THE first rocket-propelled grenade exploded in the air above their heads, sending Delta Company ducking for cover.

The next one dropped right on the Aussie patrol, spraying white-hot shrapnel in all directions.

“That’s when all hell broke loose,” said special forces medic Corporal Jeremy Holder.

It was 2006 and troops participating in Operation Perth had a mission to clear Taliban fighters from Afghanistan’s Chora Valley.

It soon became the one of the most intense battles of Australia’s 11 years in Afghanistan.

An urgent radio call came through that nearby American troops were taking heavy fire and needed help.

media_camera Jeremy Holder said his first experience in the battlefield felt like a scene from Saving Private Ryan. Picture Gary Ramage

As the Aussies approached the US platoon, they were ambushed by insurgents firing rocket-propelled grenades.

“I remember the first one bursting above us,” Holder said.

“We hit the deck. Almost feeling like that Saving Private Ryan (scene), where you see the dirt exploding around you. That’s exactly what it was like.”

Holder was one of a rare breed in the Australian military, a medic for Australia’s Special Forces — a fighting soldier whose first job is to save lives.

media_camera Voodoo Medic Dr. Dan Pronk in one of the world’s most dangerous environments.

Within Australia’s Special Operations Command they’re known as Voodoo Medics.

Less than two dozen fill this prestige role at any one time.

Starting today, The Daily Telegraph takes you inside the secret world of this elite squad. In rare interviews with six Voodoo Medics, two Special Forces operators whose lives depend on them, and families of those they could not save we expose the heroism, tragedy and resilience of this remarkable group of men.

In this eight-part series, The Daily Telegraph goes inside the secret world of Voodoo Medics. WATCH THE PART ONE OF VOODOO MEDICS HERE