I got around to watching the other night and was reasonably impressed. Yes there were lots of factual errors (calling Cpt James the CO, when he would be called the OC for example, the fact the Americans were involved in the intelligence op at the end - what's wrong with using the Brit IEF/detention facility, especially as the Brits are the lead nation in Helmand? - and too many other small things to mention).
The "banter"/swearing strikes me as pretty accurate, even from the officer - when my husband comes home from tour he has to remember to set his swearometer to low as he's back in family life, not barracks life and it was a nice touch to show how it took a while for Molly to earn her place, both as a female attached to a male infantry section and as a combat medic.
I liked the feeling of dislocation when she came home on R&R and POTL - definitely hit the right note for me - it takes a while for things to settle back down, given the realities of the job.
Regarding ages/ranks etc, it is possible that Molly is in her early twenties (very early) because, despite what was portrayed in the first programme (which I haven't seen since it was broadcast) it doesn't normally take a "few weeks" to get from application stage to starting basic training - there's more to it than just the BARB test shown in that film. Also, she was unlikely to have been plucked straight from Special to Arms training to go to Afghanistan. In fact, that bit a the beginning of the series is likely to be her first full posting after training - it hints that she's been picked ("trawled") at short notice to replace someone who can no longer go.
The scenes when they deployed also rang false - why did only one platoon deploy? The infantry usually deploys as a battalion/battle group, so where were the other platoons and companies. Yes it's right that the platoon would have occupied the FOB as a small unit, but there would definitely have been more input at company OC and at CO level. I appreciate that might have been down to casting restraints. Another query - why was the section completely made up of people with no operational experience (other than the captain). At the funeral scene, thery're all wearing one medal each, with the exception of the Capt. Surely, given recent military history, the Cpl at least would have previous operational experience, certainly at least one or two members of the section would have one or two tours under their belt.
Lastly, my gripe regarding the wife: it is not unusual nowadays for a Captain to be maried with a family. Yes, historically, there was a presumption that junior officers did not get married but that was in a climate where most officers went straight to RMAS after school. Most officers now have a degree and some even have a couple of years of work before they join up and it is therefore not uncommon to find that they may marry at a relatively junior rank compared to previously.
Even if a wife knows what's she's in for and is prepared for what may come in the form of deployments and committments, Army life is tough and it takes its toll, especially once children come along. In my first two years of marriage to my husband (then a baby Captain), we spent a combined total of ten months together. We got married on R&R from Kosovo and after he dumped me in MQs we didn't see each other for four months, then his first posting to a Div HQ, where he spent a lot of time away on exercises etc couple with being in the initial implimentation team for ISAF after 9/11. So, even though I knew what Army life was like and I was supportive of him, it was still bloody hard. Eight years ago we had a family and since then, he's been based away from home and he comes back every other weekend for a couple of days. That is also hard but is an increasingly common position for Army families - it gives you stability for the children and potentially allows for the wife (and it is usually the wife) to establish and maintain a career.
Repeated tours of Afghanistan take their toll - my husband has been twice in the past six years - especially as the Army can take little account of family circumstances. My husband was deployed 48hrs after I'd had emergency surgery following a miscarriage that went a bit wrong - and that was the Army being compassionate by delaying him for 24hrs. Climbing the ladder and gaining promotions also takes a lot of work - it can be rapid (my husband went from 2nd Lt to Lt Col in just 12 years) involving increasingly demanding jobs - it gets harder the higher you climb.
So, to characterise the wife as a "cold fish" (admittedly based on a five second appearance) would be wrong, especially as there is little backstory given - the only hint we get is that the captain was perhaps more interested in his career than his wife. I'm sure others with military experience either in uniform or married to someone in uniform will back me up that divorce and family breakdown is depressingly common in the forces.
In my experience, inter-rank relationships are rare but can work, so long as there is no direct chain of command. In this case, Molly and the captain are from different capbadges, so would only directly work together on tour. However, relationships where both serve are difficult because it's hard to get time together when postings/tours/exercises will frequently pull in differing directions.
Anyway, apologies for the essay. I did enjoy the series, especially the restrained note to the romance - even if it was front and centre, it was understated and not graphically displayed - and think it would be interesting if the series was able to show life as a female in the Forces.
One final note - op tours/exercises are smelly affairs and you want to stay upwind of any man returning from one until they've had at least an hour in a shower. The grimy, combat attire/skin might look good, but it's not attractive if one is within sniffing distance!