After the horrors of 9/11, the British armed forces were called upon by the government to engage new enemies in faraway lands. Spearheading the War on Terror, Royal Marines led British troops into Afghanistan in 2002 to oust the Taleban and scatter al-Qaeda. Then in March 2003, again it was the Royal Marines who kicked off the Second Gulf War with an assault into southern Iraq. Since then, the men and women of the British forces have been risking their lives in both theatres, routinely exposed to mortal danger and showing constant courage and fortitude under intense pressure. But their task is not only one of combat and counterinsurgency; many humanitarian acts have been carried out to bring stability and new hope to ravaged peoples, often at great personal risk to servicemen involved.