During Intense Gunfight in Afghanistan, US Soldier Intentionally Exposes His Position to Draw Fire Away from Imperiled Squad
An unnamed US soldier and his squad were engaged in intel gathering and reconnaissance near a village in Afghanistan's ultra-violent Kunar Province when they suddenly came under heavy machine gun fire from Taliban insurgents.
With the rest of his squad "pinned down," the soldier decided to step out into the open "to draw fire so my squad could get to safety."
He explains what happened next:
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.
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.
Happily, no bullets managed to penetrate his body armor and he suffered no permanent injuries.
According to the YouTube description of the helmet cam footage, the recording is "part of an ongoing documentation of the war in Afghanistan," with new footage being uploaded daily.