27th October

This day will stay with me for the rest of my life that’s no doubt! On stag on sanger 1, the Engineers were here to bulk up the CP and at 1720 ‘POP”CRACK”MAN DOWN’. Hesco’s were being filled just outside sanger 1, it was a new entrance to Qudrat so the Mastiff’s could resupply us better. One of the Engineer’s was standing on top of the Hesco’s telling the JCB where to fill it when the shot rang out and I heard ‘ARRGGHH’, a scream of anguish. Straight away i was on the radio to the Op’s room, ‘MAN DOWN, MAN DOWN IN FRONT OF SANGER 1, AND GET A MEDEVAC TEAM HERE NOW’.

There was a sharpshooter in the area that we had heard about in a brief a few days before, and we had been out on patrol trying to find him, this day he was just one step ahead of us. A single shot nothing more, entry wound to the right collar bone. W……. did a great job of getting a fire team and medic team together to get this poor bloke inside the wire, especially as he was just sat with the OC and Sgt Major talking about him leaving Qudrat! (Fuck off, W……  is like the best commander here for fuck sake!), but that’s a story for another time.

All the time I was trying to PID a fire position but just could not see where it could have come from. This sharpshooter must have crawled into this position early in the morning and just been waiting to take a shot, even the super sanger couldn’t see anything. We just could not see anyone or anything out there it was crazy. So the Mert was called in to get this bloke out asap, and back to Bastion so he could get squared away, luckily i think it was a through and through so he was in pain yeah but still able. When the Mert came in a nearby F18 was diverted to give a show of force over the CP for when the Mert landed, it looked so ally.

Later that night I was thanked by the boss for getting on the net so quick and getting that message to them quick, turned out the bloke was back in Bastion and in surgery by 1810, so he’ll be okay, and have a mega war story to tell his mates about back home. Anyway there you go, seeing a bloke get shot is playing on my mind a bit, it’s the first thing like this I’ve seen and right now I’m just like ‘Whoa’, maybe we are a bit vulnerable out here, but this can wait I am starving and it’s scoff time.