Helmet cam footage of extreme firefight in Afghanistan

[Mr Butlertron 10]

Looks like ArmA

No rounds penetrated his body armor, and he made it home with no permanent injuries. This happened in Kunar Province, Afghanistan.

*READ* From the cameraman:

" I got a hit a total of 4 times. My helmet cam died and i made it down the mountain on my own. I was also hit in the side of my helmet and my eye pro was shot off of my face. We were doing overwatch on the village to recon and gather intel. I was point heading down the face of the hill with the LT. 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 mins into the firefight for obvious reasons. I came out into the open to draw fire so my squad could get to safety."

"A round struck the tube by my hand of the 203 grenade launcher which knocked it out of my hands. When I picked the rifle back up it was still functional but the grenade launcher tube had a nice sized 7.62 cal bullet hole in it and was rendered useless. "

This footage is part of an ongoing documentation of the war in Afghanistan.

edit: user has more of these vids

Edited September 26, 2012 by Mr Butlertron

[Jastreb 69]

No offense but thats not really a good example of what to do when under fire. Honestly I have no idea what this guy was doing. Playing mobile target there? For what reason?

This is 101 of what not to do. Half of his story sounds very suspicious, and I dont buy that.

[T.S.C.Plage 0]

Oh no, please...not another Funker vid.

[Mr Butlertron 10]

Oh no, please...not another Funker vid.

Guess it's old then.

But can anyone from the military say if he was doing the right thing or was he running around like a headless chicken? Don't get why he didn't drop the spent mag and doubled his reload time.

[Tonci87 163]

Well I guess that stupid people have the most luck.

His actions were extremely stupid and not only did he endanger himself but also his squadmates who would have to pull him out if he was really wounded.

P.S.: Taliban were stupid too, wasting so much bullets on a single idiot.

[T.S.C.Plage 0]

Guess it's old then.

Not that. The problem with FUNKER350 and his vids are that he always uses sensational but not always true headlines and descriptions for his vids to get more clicks or better money. Most of the vids he uploads aren't even worth to watch.

I'm not BTDT and my mil. experience is limited to my conscription time and the stuff I see, read or gather in talks with other soldiers but in my understanding the guy in the video couldn't have done much more wrong. It is said that he was the point man and did this crazy stunt to draw fire and give his squadmates the opportunity to fall back but in my book drawing fire doesn't includes slowly decending down a hill with absolutely no cover. Maybe moving from one cover to an other or short periods of exposing yourself but not what he did. I'd actually call the given reason with the fall back BS because you normally would hold the position and then retreat yourself. To advance under such conditions is just suicidal in my understanding and a great method to get a nomination for the Darwin award.

The thing is we just have a very short video snippet and don't know what was happening before and after nor know anything about the situation except the infos in the video description which unfortunately don't add up.

If you want more informations from people with the according background I'd suggest you ask this question in a military related forum. I'd suggest the "Strictly Photos & Video" part of the militaryphotos.net forum as FUNKER is known and posting there and it has a lot of people with experience on such things.

Edited September 27, 2012 by T.S.C.Plage

[Sealife 22]

Well I guess that stupid people have the most luck.

His actions were extremely stupid and not only did he endanger himself but also his squadmates who would have to pull him out if he was really wounded.

P.S.: Taliban were stupid too, wasting so much bullets on a single idiot.

does it need anymore summary than that, this should be closed and sealed with that quote being the final note on the video, when i watched it it reminded of the old film where the sniper wounded one chap then shot everyone who came for him ,however in this case the guy volunteered to be the guy they all had to walk out in the open risk there lives to come and rescue.

[oxmox 73]

I bet this guy or the whole squad didnt see the gunman and he fired just into the direction and they dont use tracer ammunition trying to be hidden for longer, am I wrong ?

[Serclaes 0]

Well I guess that stupid people have the most luck.

His actions were extremely stupid and not only did he endanger himself but also his squadmates who would have to pull him out if he was really wounded.

P.S.: Taliban were stupid too, wasting so much bullets on a single idiot.

So what's it going to be: he drew fire away from his squadmates and it worked hence being effective, or he didn't draw fire and they were stupid to shoot at him?

Also generally when the enemy initiates contact, you are where they want you to be. I would want out of there. Going uphill isn't very fast either.

And as T.S.C.Plage says: we have a snippet and everything is easy to see from a video and do in your comfy chair at home.

[NacroxNicke 11]

Oh yeah, we have a department of Major Generals judging people from their homes

The guy must have panicked in the firefight, just listen to the breaths he takes, and with fear everything is more irrational.

The thing is, for example, that it's demonstrated by statistics that the more experienced that you are in combat situations, the more pinned you will get from incoming fire, since you know how dangerous a bullet can be by experience (since seeing combat footage is different than beeing there). The more greenish troops are always the ones that take more dangerous actions.

I always see people saying in games "HEY I GOT A REAL COPY OF A M1GARAND AND I CAN RELOAD MOAR FASTER THAN INGAME", well, yeah, do the same while you are shaking and tiring because your heart and mind is going bricks

Edited September 27, 2012 by NacroxNicke

[Opticalsnare 12]

Wtf, thats some pretty stupid shit.

[onlyrazor 11]

Sometimes training fails and panic takes over. Concerning the drawing fire thing, I'll just quote this:

Never draw fire; it irritates everyone around you.

[Serclaes 0]

I got another one from that page:

If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid.

;)

Might have been panic, deathwish, heroism or whatever. It's hard to tell from that glimpse we got.

[no use for a name 0]

Why would he need to draw fire when they were already in cover against a big rock wall? Why was he silhouetting himself on the ridge instead of keeping low in the rocks to keep more concealed?

Maybe it was a panicked reaction or something; but I really think this soldier needs to brush up on his Combat Tactics 101

[reconteam 19]

Lots of armchair generals here. Firefights in Afghanistan often take place at rather long range, greater than 400 meters or so. He could have well been trying to move up to get into M203 range or a better firing position where he could return fire and draw attention away from the rest of his squad. He seems to realized he made a mistake when he gets the Taliban's attention and he's stuck in the open, being fired at. He was clearly trying to scramble to cover when he got hit.

Even with the body armor stopping the bullet, the amount of force he receives must be like a punch to the gut, and he got hit multiple times. That probably makes it very hard to move for a bit.

[Mr. Charles 22]

Armchair generals? Probably yes, but moving out in the open when you're under fire is just the stupidest thing you could do imho.

I'm wondering why this isn't in the military videos thread :)

[NacroxNicke 11]

Nevermind

Edited September 28, 2012 by NacroxNicke

[rye1 21]

Firefights in Afghanistan often take place at rather long range, greater than 400 meters or so. He could have well been trying to move up to get into M203 range or a better firing position where he could return fire and draw attention away from the rest of his squad. He seems to realized he made a mistake when he gets the Taliban's attention and he's stuck in the open, being fired at. He was clearly trying to scramble to cover when he got hit.

Looked to me as if he didn't have a clue about where the Taliban firing positions were. And rushing a far ambush is a bad idea.

It is well known that moving down hill, while the TB have high ground positions, is dangerous.

[max power 21]

Thanks for posting the link, Mr. Butlertron, but there is a thread that already exists for interesting videos.

I see you have had a few infractions already in under sixty posts. Today, you get an in thread reminder. Next time, I can't guarantee it. Please search before posting a new thread. Thanks.

Closing.

You may link to this thread continue your discussion in the videos sticky.

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