Monday, May 19, 2008

Close Is Only Good Enough In Horseshoes And Handgrenades


"Dramatic photos show a Marine's narrow escape from death Sunday while facing insurgent gunfire in Afghanistan.

The Marine, part of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), was exchanging gunfire with Taliban fighters near Garmser in Afghanistan's Helmand Province when a Reuters photographer captured the soldier's* very close call.

Click here to see the dramatic photo sequence of the Marine under fire.

A series of six photos show the Marine, wearing a T-shirt and fatigues but no combat helmet, ducking as insurgent gunfire tears through the top of a mud wall he's using for cover. Remarkably, the Marine escaped the gunfight without injury.

“The insurgents are finding that every time they engage with the Marines, they lose,” Col. Peter Petronzio, commander of the 24th MEU, said in a statement issued May 10. “The Marines are gaining ground every day and securing more of the routes through the district. The support we have received from our allied partners has contributed to our many successes thus far.”

Marines kicking ass and taking names is nothing new.

*What IS new, is some clueless journaljizzer referring to a Marine as a soldier. I hope he doesn't make me have to correct him again.

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