Members of the military who fought in Australia's longest war have re-opened raw memories of bloodshed and death in an official documentary account of their service.

Afghanistan: The Australian Story was commissioned by the Australian War Memorial and tells the story of the men and women who served in the 12-year fight against the Taliban.

The project, produced by award-winning former ABC journalist Chris Masters, features reflective and frank new interviews with Special Forces soldiers, engineers, medics and relatives who were affected by the war.

Among the harrowing stories recounted in the documentary are the reflections of a former special forces engineer who describes his fear of having to continue clearing mines after he saw his mate killed by an improvised explosive device.

"I said 'what do I do now?' You know, like I've never done this before. Who prepares for this sort of stuff?" Dan Costelloe says in the documentary.

Sorry, this video has expired Dogs play a big role in the Afghan war

Other stories include a young Patrol Base Commander coping with the aftermath of a "green on blue" insider attack, and a widow facing up to the dreaded knock on the door informing her of her partner's death.

"The Australian War Memorial is many things, but I've learnt it's also part of therapeutic milieu for men and women, almost 30,000 of them, after 15 years in Afghanistan returning to an Australia that has no idea what they have been doing on our behalf and in our name," memorial director Brendan Nelson explains at the end of the documentary.

"We are proud of what these Australians have done. We are proud of this Afghanistan: The Australian Story."

The DVD of Afghanistan: The Australian Story will be officially launched at the Australian War Memorial on Wednesday October 5.

The powerful interviews will also be used to help update Australian War Memorial's Afghanistan Gallery.

Australian forces completed their withdrawal from Uruzgan province at the end of 2013, after the mission which saw 41 Defence Force personnel killed and 261 seriously wounded.