''Combat School'' is a Canadian documentary television series that premiered on March 10, 2009, on the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

. The show focuses on a

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...

of soldiers as they undergo

warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

training prior to disembarking for a

tour of duty For military personnel, a tour of duty is usually a period of time spent in combat or in a hostile environment. In an army, for instance, soldiers on active duty serve 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the length of their service commitment. ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. The series was produced by

Paperny Entertainment Paperny Entertainment Inc. (previously known as Paperny Films) was a Vancouver-based producer of television programming and films, ranging from character-driven documentaries to provocative comedy to quirky reality shows. It was founded by David ...

. The series was narrated by Canadian actor

Kavan Smith Kavan Joel Smith (born May 6, 1970) is a Canadian actor known for playing Major Evan Lorne in ''Stargate Atlantis'' and ''Stargate SG-1'', as Agent Jed Garrity in ''The 4400'', and as Leland Coulter in ''When Calls the Heart''. Early life and c ...

Synopsis

''Combat School'' documents the combat training and eventual

deployment Deployment may refer to: Engineering and software Concepts * Blue-green deployment, a method of installing changes to a web, app, or database server by swapping alternating production and staging servers * Continuous deployment, a software en ...

of infantry soldiers from 1 Platoon, Mike

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

, 3rd

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

The Royal Canadian Regiment , colors = , identification_symbol_2 = Maple Leaf (2nd Bn pipes and drums) , identification_symbol_2_label = Tartan , identification_symbol_4 = The RCR , identification_symbol_4_label = Abbreviation , mar ...

. The platoon of 40 men and women are followed through several months of training at

CFB Petawawa Garrison Petawawa is located in Petawawa, Ontario. It is operated as an army base by the Canadian Army. Garrison facts The Garrison is located in the Ottawa Valley in Renfrew County, northwest of Ottawa along the western bank of the Ottawa ...

, Ontario,

CFB Wainwright 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Detachment Wainwright, commonly referred to as Canadian Forces Base Wainwright or CFB Wainwright, is a Canadian Forces Base located in Denwood, Alberta, adjacent to the town of Wainwright. Military Camp Wainwr ...

, Alberta, and

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of William Wallace Smith Bliss, LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President ...

, Texas. In the final episode, the soldiers are followed through their first two weeks in

Episodes

Soldiers featured

*Captain Jon Cox *Major Cayle Oberwarth *Lieutenant Colonel Roger Barrett *Warrant Officer Bruce Rhodenizer *Sergeant Mike Dwyer *Sergeant Jamie Lewis *Corporal Salvatore "Sam" Miranda *Corporal Evynne Sop *Corporal Derek Pannozzo *Corporal Douglas Chick *Corporal Katie Hodges *Private Jeff Valentiate *Private Dan Martin

DVD release

''Combat School'' was released on DVD on October 13, 2009. The DVD set includes all six episodes of the series, plus over forty-five minutes of bonus footage.

References

External links

*{{Official website, 1=http://www.discoverychannel.ca/showpage.aspx?sid=14403
Production website
2009 Canadian television series debuts 2009 Canadian television series endings 2000s Canadian reality television series Discovery Channel original programming Television series by Entertainment One