i'm not laughing at the germans because sometimes i am place and nothing with the trip to the german i think deep into the german culture. new to take this ground. it's cold out there no time rachel join me in the thick of. course. jim and peacekeeping troops on patrol in mali. there's all the info it's the biggest challenge i've ever faced. the troops are still finding their way around. isn't outsiders so we're trying to get a grip on the situation and the minister bio's to some this mission raises serious ethical questions. what are we doing here is this what should we be hearings.

first lieutenant mathias lena is a platoon leader in mountain infantry company base new bad reichenhall in bavaria in a few weeks he'll head out on his first foreign mission to mali. what i was going up no if anything needs fixing tell me otherwise i'll assume it's ok it's possible. this and i know it's good to have gotten used to the idea of foreign deployment and you learn that early on if you're in the military you're probably going to be sent overseas but you never know when or where or going to hold us on the ground. and off guard dogs and you get your orders and you go where they tell you. not

tradition of course there are ways to get out of those kinds of missions but generally speaking it's not open to discussions and even. those from the us are sort of ata. mathias is twenty seven years old he and his wife clara live in munich they got married recently and she's now pregnant mathias and clara grew up in berlin and have known each other since this school days after he graduated from high school mathias signed up for a twelve year hitch in the bundeswehr later he attended officer training school. i mean if i'm you going to that my family was surprised they had no ties at all to the military but even in my high school it was really unusual for anyone to consider military service. hoped in variance in at the time i thought the bundeswehr would offer me a little adventure and a chance to work outdoors like you've all seen some of that's why i joined the

citizens which is a good sort now he's going on a dangerous mission sensitiveness route i'm actually pretty nervous about it so i'm there i'm not worried about his personal safety but these soldiers have to face all kinds of challenges and that can cause a lot of stress including psychological stress certainly see our last events i kind of i'm concerned about all that stuff i think that if you join the bundeswehr you have certain responsibilities and i believe that germany is right to take on these kinds of missions i just wish that they wouldn't send my husband to dangerous places but that's how it is. this is. at the bundeswehr combat training center new mag to bug you ten atlanta and his platoon a preparing for their mission which will probably involve counterinsurgency measure has. more to.

you've been doing today we're going to simulate a patrol in an operational area. i love gold for the gold although this is all our job will be to secure the perimeter and prevent direct or indirect attacks on our camp as well. oh boy if we're attacked it's important to take cover and establish fire superiority. that's the background any questions. it's. just our platoon is made up of a pretty diverse group of guys and we have to learn to work together in. minutes on kind of these when we're finished with this training program i want to be sure that my men will be ready for this mission. and we need.

this situation will be new for me and that creates a certain amount of tension. it's also new for most of these men. when it's their first real mission in a conflict zone specifically molly. if you will you see it's on. the soldiers have no idea what's going to happen june this exercise. this vehicle is about to hit an i.e.d. will be tracked. by the young to your i.e.d. on to their three this is full should we close the road or keep going. on this is very close the road where you are. lying delta one not. this is true but i've got two wounded here one with birds you still own shares on america. officers monitor and evaluate the

exercise now the wounded are being brought to safety and you are the consequence of these exercises you just rely on your training but you don't get emotional about it because it's just practice i haven't experienced the real thing yet but often we don't need as was just different and. linda has called in a helicopter to transport the wounded deploy tunes to q. is the area and blocks off the road standard operating procedure but the instructors say that the men stayed too long needed the name being called. don't just focus on first aid but the entire unit is pinned down near the vehicles and it might be attacked again so leave the kill zone as quickly as possible because especially for us because they all still carry out the wounded provide covering fire and get as far away from the vehicle as you can so that it is because

. lana is now packing for his mission in mali twelve thousand u.n. peacekeeping troops are already there the german soldiers will receive extra hardship pay so what is it looks like we'll have just two minutes a day to take a shower. i can do that before i go to bed well that was involved. and. it's always been the best i think i weigh about one hundred twenty kilos with the body armor and all the other combat here you could do without it i weighed ninety three kilos or something like that being right. in these funds that i'm twenty seven years old i've trained forty one men to the point where i feel comfortable serving with them on a mission for four months and we're headed for a conflict zone of the corps people can be killed. that's something you could never

imagine happening in germany. and how do i deal with all of this expensive equipment. it's all on my shoulders. lieutenant lane the miracle worker. alive. a. this is the transport facility at cologne born airport after almost a year of planning training and practice lieutenant lin and his unit a starting the first overseas mission. of me to call i've known for some time what i'm getting into and now we're underway we've trained for this and i would say that i'm pretty relaxed right now that mitchell goes from one.

lane and his men will be in mali for at least four months. this is the city of galle in northern mali about ninety thousand people live here a rich mix of ethnic groups tribes and religions in twenty twelve torah gravels an islamist fighters occupied the city the rebels lightly declared the region's independence from the rest of the country. in twenty thirteen the united nations sent peacekeeping troops to the region today more than fifteen thousand soldiers from nearly fifty countries are serving there about a thousand german troops are stationed at camp cast a navy airfield on the outskirts of gal. and

you can get used to just about anything but it's still stressful. and there are more pleasant things to do than working outside all day in forty degree heat and then spending the evening in a tent with nine or ten other guys. and. people are always coming and going and we do guard duty in shifts some of the guys have to get up at four in the morning to do that. so you have to be considerate of the people in your tent. in the unit and there's no place here where you can just be by yourself. and. as soon as his unit arrives at the camp they stop preparing for this mission. the moment if you want to meet with the squad leaders today. first thing tomorrow morning. them right we'll take care of the stuff on your to do list so i won't have

to deal with it tomorrow or. we'll let the guys rest and get ready. and what are they going to. give us. the new troops to set to head out on the first patrol tomorrow when they're off duty the soldiers are not allowed to leave the camp because of the threat of insurgent attacks. because. this mission requires a sense of duty that there's no room for emotion here if you don't feel like carrying out a particular order and you can't just refuse if you have to do it and do it well because that's part of the job. can be frustrating sometimes but you just have to deal with it until. the officer who lynn is replacing gives him a status update including local insurgent activity lane and his unit will serve as a quick reaction force. the show what. they. think you are after is like

a fire brigade if a dangerous situation develops somewhere it's all. our job to respond to it once again was maybe too good anything can happen and we have to be prepared to move out quickly and deal with it on the question and that's what i missed. if someone needs help they call us you know. it's time for reconnaissance patrol. on the van off with imo we're going to drive around the city so that we can get a general idea of the layout going on off don't you know we're going to call both. sets these little mozilla you don't see that's not unusual to see someone walking

around with a gun but you never know which side they're on. there are a lot of dangers that you just can't see the threat of attack is always there. on the other hand some of the local residents wave at us especially the kids going off and on and that's a positive development that was due to them. the patrol of rides at an observation post and gets a briefing on the situation there. also what about that checkpoint. so this area is controlled by five of the mali and government troops. i was there some hesco barriers there a member got a machine gun and the guys spend most of the day just lying around in a shi'ite. mani's military doesn't have the troops all of the equipment to provide proper security in this part of the country that's why the u.n.

peacekeepers are here. meanwhile in munich clara has been taking her lower exams and she's well along in her pregnancy. the type five year plans are time goes by slowly but i've got a lot going on right now i'm taking my exams when i'm pregnant with our first child and of course i really miss my husband but he and i are a team and we both have different things to take care of. and i would i was up still i miss having him here to take over some of the work. or to just give me a hug. as part. mathias sends a text message he wants to know how she is and he writes a little about his mission is that he's also missing doesn't provide a lot of detail because he doesn't want me to worry but i'm especially concerned

that he might develop psychological problems that could happen if they were actually involved in combat but there's going to be a lot of stress until he comes back. and then if the first few weeks months i'll see whether he's changed and if so. yeah i'll focus on the call. if it's ok i would prefer to be with my wife is at home alone and pregnant at. all she's in a tough position and that just breaks my heart and i don't like to think about the fact that i had to leave her by herself at this difficult time. in his unit has been here for three months now. what was going on today. nothing vital it's another day of doing nothing i suppose i could work out but tonight i just want to relax a little. bit but suddenly it's time to go to work i don't have to push to the spot and you will be.

down the. delta is lieutenant lynas call sign in radio traffic. they're going to tell to all units move out of the idea they didn't of. course has come in that there's a cache of explosives hidden on a road north of gal this represents a danger to soldiers and civilians elaina's platoon is ordered to find secure and defuse the explosives they'll be accompanied by a munitions disposal team from cambodia. are dead and a large al to all units situation report we're going to get new coordinates from the cambodians good i'll get them to you shortly right now we're just a little north of those new coordinates. is the only going over we still don't know exactly what we're dealing with so we've set up

a large security perimeter because of the nature of the terrain. the cambodians are sweeping the area right now. they have a wide area to cover. not proper they cover. the cambodian troops use metal detectors to look for mines unexploded ordinance and booby traps any mistakes can be deadly. but there was a lot of past the status report along to the joint operations command line and the phone intercepts lists we turned up nothing so the cambodians are going to call off the search the way. sometimes a mission just doesn't work out. from time to time i ask myself is what are we actually doing here should we be here at all. what makes us different from guys who are just looking for a little excitement. in view besides are we better than guys who drive around in

the desert fox where they could be killed by an i.e.d. or stung by a scorpion. the names of. clara keeps hearing media reports about attacks in mali that cause casualties but she tries to lead a normal life and in front of her friends she puts on a price face. war. if the u.n. troops are involved in the fighting my husband couldn't tell me about it anyway and i worry that one day the door bell will ring and someone in uniform will be standing there that kind of fear just paralyzes you. didn't. the. in this training exercise an armored vehicle has hit a baby trap. the driver is seriously wounded in his unit provides

first aid get them both very much but i think response can mean the difference between life and death. are testing allston the statistics show that the mortality rate is highest during the first hour. that's why it's so important to treat the wounded as quickly as possible we don't all want that i'm cold. even jaring a training exercise like this the troops try to make that sixty minutes stand to risk you helicopters take off from camp caster with doctors and paramedics on board . yet if you would it's now nine thirty seven. if they still need twenty minutes they're behind schedule and there must've been some communication problems that's definitely too long. the rescue helicopter arrives just in time

the wounded soldier is put on board in the end things turned out ok. the young guys don't want to thank god we haven't had to deal with the real thing yet when it's like you don't think about the fact that it could happen at any time because it will soon come to. get their car you know nobody wants to take a human life without good reason but we're here to carry out our mission and to do that we have to be properly prepared. and. i'm fully aware of the fact that under extreme circumstances i may have to kill someone or order my men to kill us. but we will only do so when it's absolutely necessary. and this. is. the u.n. peacekeepers a trying to stabilize the political situation in mali and to protect its people.

like baseball this village has a small community center a school and a mosque today we're going to meet the village elder. it's about five hundred meters from here. but even a short march without an armored vehicle for protection is dangerous in this part of the country. the village called tom is located about. drive north of gal. bubba the love. this visit is part of lieutenant lynas effort and to learn more about the local residents there's a. new story. regarding. these meetings you tenant always tries to be friendly. here in the village

elder is pleased that the german troops are here. we smile we have a lot of problems in mali and the un peacekeepers are helping us to solve them they should stay here if they grieve things could get difficult again. these personal contacts with local residents showed the german soldiers that their mission is important. it's not just sitting around in the desert for days on end. almost five months have passed now since laina and his men arrived in mali. they spent weeks during reconnaissance patrols and support work but they never fired a shot. and now it's time to return to germany. back home critics have complained that the bundesbank mission in mali has not

achieved much they say that germany has no business sending troops here. but these soldiers are here to carry out their orders even if they didn't agree with some of them. some of our orders were nonsense in fact a lot of them were we all wondered what we were doing here though i certainly did with the sense of still every single one of you did your damn job and you did it well. on the gulf. and now after one hundred forty one days in mali lieutenant linna is on his way back to germany. because if you start as i was i can definitely say that this mission to change me is that i can't say how just yet. i think i'll find out only after i get home and start interacting with people again that's going to start especially as all that.

it's two months mathias clara and their infant daughter have moved from munich to bad russian hol a mountain infantry brigade is stationed near the town. father knew enough to fly i was lucky because i didn't become depressed after our mission for the record i love being with my daughter but a new baby is a real challenge. i don't have time to think about anything else. and if you. good job well done. this. in schools on the site think he's a lot more coming relaxed than he used to be. especially in stressful situations. what he wants now and how to get it it's i think that he's learned what's important

to him in life this is us where and who comes to mr. sinclair to night is to know there will be more missions probably in mali again for sure but i have new responsibilities now because i have a family i can't think about the military all the time. to mine it was but someone has to sign up for those missions. i think it's important to make a contribution to society it doesn't matter whether it's working in a nursing home for the elderly or picking up the garbage every day. for meals and my contribution to society is military service. and i'm convinced that it's an important one bosses in the published issue and. because quote.

the parliamentary mandate for the bundesbank mission to mali is jus to expire in may twenty nineteen the book is titled the side with the tyranny which.

tomorrow today looks at the big picture. look down from high above the. land here far out into space. walk to the edges may find tell us about a planet. people that live on it. join us on an interesting. wrote today. thirty minutes on d w.

sarno just couldn't get this song out of his head. musicologist began searching for the source of these captivating sounds. and found that deep in the rain forest in central africa the littlest was able to look like the any one phillips to the most money living costs he was so fascinated by their culture that he stayed. only a promise to his son made zorn only in the jungle and returned to the concrete and glass trying to work. the result reverse culture shock. the prize winning documentary song from the forest starts first on w.

five days in the midst of venezuela's crisis in a fight to get aid into the country with a convoy of one guy don't support us and exclusive d.w. report alongside venezuelan journalist says are putting. a closer look at the country's catastrophic conditions. on the way to colombia a showdown. starts march eighteenth. the floods have taken everything they own now despair is this god left climate refugees. they seek shelter the kind of culture. but even if. it was cheap rising. the floods are coming.

this is news live from berlin new zealand's prime minister just into our promises to tighten her country's gun laws following the christ church mosque shootings for killed fifty people she says her cabinet will discuss the policy changes on monday also coming up. flash floods and landslides triggered by torrential rain killed dozens in indonesia's eastern most province of top of. the philippines turns its back on the international criminal court today the country will become.