British Soldier Survives Taliban Bullet
By Wyatt Earp | April 21, 2009
He must have been from Mississippi. Heh.
LONDON – A British soldier in Afghanistan was dubbed the luckiest man in the military on Monday after a Taliban bullet pierced his helmet — and he lived to tell the tale.
Private Leon Wilson, 32, was manning a machine gun during fighting in a village west of Lashkar Gar, southern Afghanistan, on April 10 when he was shot at, the Sun newspaper in London reported.
The AK-47 bullet — which entered one side of his helmet and came out 10 centimetres (four inches) away — missed his head by a few millimetres, passing through a forehead pad instead.
Um, ouch! What are the odds of that ever happening?
“They tell me I’m the luckiest soldier in the army,” the reservist, who is an electrician in civilian life, was quoted as saying.
“And looking at the holes in my helmet, they must be right.” (H/T - )
Lucky has little to do with it, in my opinion. Someone was looking over him that day. God bless him.
Topics: The Troops |
April 21st, 2009 at 7:37 am
May God protect all our troops, and our allies’.
April 21st, 2009 at 8:00 am
Hear, hear.
April 21st, 2009 at 10:13 am
If he wasn’t from Mississippi, his helmet was!
April 21st, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Robert B - Amen to that.
Doghouse - Good point. Either way, I’m glad he survived.
April 21st, 2009 at 11:57 pm
32 year old Private?
April 22nd, 2009 at 1:46 pm
deadcenter
Yep. In the Territorial Army. Volunteer soldiers forming part of the Army Reserve. Have their own jobs but give up time during the year to be trained to take their place as needed alongside the Regulars. In 2008 they celebrated their 100th year.
Probably wearing a British-made helmet.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Territorial_Army
http://www.ta100.co.uk/index.php?p=today&s=
(and many other sites)
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:32 pm
(apologies for double post - first one seemed to get lost in the ether. Marshall - feel free to delete first post and this one.)
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Deadcenter - I’d defer to Alan B. He’s over there.
Alan B - Thanks for the info, sir!
April 23rd, 2009 at 4:54 pm
The US guys have some Great British comrades-in-arms in Iraq and elsewhere.
from http://www.ta100.co.uk/index.php?p=today&s=
Territorials in the 21st Century
The late 1990s and the first decade of the 21st Century have seen the Territorial Army assume an exceptionally high profile. It has moved from being a force of last resort to becoming ‘the reserve of first choice’ in support of Regular army operations.
Some 6,900 Territorial personnel were mobilised for Operation TELIC, the invasion of Iraq, and the TA continues to provide around 1,200 troops each year in support of Regular operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Balkans…
An effective Territorial Army with buoyant recruiting and a sound infrastructure will provide the reserve of first choice for the Regular army in the future. Relevant, usable, effective and integrated with the Regular army, the Territorial Army will continue to deliver leadership and personal development training of the highest quality, recognised as transferable to industry.