"Lucky Marine Survives Sniper Headshot By Inches In Afghanistan"

2015-06-23T14:08:16-04:00

Originally published by WarLeaks on YouTube:
--
Close Call On Helmet Cam. U.S Marine survives a non-fatal headshot by taliban sniper in Afghanistan. Luckily the bullet only hit his helmet and didnt caused fatal damages. His other squadmembers also had luck the bullet didnt hit one of them. Notable is how calm they reacted to the shot. The attack was recorded on an helmet camera during a joint helicopter raid in the Now Zad district, Helmand Province.

Credit for the footage goes out to Sam Arnold.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0yY4DCShog

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0yY4DCShog

Lucky Marine Survives Sniper Headshot By Inches In Afghanistan

Keep us alive by supporting us with a small one-time or monthly donation: https://goo.gl/709Nqs Marine Survives Sniper Headshot In Afghanistan | Close Call O...

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Jun 23 at 2015 2:13 PM

2015-06-23T14:13:26-04:00

Lucky isn't the word. He had someone looking out for him!

Response by Sgt Jay Jones made Jun 23 at 2015 2:26 PM

2015-06-23T14:26:03-04:00

It actually looked like the sniper was trying to hit the guy in front of him. Thank God nobody was injured.

Response by MSgt Tim Parkhurst made Jun 23 at 2015 2:27 PM

2015-06-23T14:27:08-04:00

That happens more than people realize. I met a young Lance Corporal in Sangin, Afghanistan who showed me his helmet. He had also taken a shot to the head several days before, and the round had passed from the front, along the inside of the helmet, and then passed out the backside without giving him so much as a scratch! Gave him a good headache though! My question to him was why, after several days, had his chain of command not given him a new helmet? Hmm... Troop leadership at H&S Co 3/5 may have been a little lacking at that time. It made me sad, because 3/5 was my old battalion, and I have many fond memories of fantastic leaders there.

Response by Capt Mark Strobl made Jun 23 at 2015 3:16 PM

2015-06-23T15:16:13-04:00

Beyond nobody getting hurt, the best part was observing how calmly the team leader reacted: 1.) Move to a secure position; 2.) Evaluate welfare of team-members; 3.) Report situation to higher. Did this in about 10 seconds and his voice never waivered a bit. Well-trained Devildogs! & Someone just got a souvenir!

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Jun 23 at 2015 3:23 PM

2015-06-23T15:23:22-04:00

Wow, Kevlar works!! Fortunately I've never had the opportunity to field test this theory but Thank God it worked out for this Marine!