On The Field

Life on the army base in Basra is closing down - they'd all rather be in Afghanistan. Terry has got no money, the CO wants him to sing in a talent contest to boost morale and he has got woman trouble. But he is just about to get his lucky break.

life on the army base in Basra is closing down - they'd all rather be in Afghanistan. Terry's got no money, the CO wants him to sing in a talent contest to boost morale and he's got woman trouble. But he's just about to get his lucky break.

Terry arrives, fresh to Basra, with his best mate, Connor. He wants to grow up and be a man for his girlfriend back home, who's about to give birth. But he struggles with the practical details of real life - like money - and gets into debt. And he'd rather be in Helmand fighting the Taliban - not in Basra.

Mundane fears wear away at the soldiers while they're expected to be heroic or believe in a new Iraq. They talk about overdrafts while bombs go off and are obsessed with getting a working water system in one block of Basra streets rather than saving the world for democracy. Terry and Connor talk sharp and like to look good - they're tough, but not tough enough for this life.

The CO wants Terry to sing a song in a talent contest, although he isn't keen - it doesn't seem the right time or place to be singing. When his girlfriend leaves him for a better prospect, however, Terry is devastated. And, when Connor is injured in a car bombing, Terry feels he's losing everything. However, Connor asks Terry to sing for him and he can't refuse.

He starts to sing Jimmy Cliff's reggae classic, The Harder They Come, to him in the hospital tent - a song of survival against the odds. When one of the men on the ward films the song on his phone and sends it back home, the musical clip turns into a YouTube hit and things begin to look up for Terry.