The first two series involved Kemp and a small embedded film crew following troops fighting in Helmand Province, documenting their part in the ongoing Operation Herrick.

As a follow-up to the first series, Ross Kemp: Return to Afghanistan, first broadcast from 1 February 2009, followed the 2008 deployment of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (5 SCOTS), the 5th battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

A final special, broadcast in 2012, entitled The Invisible Wounded, follows soldiers as they return home from Afghanistan, some of whom are forced to deal with the aftermath of PTSD.

With a personal connection with the Vikings, Kemp is an ardent supporter of the men and the mission, and his film makes many criticisms of the situation the soldiers find themselves in.

Kemp expressed that the a main motivation for the series was to hear from the soldiers who generally don't have a voice[5][6] compared to other public workers.

"[7] This would be the view of the young men being sent to the foreign climes of Afghanistan from a situation such as being 18 years old and still living at home with mum and dad, as opposed to hearing from officers trained in media relations.

[6] Kemp had initially wanted to do a series about troops in Iraq following the 2003 invasion[6][9] and posed the idea to James Murdoch, head of Sky TV.

The series follows the soldiers of B Company of the 1st Battalion[7] on their training for deployment, on fighting operations, as well as examining life and conditions at the Now Zad front line base.

[12] The crew trained with the battalion in January 2007[9] for eight weeks[8] at Pirbright barracks, Surrey,[8] and Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire,[6][9] in a cold British winter[13] in freezing temperatures,[7][9] three months prior to deployment for real.

On arrival at Bastion, the crew are given a medical briefing[17] before immediately accompanying an offensive operation in the 'green zone', a thin strip of farm land along the banks of the Helmand River,[17] during which a corporal is killed when an improvised explosive device blows up his vehicle.

[8] On returning to the UK, Kemp met Defence Secretary Des Browne[8] and gave MPs a preview of the series at the House of Commons.<[citation needed] Training consisted among other things of sleeping out with the unit for about a month on Salisbury Plain,[9] mock battles in a cold-war era mock Eastern European village,[7] convoy protection,[13] deployment from Chinook helicopters,[13] military tactics, and what to expect while in country.

[13] In an unusual practice not known for embedded journalists with the MOD,[5] the crew were taught how to handle and fire weapons,[15] namely the SA80 personal rifle and .50 calibre machine gun.

[5][9] On the first operation in Afghanistan, a convoy a few hours out from the main base a Viking armoured vehicle was struck by an IED, which killed a corporal.

[18] On his second day in Afghanistan[8] Kemp "nearly got shot"[15] when the crew were pinned down when accompanying B Company[20] were ambushed in broad daylight while on an operation against Taliban compounds near Sangin.

[6] On speaking about how he unwound from his experience in Afghanistan, which he described as "an unhealthy environment in many ways",[7] On returning Kemp said "it's difficult to come back and see life the same as it was before going".

[15] Kemp, as he expected, was the recipient of some piss taking from the soldiers for his acting role as a staff sergeant in the SAS in Ultimate Force,[5] a show he later described as "dreadful".

[8] Kemp was moved to tears when told by three seriously wounded soldiers returning to base that their actions were not appreciated back home.

[5] Kemp was also critical of the compensation system for wounded soldiers and the "despicable" shortage of helicopters, the most important thing needed, which were unavailable purely for monetary reasons, but which ultimately had cost lives on the tour.

[7] Kemp found that kit was unsuitable for desert ops, such as cold war rations and clothing deteriorating too quickly.

[7] Kemp received praise from the Sergeant's Mess[5] and from Prince Harry, who briefly served in Afghanistan as a forward air controller.

[5] Sengupta also stated that the prolonged period of filming from before and after deployment allowed Kemp to realistically portray the effects of intensive close combat, where soldiers become fitter and appear to age markedly, weather-beaten, and become introspective with the so-called "thousand yard stare".

"[6] While the series was not to be a political piece according to Kemp, he did consider the Iraq invasion was "a mistake", but believed the British involvement in Afghanistan to be a just war.

[9] The crew were to get no preferential treatment and experienced the same conditions and routine as the soldiers[9] While the Vikings are a mechanized infantry unit of the 12th Mechanised Brigade, much of the filming followed dismounted operations carried out on foot.

He also lost two stone while making the film[23] Having expressed concerns about his fitness and being able to cope in theatre weighed down with equipment, he stated: "you can run very quickly when someone's trying to kill you.

[27] In the follow-up series, Kemp is embedded within Delta company[27][28] of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (5 SCOTS), the 5th battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, deployed to Afghanistan as part of 16th Air Assault Brigade.

[30] As well as 5 SCOTS, in the follow-up series Kemp also spent two weeks with Victor Company of 45 Commando Royal Marines, who had deployed to Afghanistan in October 2008.

[29] At the beginning of episode 1 of the second series, 5 SCOTS and Kemp are ambushed by the Taliban within 30 minutes of his first patrol,[28] targeted by small arms fire and RPG rockets.

The war's changed in that the Taliban are using far more IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and anti-personnel mines...[25] Kemp described how the Taliban had now apparently taken to engaging from a distance, and planting IEDs and mines in areas where troops are likely to take cover, switching from conventional tactics to a greater use of booby traps and suicide bombers.