Posted on 05/13/2008 1:52:23 PM PDT by kingattax
An Army officer cheated death when a rocket-propelled grenade bounced off him during combat in Afghanistan, it was revealed today.
Lieutenant David Robertson, 30, was hit in the chest by the missile, which was fired by a member of the Taliban.
Miraculously, it ricocheted off his body armour and exploded against his vehicle, leaving him with nothing more than minor wounds to his arm.
Lucky: Lieutenant David Robertson was struck by a rocket but it bounced off his chest
The soldier, from 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (The Highlanders), said the hit came when he and his colleagues were under a volley of fire from several rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs).
He said: "We were advancing on an old graveyard, up on some high ground. There were some trees after a small village... as I crested the last hill before the trees, several RPGs were fired at us.
"I just saw this one coming head-on. I didn't get my life flashing in front of me but it did slow down.
"The thing split into three parts coming towards me, hitting me and bouncing off and detonating."
Lt Robertson, from Inverness, is an Infantry Platoon Commander based in Fallingbostel in northern Germany.
Vehicle commander Lt Robertson, serving with Helmand Task Force, Warrior Company, was standing with the top half of his body out of a turret as he directed operations on a patrol in Helmand province three days ago.
He and his fellow troops were approaching a Taliban position in the countryside around Musa Qala when they came under attack.
The soldier said: "I was knocked backwards, I hit the back of the turret pretty hard.
"I remember a big bang and a heatwave and then felt burning in my arm and side.
"I radioed back to report what had happened and then we started to extract some of the Afghan National Army (ANA) casualties who had been injured.
"One of my lads took a look at my arm which was stinging and felt hot and sore. He whacked a dressing on it and we carried on."
He said medics later took him and three Afghan casualties away from the dangerous area.
"At the time I was just cheesed off that I was being extracted," he added.
"That night I was just constantly replaying it and thinking how incredibly lucky we were."
The soldier, who has a girlfriend from Cardiff, has been in Afghanistan since February and will finish his tour in August
LOL
Now if he had a fashionable handlebar mustache and a pith helmet, I could see see it.
“Merely a flesh wound”
“Not even a dent in the old brisket from that RPG thingie, don’t you know!”
;^)
This guy will make a fortune doing endorsements for everything from health clubs to vitamins to Viagra once he gets back home.
When I was his age and in similar circumstances, I thought that I was immortal, undoubtedly he thought so too. Now he has some data to back it up.
OBTW, there have been many cases of RPGs striking soldiers and failing to detonate. Usually, the impact and penetration of the round kills you anyway. This guy was very, very, very lucky.
..cooly chested the RPG back to the ‘keeper...
Impressive.
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