:34.560 --> 0:01:37.880 of which they had no control. Caught in the cross 0:01:37.920 --> 0:01:42.039 fire between Taliban insurgents and the invading U. S and 0:01:42.160 --> 0:01:47.440 British forces, while Daoud in his own home did his 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:51.560 best not to seem guilty of anything. The interpreter explained 0:01:51.880 --> 0:01:54.360 that the soldiers wanted to use his home for the 0:01:54.400 --> 0:01:57.480 next few weeks, adding that they would pay good money 0:01:57.480 --> 0:02:02.480 for it, but Daoud couldn'toss agree. If word got out 0:02:02.520 --> 0:02:05.920 to the Taliban that he'd taken money from Americans, the 0:02:06.000 --> 0:02:11.560 consequences would not be worth thinking about. Captain John Way's 0:02:11.560 --> 0:02:14.919 sun sighed and looked about at his men, who were 0:02:14.919 --> 0:02:18.480 growing ever more skittish, stood out in the open, each 0:02:18.560 --> 0:02:22.600 passing second bringing them closer to the possibility of death. 0:02:23.919 --> 0:02:27.520 He and his men were Marines, members of the second Battalion, 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:31.720 eighth Regiment, newly arrived in the region after spending two 0:02:31.760 --> 0:02:36.240 months acclimatizing at Camp Leatherneck, the marine's primary base in 0:02:36.320 --> 0:02:41.639 Helmand Province in South Afghanistan. The unit formed a handful 0:02:41.760 --> 0:02:45.080 of the four thousand new troops sent into Helmand as 0:02:45.160 --> 0:02:48.680 part of Operation Kanjar, the latest roll of the dice 0:02:48.880 --> 0:02:52.120 in the U. S Government's efforts to neutralize the Taliban's 0:02:52.160 --> 0:02:57.160 grip on the region. It was July twenty nine, and 0:02:57.240 --> 0:02:59.880 with all things going to plan, the war would be 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:11.880 all but over soon. Daoud's village, Saujerdez, was one of 0:03:11.960 --> 0:03:16.160 many similar sized rural communities clustered around the Helmond River 0:03:16.480 --> 0:03:20.560 in the Gamser district of Helmond. Although surrounded on all 0:03:20.639 --> 0:03:24.480 sides by endless miles of desert, here the land was 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:28.000 rich and green, quite different to how many of the 0:03:28.040 --> 0:03:33.040 Marines had imagined Afghanistan to look. To some, it reminded 0:03:33.040 --> 0:03:36.560 them of the verdant countryside that surrounded their training base 0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:40.160 in North Carolina, though they were under no illusions of 0:03:40.280 --> 0:03:44.520 just how far from home they really were. Out of 0:03:44.560 --> 0:03:48.440 the twenty most dangerous districts of Afghanistan, according to the 0:03:48.520 --> 0:03:53.320 US military, nine were located in Helmand Province, being as 0:03:53.360 --> 0:03:56.920 it was a vital asset for the Taliban on account 0:03:56.960 --> 0:04:00.480 of the vast, sprawling poppy fields that also love the 0:04:00.480 --> 0:04:04.680 banks of the helm And River. The fields, which they 0:04:04.720 --> 0:04:09.200 cultivated for opium to help fund their operations, had flourished 0:04:09.320 --> 0:04:12.720 thanks to an extensive canal and irrigation system that had 0:04:12.760 --> 0:04:16.760 been constructed back in the nineteen fifties and sixties, largely 0:04:17.040 --> 0:04:21.480 with the help of significant US government investment. The system 0:04:21.520 --> 0:04:25.560 had even been partially designed by the company Morrison Knudson, 0:04:25.960 --> 0:04:29.160 perhaps better known for building the Hoover Dam and the 0:04:29.200 --> 0:04:33.680 San Francisco Bay Bridge, just one of the many ironies 0:04:34.000 --> 0:04:38.880 that characterized this most messy of wars. The attempt to 0:04:38.920 --> 0:04:42.440 commandeer Daoud's home was part of a new tactic to 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:46.520 go from village to village, setting up outposts and establishing 0:04:46.560 --> 0:04:49.880 a visible presence throughout the region to try and route 0:04:49.880 --> 0:04:54.600 out any Taliban strongholds while simultaneously engaging with the local 0:04:54.640 --> 0:04:59.240 population in the hope of winning their support. For those 0:04:59.400 --> 0:05:03.120 like Daou, it is a fraught existence, stuck between the 0:05:03.160 --> 0:05:06.920 harsh authority of the Taliban and the ambiguous motives of 0:05:06.960 --> 0:05:12.000 the invading forces. For those like Captain's Son and his men, 0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:14.919 it is just the beginning of what must seem an 0:05:14.960 --> 0:05:19.080 impossible task, the first of many they will face together 0:05:19.560 --> 0:05:24.200 in the next seven months of their deployment. On this occasion, 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:27.719 it ends with Daoud being forced to give up his 0:05:27.839 --> 0:05:31.120 home for at least the next two weeks. After local 0:05:31.160 --> 0:05:36.200 elders convince him to hand over his property. Daoud has 0:05:36.240 --> 0:05:39.799 barely finished loading the last of his possessions onto a cart. 0:05:40.279 --> 0:05:44.360 When the Marines move in. He doesn't take the money, 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:47.920 telling them instead to make it known that he had 0:05:47.920 --> 0:05:55.560 no choice in the matter, and in many ways he didn't. 0:05:59.360 --> 0:06:02.880 Not far from from Saujardes, another unit from the second 0:06:02.920 --> 0:06:06.640 and eighth of undertaking their first patrol outside the wire. 0:06:07.680 --> 0:06:13.440 Among them is twenty year old Lance Corporal Charles Seth Sharp, 0:06:13.640 --> 0:06:17.839 hailing from the town of Adairsville in northwestern Georgia, Sharp 0:06:17.839 --> 0:06:20.800 had been motivated to join the Marines, partly in an 0:06:20.839 --> 0:06:23.719 effort to bring structure and focus to his life and 0:06:23.800 --> 0:06:27.200 to make his family proud, but mostly by a desire 0:06:27.520 --> 0:06:32.479 to fight for those who couldn't fight for themselves. While 0:06:32.520 --> 0:06:36.160 stationed in Iraq the year before, Sharp made a strange 0:06:36.200 --> 0:06:39.520 request to his family, asking them to send him coloring 0:06:39.520 --> 0:06:43.279 books and crayons for Christmas. As he explained to his 0:06:43.360 --> 0:06:46.719 bemused parents, he wanted to give them toward the kids 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:51.279 he'd met throughout his time there. Only a few days 0:06:51.320 --> 0:06:54.720 before heading out on patrol, Sharp had written a letter 0:06:54.800 --> 0:06:57.760 to his grandmother telling her that he was about to 0:06:57.800 --> 0:07:00.560 take part in a mission that his grand children would 0:07:00.600 --> 0:07:04.479 learn about in history class, but Sharp would never live 0:07:04.680 --> 0:07:09.120 to have grandchildren. That morning, on his first patrol, his 0:07:09.279 --> 0:07:11.960 unit came under attack, and he was shot in the 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:16.360 neck by an unseen shooter and died soon after, becoming 0:07:16.400 --> 0:07:22.120 the first US casualty of Operation Kanjar. For many in 0:07:22.160 --> 0:07:25.920 the second Battalion and eighth Regiment, the time spent in 0:07:26.000 --> 0:07:30.120 Camp Leatherneck had been a frustrating one. All cooped up 0:07:30.160 --> 0:07:35.920 together under one giant tent nicknamed the Circus Tent. Having 0:07:36.000 --> 0:07:40.080 trained for months building themselves up for action, the last 0:07:40.120 --> 0:07:43.040 thing they wanted was to be sitting around kicking their 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:47.560 heels in the desert. Sharpe's death was a harsh wake 0:07:47.680 --> 0:07:50.760 up call to the reality of combat and a brutal 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:54.000 reminder of the true nature of the battle they were 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:58.280 engaged in. The Taliban were not a simple enemy to 0:07:58.320 --> 0:08:02.400 be routed and crushed through sheer might and will. There 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:07.120 were no military compounds to storm or governments to overthrow. 0:08:07.920 --> 0:08:12.280 Theirs was a much longer game characterized by stealth and surprise. 0:08:13.360 --> 0:08:16.600 Their presence felt not by what you did see, but 0:08:16.720 --> 0:08:20.440 what you didn't. A movement in the tree line up ahead, 0:08:21.120 --> 0:08:24.920 or the improvised explosive device buried six inches under the 0:08:24.960 --> 0:08:29.320 ground and primed to kill. And even when they did 0:08:29.440 --> 0:08:33.680 finally make their presence known, they could just as quickly disappear, 0:08:34.600 --> 0:08:40.040 like phantoms, back into the landscape, each member often indistinguishable 0:08:40.120 --> 0:08:43.439 to the Marines from the many other people whose land 0:08:43.559 --> 0:08:48.360 they now stalked. As one Taliban commander was often fond 0:08:48.360 --> 0:08:52.840 of saying, the Americans might have the watches, but they 0:08:53.600 --> 0:08:58.240 had the time of all the conflicts in recent years, 0:08:58.679 --> 0:09:01.520 it is little wonder that from out of this one 0:09:01.720 --> 0:09:07.440 tales of ghosts would emerge. You're listening to Unexplained, and 0:09:07.520 --> 0:09:19.199 I'm Richard McLean Smith. The small group of Marines stamped 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:22.400 their feet to keep warm as a hazy, pale sun 0:09:22.800 --> 0:09:26.800 crept up over the makeshift walls of Patrol Base Hassanabad, 0:09:27.240 --> 0:09:31.360 a rudimentary settlement on the outskirts of Hassanabad Village that 0:09:31.559 --> 0:09:35.280 was comprised of little more than giant reinforced sacks of 0:09:35.320 --> 0:09:39.679 gravel and a few canvas tents. On the orders of 0:09:39.720 --> 0:09:43.960 their sergeant, the eight men, comprising a unit from Golf Company, 0:09:44.240 --> 0:09:48.600 second Battalion, eighth Regiment, jumped into the waiting armored trucks 0:09:48.920 --> 0:09:53.880 and sat anxiously as the gate was opened. Moments later, 0:09:54.400 --> 0:09:58.520 they were out beyond the perimeter wall, huddled together with 0:09:58.600 --> 0:10:02.240 the nervous energy of the res recently deployed, the prospect 0:10:02.280 --> 0:10:05.720 of hitting an ied and ever constant in their minds. 0:10:07.520 --> 0:10:11.240 For some, this was little more than routine. For others, 0:10:11.720 --> 0:10:15.320 like twenty two year old Lance Corporal Adam Wilson, this 0:10:15.559 --> 0:10:20.360 was their first assignment beyond the wire. Wilson looked out 0:10:20.720 --> 0:10:24.520 through the truck's dusty window at the alien landscape beyond, 0:10:25.320 --> 0:10:28.640 a mix of scrub and wheat fields, a far cry 0:10:28.720 --> 0:10:33.120 from his home city of Xenia, Ohio, while up above, 0:10:33.440 --> 0:10:37.520 a compatriot tended the truck's single machine gun, surveying the 0:10:37.559 --> 0:10:42.560 horizon for any signs of a threat. Thankfully, with only 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:45.559 a few hundred meters to travel, it wasn't long before 0:10:45.600 --> 0:10:49.280 they derived their destination, the truck skidding to a stop 0:10:49.480 --> 0:10:52.520 beside what looked like little more than a huge pile 0:10:52.559 --> 0:10:57.160 of mud. After quickly vacating the vehicle, the men took 0:10:57.160 --> 0:10:59.760 a moment to survey the place they would be calling 0:10:59.760 --> 0:11:04.040 home for the next sixty days. A small outpost set 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:06.800 up about twenty meters high on the top of a 0:11:06.840 --> 0:11:14.160 strange dirt hill designated Observation Point Rock, or simply the Rock. 0:11:24.160 --> 0:11:27.840 Being the highest point for some considerable distance, the rock 0:11:27.920 --> 0:11:31.400 was an obvious place to put an observation post from 0:11:31.480 --> 0:11:35.120 which any incoming enemies could be spotted long before they 0:11:35.120 --> 0:11:39.280 had time to reach the patrol base. Despite its relative 0:11:39.280 --> 0:11:42.840 closeness to the base, the facilities were basic at best, 0:11:43.200 --> 0:11:47.200 with no electricity, running water, or even beds to sleep in. 0:11:48.120 --> 0:11:51.400 As such, it was necessary to maintain a steady rotation 0:11:51.559 --> 0:11:57.160 of personnel to occupy the post. Feeling thoroughly exposed and 0:11:57.200 --> 0:12:01.000 with the heat already beginning to rise, the Marines quickly 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:03.760 made their way to the shelter of the compound above, 0:12:04.520 --> 0:12:08.200 where they were greeted by its outgoing occupiers, a group 0:12:08.240 --> 0:12:13.160 of Welsh Guards from the British Army. Lance Corporal Wilson 0:12:13.440 --> 0:12:16.960 couldn't help contrasting the fresh faces of his fellow Marines 0:12:17.360 --> 0:12:22.360 with this tired, despondent group of men hastily packing their bags, 0:12:22.400 --> 0:12:27.440 evidently in a hurry to vacate the place. Meanwhile, Corporal 0:12:27.520 --> 0:12:31.280 Jacob Lena, the unit's second in command, made his way 0:12:31.520 --> 0:12:34.360 along one of the few shallow trenches that had been 0:12:34.400 --> 0:12:38.480 carved out of the mound, and surveyed the scene. The 0:12:38.559 --> 0:12:41.760 post was centered around a single machine gun that poked 0:12:41.760 --> 0:12:43.720 out of a small hutch on the west side of 0:12:43.720 --> 0:12:47.560 the hill. Some old magazines were littered about the place, 0:12:48.160 --> 0:12:51.200 while the remnants of a small homemade gym could just 0:12:51.240 --> 0:12:56.959 be glimpsed from underneath some camouflage netting. Just then, Lena 0:12:57.080 --> 0:12:59.880 was startled by the bark of a dog, which revealed 0:12:59.920 --> 0:13:05.280 it moments later. Eager to meet the new arrivals, as 0:13:05.320 --> 0:13:08.360 one of the British soldiers explained it was a local 0:13:08.400 --> 0:13:13.760 stray that adopted. Calling it ugly Betty, Lena promised to 0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:18.200 look after it for them. Ordinarily, this would be the 0:13:18.240 --> 0:13:21.080 point at which the previous group took a moment to 0:13:21.120 --> 0:13:25.240 go over a few details about the local landscape, sniper 0:13:25.240 --> 0:13:28.360 spots to look out for, or any individuals they might 0:13:28.400 --> 0:13:31.800 want to be suspicious of, but the Welsh guards offered 0:13:31.800 --> 0:13:36.200 no such courtesy, preferring simply to clear out as quickly 0:13:36.200 --> 0:13:40.720 as possible. There was one piece of advice, however, that 0:13:40.800 --> 0:13:45.320 they were willing to impart. Should the men dig anything up, 0:13:46.120 --> 0:13:48.720 it might be best to put it back where they 0:13:48.760 --> 0:13:59.199 found it the Marines who made themselves busy settling into 0:13:59.200 --> 0:14:01.800 their new home as they quickly got down to the 0:14:01.800 --> 0:14:05.480 business of determining sentry shifts and figuring out the most 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:10.920 comfortable places to get some sleep. With temperatures routinely hitting 0:14:10.920 --> 0:14:14.480 close to forty degrees celsius, finding ways to stay in 0:14:14.520 --> 0:14:18.840 the shade would also be vital. As the last of 0:14:18.880 --> 0:14:22.640 that first day's light ebbed away and the hazy, pink 0:14:22.760 --> 0:14:26.080 and bluish hues of dusk descended, the men could be 0:14:26.120 --> 0:14:29.320 thankful to have made it through the day without incident. 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:34.840 That evening, Corporal Lena took first watch at the machine gun, 0:14:35.360 --> 0:14:38.960 gazing out at the complicated mix of homes, fields and 0:14:39.040 --> 0:14:42.960 fir trees dotted before him, the shadows growing longer and 0:14:43.080 --> 0:14:48.320 longer before dissolving momentarily, only to later re emerge under 0:14:48.320 --> 0:14:52.520 the gentle light of the moon. Not far to the south, 0:14:53.160 --> 0:14:56.240 Lena could just make out the old, rusted shells of 0:14:56.320 --> 0:15:00.800 two Soviet era tanks half buried in the earth, remnants 0:15:00.800 --> 0:15:05.240 of a past, both distant yet inextricably linked to Lena's 0:15:05.280 --> 0:15:09.280 own presence thirty years later, and only a few hundred 0:15:09.320 --> 0:15:14.120 meters away, The tanks were as alien to this landscape 0:15:14.240 --> 0:15:17.120 as Lina was, each of them brought here by the 0:15:17.200 --> 0:15:21.440 same winds that had left so many unwitting people sprawling 0:15:21.480 --> 0:15:26.640 in its wake. Lina scanned back across the fields, almost 0:15:26.680 --> 0:15:29.760 willing for something to happen, doing his best to stop 0:15:29.800 --> 0:15:33.840 his mind from wandering. It was always difficult being on 0:15:33.960 --> 0:15:37.440 watch in such places of isolation, trying to toe the 0:15:37.480 --> 0:15:42.200 line between staying alert to any possible threat while simultaneously 0:15:42.600 --> 0:15:45.760 trying your hardest not to allow the possibility of such 0:15:45.760 --> 0:15:50.760 a threat to overwhelm you. Lina was just eyeing the 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:53.920 lip of a nearby ditch when a burst of static 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:57.720 blared out of the outpost's radio, causing him to jump, 0:15:59.040 --> 0:16:03.320 catching himself. Lina turned to face it, anticipating an imminent 0:16:03.400 --> 0:16:07.960 communication from the patrol base. Then the radio crackled again, 0:16:09.080 --> 0:16:13.040 a muffled voice just about audible swimming around in the 0:16:13.080 --> 0:16:17.000 thick of it. Lena grabbed the device and fiddled with 0:16:17.040 --> 0:16:21.400 the controls, switching it back to the required frequency. He 0:16:21.480 --> 0:16:24.120 called up the bass and asked them to repeat the message, 0:16:24.840 --> 0:16:28.040 but the voice at the other end was confused. They 0:16:28.080 --> 0:16:33.440 hadn't sent a message. Lina looked again at the radio, 0:16:33.640 --> 0:16:37.640 then apologized for wasting the bass operator's time and turned 0:16:37.680 --> 0:16:43.680 back to the gun. Moments later, the radio crackled into 0:16:43.720 --> 0:16:51.440 life again, and once again Lina heard that strange muffled voice. 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:55.560 Listening closer, he soon realized it wasn't speaking in English, 0:16:56.360 --> 0:17:00.960 it was speaking Russian. Perhaps the radio was picking up 0:17:01.000 --> 0:17:04.879 someone else's transmissions, he thought, giving the radio a thump, 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:16.760 Or perhaps he was simply imagining things. Over the next 0:17:16.800 --> 0:17:19.560 few days, with little else to do with their time, 0:17:20.080 --> 0:17:24.680 the marine's attention soon turned to fortifying their position. Most 0:17:24.840 --> 0:17:27.560 pressing of all was the fact that, with the exception 0:17:27.680 --> 0:17:32.160 of a few well placed sandbags, nowhere offered significant safety 0:17:32.400 --> 0:17:36.879 from most potential lines of enemy fire. Though some trenches 0:17:36.920 --> 0:17:40.040 had been dug in and around the compound, none were 0:17:40.080 --> 0:17:43.720 deep enough to bring you lower than the parapet without crouching, 0:17:44.800 --> 0:17:47.919 and so it was one morning that Corporal Lena and 0:17:48.080 --> 0:17:52.280 Lance Corporal Wilson, along with one other compatriot, began the 0:17:52.359 --> 0:17:58.119 arduous task of rectifying the situation. The clatter of shovels 0:17:58.240 --> 0:18:01.600 scraping dirt rang out through the camp as the men 0:18:01.680 --> 0:18:05.880 battled against the rock hard ground and the ever rising temperatures. 0:18:06.880 --> 0:18:10.399 As Wilson paused for some water, Lena dug his shovel 0:18:10.440 --> 0:18:13.560 in once more, only for it to clang against something 0:18:13.840 --> 0:18:17.840 buried a few inches under the surface. Lena threw down 0:18:17.840 --> 0:18:21.200 his shovel and pulled a thin, tangled strip of metal 0:18:21.440 --> 0:18:24.560 from the ground. Then he blew off the dirt and 0:18:24.640 --> 0:18:28.240 held it up to the light. It was hard to 0:18:28.280 --> 0:18:31.600 tell what it was exactly, an old piece of shrapnel, 0:18:31.640 --> 0:18:36.560 most likely, suggested Wilson. Lena nodded in agreement as he 0:18:36.600 --> 0:18:39.520 tried to read some strange markings that had been etched 0:18:39.560 --> 0:18:44.399 onto the side of it. It looked like Cyrillick. He 0:18:44.480 --> 0:18:48.200 thought back to that strange radio transmission from the night before, 0:18:48.880 --> 0:18:51.800 but thought better of telling Wilson about it lest he 0:18:51.880 --> 0:18:56.119 sound like he was going crazy. Half an hour later, 0:18:56.520 --> 0:18:59.199 with the men having hardly made a dent in the trench, 0:18:59.680 --> 0:19:03.479 Wilson slammed his shovel into the ground, unearthing a small 0:19:03.600 --> 0:19:08.719 sunken space about two feet wide beyond it. Spotting something 0:19:08.760 --> 0:19:12.760 within it, Wilson reached inside and pulled it out, then 0:19:12.880 --> 0:19:17.240 recoiled in horror. It was unmistakably the leg bone of 0:19:17.280 --> 0:19:21.760 a human. Wilson's colleague grabbed it from him and goofed 0:19:21.760 --> 0:19:24.919 around with it, but neither Wilson or Lina saw the 0:19:24.960 --> 0:19:29.080 funny side. Remembering suddenly those final words the British had 0:19:29.160 --> 0:19:32.600 said to them, if you dig anything up, you should 0:19:32.640 --> 0:19:37.280 probably make sure to bury it, Lina grabbed the bone 0:19:37.680 --> 0:19:41.800 and put it back where Wilson had found it, having 0:19:41.840 --> 0:19:45.920 got back to the task at hand. Moments later, Wilson 0:19:46.280 --> 0:19:51.680 found another fragment of bone. Then Lina did too. In fact, 0:19:51.840 --> 0:19:56.480 the more they digged, the more bones they uncovered. It 0:19:56.600 --> 0:20:00.199 soon became clear why the previous occupants had preferred not 0:20:00.240 --> 0:20:07.760 to dig any deeper. They were camped on a graveyard. 0:20:11.680 --> 0:20:14.680 As news of the gruesome discovery made its way through 0:20:14.680 --> 0:20:16.960 the group, it was hard not to be a little 0:20:17.000 --> 0:20:20.960 unsettled by it. Even in the height of war, such 0:20:21.080 --> 0:20:25.919 things rarely fail to make the skin crawl. Perhaps it 0:20:26.000 --> 0:20:28.639 was all the talk of the bones, or perhaps it 0:20:28.720 --> 0:20:32.120 was the strange remoteness of the location and the unending 0:20:32.200 --> 0:20:35.600 cycle of boredom that comes with occupying such a post. 0:20:36.359 --> 0:20:39.879 Either way, something of the place was beginning to seep 0:20:39.920 --> 0:20:46.000 into the men. Two weeks later, Corporal Austin Hoyt celebrated 0:20:46.000 --> 0:20:50.439 his twentieth birthday. That night, it was his turn to 0:20:50.480 --> 0:20:55.240 take machine gun duty. Growing up on a farm back 0:20:55.240 --> 0:20:58.040 in the States, he was used to the quiet and 0:20:58.119 --> 0:21:00.919 had thought nothing of being stationed at the rock for 0:21:01.000 --> 0:21:05.439 sixty days. But back home the quiet was something to 0:21:05.480 --> 0:21:09.879 be cherished and revered. Here, it was only ever a 0:21:09.960 --> 0:21:14.000 vacuum for the worst thoughts to infiltrate. It was a 0:21:14.080 --> 0:21:18.280 quiet that spoke not of wistful hopes and dreams, but 0:21:18.440 --> 0:21:23.040 only of things lying in wait. When suddenly the quiet 0:21:23.119 --> 0:21:28.399 was broken by a horrific scream, Hoyt scrambled for his 0:21:28.520 --> 0:21:33.840 night vision binoculars and scoured the perimeter fencing below, assuming 0:21:33.920 --> 0:21:37.320 someone had been caught in the razor wire, but the 0:21:37.359 --> 0:21:42.399 fencing was completely empty and untouched. Blurring the binoculars to 0:21:42.480 --> 0:21:45.560 the ground, Hoyt gasped at the sight of a large 0:21:45.800 --> 0:21:51.040 humanoid shadow darting out across a nearby field. Moments later, 0:21:51.840 --> 0:21:57.080 it was gone. Just then Wilson and Lena burst into 0:21:57.119 --> 0:22:01.200 the machine gun post, clutching their M four rifle. They'd 0:22:01.200 --> 0:22:04.920 heard the scream too. With no choice but to head 0:22:04.920 --> 0:22:08.280 out and investigate, the three of them cautiously made their 0:22:08.320 --> 0:22:12.040 way to the perimeter fencing and stepped out beyond the wire, 0:22:13.119 --> 0:22:16.560 but after a thorough scout at the surrounding area, the 0:22:16.640 --> 0:22:32.120 men found nothing. After only four weeks. Lance Corporal Zonik 0:22:32.400 --> 0:22:35.160 can't quite put his finger on it, but it's clear 0:22:35.240 --> 0:22:38.360 that something in the mood of the men has shifted. 0:22:39.560 --> 0:22:42.320 Taking a machine gun watch that night, as all the 0:22:42.359 --> 0:22:45.520 stars of the desert emerged one by one from out 0:22:45.560 --> 0:22:48.800 of the sky, he soon finds his mind wandering to 0:22:48.920 --> 0:22:53.320 thoughts of family and loved ones back home. Phoning home 0:22:53.560 --> 0:22:55.520 is a rare event at the best of times for 0:22:55.640 --> 0:22:59.720 military personnel, but being stationed out here, it will be 0:22:59.720 --> 0:23:01.960 months before he is able to speak to any of 0:23:02.000 --> 0:23:06.720 them again. For many service personnel posted all over the 0:23:06.760 --> 0:23:10.760 world far from home, especially with so many being barely 0:23:10.800 --> 0:23:14.040 out of their teens and in young relationships and marriages, 0:23:14.680 --> 0:23:17.159 it can be all too easy to let the separation 0:23:17.440 --> 0:23:21.240 each you up, and equally so for those left back 0:23:21.280 --> 0:23:26.040 at home, whether in loving relationships or deteriorating ones. Not 0:23:26.200 --> 0:23:28.760 knowing if they might ever speak to their partners or 0:23:28.800 --> 0:23:33.080 relatives again, many prefer not to call home at all 0:23:33.880 --> 0:23:36.720 to avoid the pain of hearing their loved one's voices. 0:23:37.480 --> 0:23:40.639 Others are reluctant to make any promises of future calls, 0:23:41.320 --> 0:23:45.960 just in case they are unable to fulfill it. Zolnik 0:23:46.040 --> 0:23:48.760 took a swig of water to perk himself up, and 0:23:48.800 --> 0:23:52.080 slapped away at another giant moth that was buzzing about 0:23:52.119 --> 0:23:57.000 his head, when suddenly he felt the unmistakable sensation of 0:23:57.040 --> 0:24:00.960 a cold breeze across his face, follow by what sounded 0:24:01.080 --> 0:24:04.879 like a voice whispering to him from out of the darkness. 0:24:06.080 --> 0:24:11.679 Zolnich spun round, looking about. Who's there, he said, but 0:24:11.760 --> 0:24:15.040 there was no reply. It was only then that he 0:24:15.160 --> 0:24:19.800 noticed just how cold the air had suddenly become, and 0:24:19.840 --> 0:24:25.359 then the whispering voice came again. Zolnik jumped. God, damn it, 0:24:25.400 --> 0:24:30.040 that isn't funny, he said, still looking about. Then the 0:24:30.080 --> 0:24:35.320 sound of footsteps approached, crunching in the dirt outside. Zolnich 0:24:35.359 --> 0:24:37.600 froze at the sound of them as they drew near, 0:24:38.160 --> 0:24:41.040 then moved up to the top of the mound above 0:24:41.119 --> 0:24:45.240 the machine gun post. Assuming with relief that one of 0:24:45.280 --> 0:24:48.840 his colleagues had finally come to join him, Zolnich grabbed 0:24:48.880 --> 0:24:52.760 his end for and ran out of the hutch. Hoyt 0:24:53.040 --> 0:24:55.639 is that you? He said, as he looked up to 0:24:55.760 --> 0:24:59.240 the top of the mound, but no one was there. 0:25:01.040 --> 0:25:04.800 Doing his best to suppress the rising fear, Zolnik ran 0:25:04.880 --> 0:25:07.920 back inside and pointed his gun toward the stretch of 0:25:08.000 --> 0:25:10.840 land at the base of the mound and hurriedly scanned 0:25:10.880 --> 0:25:14.760 it back and forth through his thermal scope, when suddenly 0:25:15.280 --> 0:25:18.920 he spotted the white thermal outline of a figure standing 0:25:18.960 --> 0:25:24.119 about a hundred yards from the outpost. Moments later, Lance 0:25:24.200 --> 0:25:28.000 Corporal Hoyt arrived to relieve Zolnich of his duty, finding 0:25:28.080 --> 0:25:32.760 him clearly rattled by something that someone there, insisted Zelnich, 0:25:33.560 --> 0:25:37.959 but when he looked again, the figure was gone. Hoyt 0:25:38.000 --> 0:25:40.600 took a look through his own scope and then through 0:25:40.640 --> 0:25:45.680 the night vision binoculars, but saw nothing. I guess they're 0:25:45.720 --> 0:25:49.480 gone now, said Hoyt, before patting Zolnich on the shoulder 0:25:50.119 --> 0:25:59.640 and telling him to get some sleep. Over the next 0:25:59.640 --> 0:26:04.120 few days, Zoonich seemed unable to shift something from his mind. 0:26:04.680 --> 0:26:09.080 With his condition rapidly deteriorating, the sergeant made the decision 0:26:09.480 --> 0:26:13.920 to have him transferred out. As one day bled into 0:26:13.920 --> 0:26:16.679 the next, the men on the rock seemed to become 0:26:16.880 --> 0:26:19.840 more and more untethered from the strictures of life on 0:26:19.880 --> 0:26:25.119 patrol Base Hassanabad, beards were left unshaven as some of 0:26:25.119 --> 0:26:28.280 the men took to sitting about shirtless in the oppressive 0:26:28.359 --> 0:26:32.840 desert heat. It was sometime around thirty days into their 0:26:32.880 --> 0:26:36.359 posting that Corporal Lena was back on night watch at 0:26:36.359 --> 0:26:39.480 the machine gun, with ugly Betty sat by his side 0:26:39.760 --> 0:26:43.639 to keep him company. It had just passed one thirty 0:26:43.680 --> 0:26:47.840 a m when Betty sat up suddenly and began barking 0:26:47.880 --> 0:26:52.560 furiously into the night. Lina grabbed the night vision binoculars 0:26:53.000 --> 0:26:57.440 and scanned the fields below. As Betty's barks grew louder 0:26:57.640 --> 0:27:01.600 and more insistent, Lina caught sight of a figure dressed 0:27:01.600 --> 0:27:06.840 in Perihano tamban about two hundred meters away, standing completely still, 0:27:07.480 --> 0:27:12.399 that appeared to be staring directly at him. Lena grabbed 0:27:12.440 --> 0:27:15.879 hurriedly for his thermal scope to pinpoint the figure's position, 0:27:16.520 --> 0:27:21.399 but when he looked again, the figure had gone. Taking 0:27:21.440 --> 0:27:24.760 the night vision binoculars again, he gasped at the sight 0:27:24.800 --> 0:27:28.520 of the same person, now standing one hundred meters closer, 0:27:29.880 --> 0:27:32.880 on the verge of firing a warning shot. Lina grabbed 0:27:32.880 --> 0:27:35.960 his M four and looked down the thermal scope to 0:27:36.000 --> 0:27:40.920 find the figure again, but once more they had completely vanished. 0:27:42.680 --> 0:27:45.520 In a panic, Lina was just about to alert the 0:27:45.560 --> 0:27:48.399 others when he felt the heavy tap of fingers on 0:27:48.480 --> 0:27:51.879 his shoulders, the sergeant signal to let him know that 0:27:52.080 --> 0:27:56.080 he is standing behind him. With a sigh of relief, 0:27:56.440 --> 0:28:01.960 Lina spun around, only to find that he was completely alone. 0:28:02.560 --> 0:28:05.560 In horror, he grabbed once more for the night vision 0:28:05.600 --> 0:28:10.679 binoculars and hurriedly scanned the surrounding area as Betty continued 0:28:10.720 --> 0:28:23.199 to bark, but once again Lena found nothing. Despite his 0:28:23.320 --> 0:28:26.520 fears that he'll be judged at best unfit for duty 0:28:26.960 --> 0:28:32.560 and at worst insane, after forty days of strange, inexplicable experiences, 0:28:32.960 --> 0:28:37.399 Corporal Lena finally decides to confide in his colleagues, telling 0:28:37.400 --> 0:28:40.520 Wilson and Hoyt about everything that had been going on. 0:28:41.680 --> 0:28:44.440 Having expected them to poke fun at him, it is 0:28:44.480 --> 0:28:47.480 with some surprise when both of them revealed that they 0:28:47.560 --> 0:28:53.880 too had been experiencing ghostly inexplicable events. Then Hoyt thought 0:28:53.920 --> 0:28:57.160 back to the night that Zolnik had seemed so spooked 0:28:57.720 --> 0:29:02.239 right before he decided to transfer out. Clearly it had 0:29:02.280 --> 0:29:07.000 been happening to him too. The men agreed to keep 0:29:07.040 --> 0:29:10.160