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Subscribe to RSSVideo captures an American soldier getting caught in gunfire with the Taliban in Afghanistan. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
A dramatic video posted Wednesday on YouTube shows a U.S. soldier surviving a firefight with the Taliban in Afghanistan’s Kunar Province.
The video, which was captured by a camera mounted to the soldier’s helmet, shows the cameraman pinned down by machine gun fire, getting shot several times and yelling, “I’m hit! I’m hit!”
“I got hit a total of four times,” the cameraman wrote in his description of the video, which was provided to NBC News by the curator of a YouTube channel originally started to share about 100 videos from his own tour in Afghanistan and which now posts videos submitted by other combat veterans. The video was also posted on the Facebook page for Military Minds, an organization that aims to raise awareness of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The source was unable to provide any other details beyond the cameraman’s own description of the event:
“I was heading down the face of the hill when we got hit. The rest of the squad was pinned down by machine gun fire. I didn’t start the video until a few minutes into the firefight for obvious reasons. I came out into the open to draw fire so my squad could get to safety. I was hit in the side of my helmet and my eye [protection] was shot off of my face.”
At another point in the video, a round of ammunition knocks the soldier’s rifle out of his hands.
“When I picked the rifle back up, it was still functional, but the grenade launcher tube had a nice-sized 7.62-calliber bullet hole in it,” he wrote.
The soldier said that none of the rounds penetrated his body armor and that he made it home with no permanent injuries.
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Very brave and very lucky. Glad he made it out OK.
Must have been terrifying. In the video it appears he has nowhere to run to, and no cover except for a rock the size of a large microwave oven which he can only hide his head behind.
And by the way those bullets still hurt like hell even when they don't penetrate the body armor. Must be like getting hit by a car in the chest. Glad he's ok.
This article should be titled
No more details on video showing dramatic firefight in Afghanistan
Neither bravery nor luck had anything to do with it. He was wearing body armor. "He" didn't get hit; his body armor did. I'm not impressed.
Why is air cover not available to kill all those taliban scum before they can hurt anyone? Where are all the Apache's we sent over there or the Wart Hogs when out guys need them? Has Obama ordered them to be disarmed and not fly into a danger zone? Is Obama actually aiding and abbetting the taliban? Iwouldn't be a bit surprised, especially since he said in his own book and in his own words, if it comes right down to it, he'll have to side with the muslims. And yo keep supporting him? How mentally deranged can you boot lickers get?
WTH was he doing?
Did he receive any combat training?
Ave you are a troll..... A 7.62 round will go through a kevlar pot, like a hot knife through butter. The only part of a bullet resistant vest that can for sure, stop a rifle round. Is where the ceramic plate is located under the vest.
Bet that felt like getting poked with a pool cue at 2800 feet per second.
TsTucker...you are actually 100% correct. Obama himself ordered all air units grounded for several fire fights in order for Americans to be killed...then he took fifteen minutes to pray towards the east, then he got on a subway, released mustard gas, ran into the street, screaming like a madman, unzipped his pants, shook his willy at some nuns, raped a busload of orphaned ostriches, defecated on a stack of bibles, set fire to a convent, and then finished the night off by joining a bisexual orgy of clowns and various, organic fruits and free range poultry. Yes TsTucker...you've pegged him, alright...you're obviously the smartest person at the prom and should be respected by all of your fellow Liliputians.
Didn't see any bravery!!!
He was screaming and running away, btw what the heck was he doing there? Why don't the Americans suck it up and pull out from other people's lands just like what they did in Vietnam back in the day?
Arrogance is self-destructive if you don't know.
Well, put aside who's right and who's wrong to avoid any rhetorical nonsense, no one would debate that the Taliban are braver than the coalition in anyway you'd like to take it, they fight against warplanes, tanks, armored vehicles, helicopters satellite intelligence, drones or whatever you name it, and they don't wear even a bullet-proof jacket or anything and they don't cry for help when they get shot, yet they embrace death with serenity. Put your arrogance away and you won't argue about it, be blind by your politicians' hatred and say I'm supporting the "terrorists", who happened to be in their homeland fighting to liberate their land from foreign invaders.
Ave Satani is more than a troll. And I am to much of a lady to put what she is in print. If you are not supportive of our guys find someone where else to live. You don't have to trust the government, No one does. But our soldiers is a whole different story, it is required to stand behind them. That does not mean you support/believe in the war. But our sons, husbands, brothers, daughters, wifes, sisters are trying to protect your troll ass. To many of them and their families have paid a high price for people like you. I am proud of my son and will miss him everyday as long as I live. Who is proud of you?
TS, can you please refer to which of Presidnet Obama's books has such a statement and which page you found it on in that book?
Brave, but stupid! Why would anyone, including Americans fight in Afghanistan when they have been at war for over 180+ years to rid their country of foreign troops! I wish them success!
Hiding behind woman and children is being brave? I think your comments are nothing but propaganda, definitely not fact.
i guess aiming isn't allowed...i would not want see that guy in the deer woods...
Da, David!
They have fought the Brits., the Soviets and now us and they have won every time for over 180+ years!! That is brave fella!
David,
How about our brave American troops urinating on dead bodies killed by drones and the cutting off fingers to keep as souvenirs????
Toni V. I would like to thank you for your sacrafice and that of your son. I am proud of all our soldiers.
Hope everyone is entertained (and distracted) by another NBC pos story. Also, hope everyone is enjoying financially paying for these "dramatic" fights with YOUR tax dollars! Good investment huh? How many trillions have we spent on these sand pits the last 10 years??? How many lives have been wasted, military and civilian, for virtually NOTHING? Worth it? Does Iraq have a stable democratic government? Oh wait, we went there to get rid of all that WMD that Cheney and Rumsfeld KNEW were there. Oh, but that's OK. It was a "mistake." Or was that "bad intel"? Got to blame someone for a FUBAR. God knows we can't blame people who are ACTUALLY IN CHARGE of making these wars happen! God No!!! The word "responsibility" does not even register on the radar of ANY politician these days.
So go ahead, call foul all you want. The fact is this: Politicians send young ignorant boys and girls to fight THEIR war on OUR tax money. So enjoy the video....you paid for it after all......
Ave SATAN..... Skank hoe!!!!
What is that guy doing
Actually aiming at something or just waisting ammo?
whatsa our mission?
endless bull shat war
Roy ,
The feeling is mutual! War war war! support our atrocities and perpetual war. I bet you would have supported an attack on Libya, a new involvement in Syria and of, of course, Iran.
Our military has done a number on your mind set! They love you!
Roy, by the way I'm a college prof. and teach history! Love it!
Which college do you teach at and what classes are you currently teaching clwyd?
LOL A number of things,
This video is a fake, isn't it something that the so-called hero is the one with the camera attached to his helmet.
^ Two republicans heavily versed on lying, especially Jones, a whole paragraph of nothing but lies.
He is a damn idiot. But still, we do dumb things all the time and i have taken vids while on patrols and convoys. But the things we see and do over here don't need to be plastered all over the internet. I wasn't there so commenting on his bravery I will not do(everyone else should show some respect and do the same). Being shot at isn't fun; it's scarey as hell. @ Clwyd- I'm glad you know your history, given that you are a self proclaimed college prof. The Taliban is no longer the same organizations it was when they formed. And if i'm not mistaken you were wishing them success? Are you brave enough to tell the people you work with you hope the taliban win. Or your students, how would they like to know their teacher is a closet taliban supported? I know not everyone out there supports what we are doing over here and thats fine. Not everyone here wants to be here either. I'm on my 5th tour and I'd rather be home with my family, but this is what we do. But wishing the enemy is victorious....
Maybe he should be worried about the mission, the firefight, and his companions rather than dicking around with a helmet cam. You're not there to make videos to post on youtube.
Sounds like he was worried about his fellow soldiers and put himself in the line of fire to allow them to retreat to safety. Flipping the camera on takes only a second.
Perhaps you shouldn't be so quick to criticize someone who was willing to risk getting shot to protect his squad. You should zip your lip and be thanking this guy for his service!
Ever served? No? Ever done anything of significance with your life? No? Then your opinion in this regard is dirt my man. Keep on being a waste of oxygen chief.
@gilb
Your an idiot!
I second all above, in some instances it is protocol to record the events in case there is a dispute as to what REALLY happened. This isn't it, but as bobshawiii put it, You're and idiot!!
Gilb. Helmet cams can video images that can be used to aid in training either through review and correction of mistakes or through analysis of new situations and tactics. The fire service has started to embrace the use. We shared one made at a house fire with the public so our citizens can understand what it is like in a real fire not the Hollywood BS most see on TV or in the movies. Actual footage is very eye opening especially to young recruits.
How many tiimes were you in the line of fire???? ... Like Bush , who is still awol....
BE well soldier.. get better quickly..
Seriously stupid comment Gilb, another armchair general HIDING BEHIND HIS COMPUTER.
The question should not be whether his helmet has a cam on or off. The questions are: why the f*ck is he there??? What the h*ll is he accomplishing after TEN YEARS of ESCALATING violence??? Why are WE, the tax payers, still shelling our BILLIONS of dollars a month on this BS???
Iraq is still a hotbed of instability. It's closest partner, politically, is IRAN!!! So are we there to turn over a country to a people who will find another partner in an IRAN-like state? Bin Laden is DEAD!!! Let's stop fooling around over there and have these kids rebuild OUR country. I would be a hell of a lot more "impressed" with that kind of "patriotism." He sure as hell ain't protecting MY freedom by messing around with a bunch of farmers turned militant because they want us out of THEIR country! We learned that hard truth in Vietnam....but obviously haven't learned it today. What a damn waste.
What did you learn learn
in Vietnam!
@jimk53...we learned that war is about rich comfortable old men behind oak desk in Washington D.C. sending someone elses kid off to fight THEIR war. Yes, there was a draft back then, and that evened out some of the responsibility across the social strata, unless you had a daddy in the higher ups (like Bush Jr.) who could get you a cushy stateside station! But Cheney and friends (who worked for Nixon btw), decided the next war would have no draft so they would not have to deal with a public outcry against them when the war is questioned. And it has worked! Less than 1% of our nation has any involvement with the military, and that allows these Washington a$$hats to get away with their wars of choice. Beleive me, if there was a draft...there be NO WAR. Simple as that. So what did we (i.e. Cheney and Neo-Con Republicans) learn? Fight the wars with a "volunteer" army and the citizens won't give a @!$%#, even though they are paying the bills for it! Genius really...but still diabolical and evil.
I'm glad he's OK. I hope his bravery is recognized and rewarded, seeing he drew fire from the enemy so that the rest of his fellow soldiers could get to cover.
Good to hear he is OK, but its almost like he didn't know where the enemy was - yet they knew where he was. Maybe that is a part of war, but it really shows how difficult things are in that situation.
God bless him .......Man that was scary as hell. I wish they would get these guys and gals outta there.
He's running around in the open for a large part of the video! Not only that but he appears to be randomly firing without aiming! (giving away his position to draw fire?) Brave and stupid. His deliberately making himself cannon fodder seems crazy insane to me, hope his commanding officer has a few words for him! Like next time don't be stupid! Throw a smoke grenade or something for Christ sake! Sure am glad he only got hit in the gun and the body armor. He's a very lucky man. Hopefully he won't be so 'brave' as to get himself killed next time.
You do realize that popping smoke can actually help the enemy, right?
If they can't see you through it, you can't see them either and they can advance to be right on top of your position.
Remember - you may think these insurgents are all idiots with rags for helmets, but they and their leadership are the ones who kicked the Soviets out of Afghanistan many years ago.
Yea pop smoke so they can home in a grenade launcher on your pos....LOL
But Youtube needed a new video.
They already know this guys position clearly. Pop the smoke grenade so they shoot at that and run for cover. Why let they shoot at you when you could pull there attention to something else. This brave soldier isn't shooting at anyone so smoke isn't gonna hurt his aim any.
Lance...shut your piehole!!!!
But again though luke they will use the smoke as cover to advance, and yes they will shoot at that smoke and remember they will hit you because your using the smoke as cover as a result shooting into the smoke will kill you they know your in the smoke so they will shoot into the smoke. As for not aiming you can clearly see in some of the scenes the he is using his optics to aim especially when he is in the prone position in the begining, when he is on his back you can't determine if he is using his optics or not but shooting back in the direction of the sound the gunfire is coming in is a standard military tactic.
If you think you can do better join the military.
Lucky to be alive! They had him pretty much zerod in. When in doubt, call in air support, he could have been kia. Glad to hear he survived.
I take a bit of issue with his not aiming at all. That looks like a agricultural community down there, and he is randomly shooting. Did he forget there are probably farmers, women, children, etc. out there? Or are those lives not worth him even attempting to use the scope?
I take offense to you taking an issue with this..
WAR is not kind, nice or humane. The RoI seriously handcuff our men and women of the military. Take the cuffs off and let them fight like they know how to. IF the terrorists go hide in a building, blow the damn thing up. MAKE IT KNOWN that they cannot hide anywhere.
I'm sure you would have taken the time to narrow in on the actual enemy that was shooting after you had been shot 4 times. That was a real battle in a real war, not Call of Duty Mr. keyboard warrior. Why don't you go ahead and enlist and show them how to do their job and end the war for everyone instead of posting crap online. Thankfully he was ok.
Yea, those 7.62 cals from an AK-47 hitting him were fired by farmers, women, and children.
You mustve just fell off the stupid truck.
Luke, I suppose you'd react differently when you come under targeted machine gun fire from an enemy you can't see?
If you can't see the enemy don't shoot! (I'm actually pretty sure that is what they are taught in combat training) This dope is doing everything soldiers are trained not to do. What good does it do to shoot randomly out at a village when you have no idea where the enemy is?
There are women and children out there. The Taliban are mostly xenophobes who do not want us there. Doesn't make any sense to potentially kill innocents for no reason. You seem to justify endangering innocents because of what some other person did. That's the same rational we are supposedly fighting!
Actually your wrong (again, no surprise) havent you ever heard of suppressing fire? or isnt that part of the video games you play?
Also, do you SEE any women or children in the video? how the hell do YOU know whats out there?
Quit while your behind and your foot is only halfway in your big mouth please.........
Suppressing fire that was not. He was shooting a few random bursts that are not going to scare anyone, they could see him and clearly knew he was not aiming at them, as is clearly indicated by the bullets that continued to land all around him (and on him). I didn't see any women or children, and he could not possibly have seen them either since he didn't even bother to look where he was shooting. It can be assumed that a village would be populated with women and children.
He appears to be the one who thinks he is playing a video game.
Here is a definition for you so you know what suppressive fire is.
Suppressive fire requires sufficient intensity over the target area, intensity being the suppressive effect per unit of target area per unit of suppression time. Weapons vary widely in their suppressive capabilities, which are the threat signaled by the noise of projectiles in flight and their impact.
Luke (and others);
Ever been in a firefight? Ever attended any kind of tactical combat training? Hell, have you ever participated in any kind of combat exercise using blanks?
1) most folks can't tell the difference between a hit to the vest and actual penetration wound until they get a visual. Even then, he could still suffer broken bones. He'll have bruises the size of grapefruits the next day.
2) Cover fire will have an effect on the enemy--even if the aiming sucks.
3) The camera doesn't really show much downrange. You can't tell what he's shooting at.
4) There is no discussion of tactics--he might be purposely drawing fire. Might not. That's what debrief is for.
5) Many soldiers nowadays are encouraged to carry and use their personal cams. It aids the commanders back at base to understand what goes on in the field. Back in the day, the cameras were much larger and required one person to put down his weapon and carry the camera, instead. MoPic.
Summary: You and many other idiots on this board are in no position to judge and criticize this soldier for his actions. What you should be doing is thanking these brave people for putting their asses on the line for your benefit. Otherwise, keep yer trap shut.
No.... Just sand monkeys
Luke, your not looking very smart...stop
Luke you can clearly see in the first ten seconds of the video that he is using his optics to aim.
Actually combat training says if you can't see the enemy what you do is you return fire in the direction the sound of gun fire is coming from.
Them still shooting at him during after he is shooting does not mean they clearly know he was not aiming at them, are you claiming luke that if you saw someone aiming at you that you would cease fire?
ahhhh, man. It didn't even hit a real cameraman, it was a soldier. Don't we all hope that cameramen get hit periodically?
we see a video and really can only make assumptions about what happened.. someone said they were farmers.. with weapons..interesting tool for farming..
Poppy farmers
I heard a marine veteran critique this video. He said this guy was a fool, advancing with no cover and firing at nothing in particular. I don't know, but the marine vet made sense. This seemed more foolish than brave, but I still give a thumbs up to anyone who would risk their life for us, no matter how wise or unwise it may have been.
You do not know, don't comment..
I made that clear in my comment that the critique was from a marine veteran, and not me, you assb*te, and I'll comment when I damn well please. Any questions?
This helmet video should be an instructional training video for how NOT to engage. The soldier repeatedly exposes himself to enemy fire , uses poor positioning and fails to seek cover or concealment. After being hit he loses his weapon and has to subsequently retrieve it before returning fire and again exposes himself to enemy fire (note the dust wisps as the rounds strike the hill below him). AK-47 7.62 X 39 rounds have a HUGE amount of bullet drop (about 9 inches over 300 yards), and in this case that, and the fact that the enemy was obviously some poorly trained (at best) goat poke, probably saved this guys life.
He is purposely exposing himself to draw fire, so his squad can move. Brave? yes / foolish? maybe....also you dont know whats behind him or to his right/left, only what the CAM shows, so dont be so quick to judge.
James, I'm glad you and Mark have made this observation. I beleive you can either be foolish or brave, not a combination of the two... There are countless instances where soliders have been brave, this is not one of them.
Now because of this video, he will probably get a medal.
Congrats to him... I guess...
This soldier is foolish, not brave. If his squad was pinned down, then he should have been laying down suppressive fire to try and pin th enemy down. You don't get up and run around like a chicken with your head cut off.
James, why don't you get out there you slug..
Bad break, I was 1 year too young for Nam and nothing started up again until after I was discharged, But I spent about 4 years on the communist border in Germany in a Cavalry unit. So who you calling "Slug" Dickhead?
@gilb:as the mother of a soldier who is getting ready to deploy i am seriously affended by your dumba$$ comment. young men & women risk their life every day to protect yours. you should be ashamed of yourself!! this soldier didnt ask to be shot at. i hope your parents are proud of your dumb a$$. personally i couldnt be any prouder of my son( and all soldiers for that matter) for standing up & serving. what have you done? probably nothing you s.o.b... thanks again to all that serve!! must love & peace
You go Mom!
Mom, gilb was not being disrespectful to your son or any other member of the military. He expressed his thoughts about what this soldier did. Helmet cams are not standard issue to soldiers, what was this one doing with one? I am a 26 year veteran who served two combat tours and it looks like to me that this soldier was too concerned with getting the camera shot and not the one with his rifle.
This man deliberately put himself in danger, extreme danger, so that his squad could get out of a critical situation. If the squad was pinned down, as stated, and could not escape what appears to be a trap, then this man's action is heroic. Sometimes you have to be a fool to survive.
In my 20 years of active duty I'm glad that I was never in such a situation. I got shot at, yes, but I never knew about it until it was over and so never had to make the decisions this man made.
Looked pretty hairy to me. Glad he got home in one piece.
Maybe if he actually AIMED the damn rifle rather than firing off into space, he would have a better chance. Glad he made it though.
That's just a bad angle from the helmet cam tard...
still trying to figure out where the fire was coming from and where he was aiming - if it was that building why is it still standing? blast it and ANYONE inside
GOD be with you all.. Stay safe.. Come Home!!!
I have never been in the military but If I thought someone was shooting at me, I doubt that I would check to see if he was aiming.
My uncle fought in wwII. He said that when you heard shooting, you ducked. He was accredited for killing 11 german soldiers.
The soldier said that none of the rounds penetrated his body armor and that he made it home with no permanent injuries.
I started praying for him as I was reading the report and got to the end and said, "AMEN."
Courage is doing something that you know is risky but doing it because it has to be done.
Wisdom is doing it safely.
My prayers and best wishes to all of our soldiers "over there."
Guys are really clueless about ground ops arent you? This is probably a foward patrol/recon squad.
Before a plane drops any bomb or makes a strafing run, the aircrew and the JTAC work together to determine if an attack can be justified. For example, either the pilot or JTAC must visually identify an insurgent firing a weapon before engaging the target.
Rules of engagement-Now go back to your video game.
This is why we thirst for war. WAR IS NOT ENTERTAINMENT. It's not call of duty.
i won't critique this man as he was in the sh*t not me . i hope that indeed he is uninjured and can return to our " world " .
With all the firepower this country has why would we be fighting this mob with foot soldier's with a machine gun? My god we have a Navy,Air Force, USMC & Army. They have a MOB armed with AK47's handheld rockets & jag off's that blow themself up. WHERE are all those high tech fighter planes, M60 tanks , nukes, napalm, Sub to air missiles? This sh#@t has been going on for 10 years. It must be LACK of balls on our part. If China was fighting the middle east, the whole damm middle east would have been blown up 9 years ago.
Larry
Where have you been? We don't fight that war anymore. This war is about hearts and minds and not offending our enemies. That kind of PC urban warfare has no rooms for bombs and tanks.
Also there are things called civilians - women and children and other non combatants. This isn't some battlefield in the european coutryside.
iceveiled - We are not fighting "that war" because we don't have an army of Taliban or Al Qaida to fight and the enemy is undefined. It has nothing to do with trying to be PC. The enemy is part of the civilian population and you cannot know who the "bad guys" are until someone starts shooting or a bomb explodes. I agree that this is not a task that an army is traditionally trained to do, and the sooner we are out of that hellhole the better.
ROE (Rules of Engagement) define how we engage the enemy. This covers strategy and tactics (from air power all the way down to the foot soldier). It's based greatly upon enemy activity and actions, the probability that we will create unintended collateral damage, furthering operational objectives, and international law. The joint chiefs establish the ROE. JAG (I think) reviews it and provides direction to the field commanders on interpreting the ROE. From there, I think you should find the answer to your questions.
Rory the troll.
Should be 7.62, not 7.52.
People are going to talk smack about tactics while not knowing any of the context of what's happening in this video because THEY WERE NOT THERE. This guy exposed himself to draw fire away from his squad - he should be commended, not criticized.
Totally agree, and Larry Hartman, (It must be LACK of balls on our part) your a prime example of people that havent got a clue whats going on over there or what the rules of engagement are.
The Soviets invaded, blew up everything, killed women, children, bombed villages etc and still got handed thier azzes. You need to stop playing "Total War" on your little XBOX and get a clue or just STFU.
He is a hero... But I hope everyone knows that MSNBC does not believe in the word hero.. It makes them ( Mainly Gay Chris Hayes ) Uncomfortable calling our soldiers heros.. Don't believe me look it up. Search Chris hayes views on heros and chech it out. He is a total piece of @!$%#...