U.S. Soldier Survives Taliban Machine Gun Fire During Firefight

[RngFndr]

Honestly, I didn't watch the vid..
Never watch the vids of our guys under fire..
For my own reasons, I cant, just hurts too much..

But, If this is faked,  

I hope someone thrashes him with his own weapon..

[homersipes]

after watching several times, I tend to agree that it is fake, for all the reasons I read, but never once did I hear a bullet.  I know I have never been in combat and had bullets shot AT me, but I have been at some long rifle ranges where you sit in a "pit" and the bullets go over your head, you can hear them, and I would imagine that you would hear the occasional ricochet.  The sound in the pits is the bullets sonic crack, or so I have been told, but whenever I was working in the pits you could here a zzzzzzz as the bullet went over your head.  I have spent quite a bit of time at these ranges at 1000 yards. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXihrlYRlWY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyhgC4wF7MU

[Widewing]

I wish I could link in some of the things being said at Lightfighter.com, but I don't want to lose my privileges there.  I always set store to the fact that the truth eventually comes out, and I believe that today (the 29th) will be the day of reckoning for whoever shopped this video is staged, fake, fraudulent...whatever anyone wants to call it.  Now that all the major networks have given it coverage, there will be hell to pay for some poor shmuck.  I only hope that it isn't a case of somebody getting a hold of a prank video and then sending it without the permission of the creator, or damage will be done to the wrong person.  Somebody made some decent money on Utube with the millions of hits/pageviews/etc, and they did it at the expense IMO of the guys who actually HAVE been in crappy situations like the video tried to emulate.  I know from a very reputable source on another bbs that one major news source is digging into this story regarding the validity and authenticity of this video.  Like I said, it'll come out, and sooner than later.

Either way, somebody should answer for it as this video has been up on the PTSD sites etc as a tool of sorts for them (don't shoot he messenger, I'm just copying what they say on the boards linked in from the original video poster Funker).   It isn't just the site you've linked in Widewing, there are TONS with guys in the service calling BS for most of the same reasons I said before this video went as wide as it has.  Huffingtonpost has some funny ones if you want some laughs.  Light fighter is THE site for soldiers and armed professionals though and it has by far the best posts from guys like Junky who have been there recently and others who are there right now.  Again, it is a shame I can't link them here, or even risk copy/paste as they have no sense of humor about such things over there.  The mods there make Skuzzy on an angry day look like a substitute teacher, believe me.  

Anyhow, I stand by all of my earlier statements, and if by some small chance this video turns out to be real, I'll apologize for being wrong and such.  As always Widewing, i appreciate your posts and they way you put arguments forward etc, a class act as always, and somebody that others, including myself perhaps at times, should try to emulate on this bbs.

I try to be objective. I do try to keep debates civil, although I can have my moments...

Relative to this video, I haven't been to Afghanistan. I am no longer familiar with the current kit the average soldier carries. Therefore, I keep an open mind to things like this, weighing both arguments and not coming to any conclusions until the evidence is overwhelming... I'm an Engineer and that's how I approach things where the reported facts and reality may conflict.

[Maverick]

I watched the video yesterday on another website. I had some of the same questions I have seen here. One thing that really got my attention is that I heard the sounds of incoming shots before impact. Even in the case of mid range incoming fire, the impact should arrive before the sound of the gunshot that launched it. There should have been impacts and a second or two later the sound of the burst of fire that sent them.

I agree that there was a lot of silence on the part of that guys unit. There was a dearth of return fire too. Folks under fire are not the quiet types. They tend to be rather vocal and US troops are not going to sit and wait for an obvious target to show when under fire. You return fire and then try to spot the bad guys while they are suppressed, not the other way around.

I don't know if the vid is fake or not but it doesn't pass the smell test to me at this point.

[Shuffler]

I still think it is fake from what I have seen and been reading but I have watched the footage several more times.


I'm very interested in any further info that may emerge.

[ozrocker]

As a former grunt, if this is real this guy shows no Infantry (at least Army) training whatsoever.
Maybe he's not an Infantryman?  I can tell you this, trained or not, his actions are stupid for being
under fire. I'm leaning more towards BS.
                                                             
                   
                                                                                                                                                Oz
                                                                                     

[Masherbrum]

Found this on the "Phil DeFranco" show
Not sure if you've seen this but Holy Crap

Is this guy a hero or an idiot?  <Not my words>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLHU-_OhT8g

The video is fake.   

[Gman]

One thing that I did miss in my original analysis of the video is the road the vehicle is on.  It's PAVED!?  I've yet to see any paved roads in tiny villages in Afghanistan, especially in Kunar province apparently (I've never been in Kunar, but the guys on LightFighter, and I'm sure anyone here will attest to this).  From what I've read on Light Fighter is that this is an area used for training NATO and US troops, and some handsomehunk made his video there.  Reports vary on if it is some sillyvillian or just some guy from a POG unit, but time will tell either way.  Nobody has come forward yet to claim they are the guy in the video, which in of itself is sort of strange with the hundreds of millions of views it is getting having gone "viral".  

Also, another guy at LightFighter has made the point that NONE of the sounds are from Soviet Block weapons, and after listening closely dozens of times, I believe he is right.  You can hear what I believe to be a lot of M240G fire, some M4/SAW fire, but no AK, no RPD, no PK sounds.   A guy from LightFighter posted up some good video examples of the differing sounds of NATO weapons to Soviet block from various videos from Afghanistan.  It makes it very easy for anyone without experience with either of the types of weapons to distinguish the difference in sound, fire rates, etc.  This coupled with the fact that the sounds themselves are suspect in terms of matching up with the incoming rounds, something I've said from post.....BS flag on the field, AGAIN.

Just more evidence to pile on the stack that I already put down.  I don't understand how ANYONE can still possibly believe this video to be authentic, combat experience or not.  

The most damning thing is that the guy who put up the video originally has gone "comms dark".  He hasn't posted a single response to the hundreds of messages myself and many others have sent him on Twitter, email, and PM on Facebook about the authenticity of this video, and the name of the soldier who made it.  A little strange with a super-viral video that's sizzling around the web.  Strange unless you have something to hide that is.  I think he got suckered like so many others out there, as he has a lot of good videos on his site, but doesn't know what to do in terms of a retraction now that MSNBC and the like have gushed over it (lol).  Also, notice that he promises "more footage from this guy tomorrow" on his site when asking people to subscribe, yet low and behold...no more footage today!  I wonder what could have happened?! (sarcasm).

[Shuffler]

I wont dawdle. I never served. Nam finished up just before I graduated. I have the utmost respect and gratitude to all of you who served and all others in the wild who served. When I see something questionable, like this video, I almost hate to say I doubt what I see and hear. I do not want anyone to have any doubts that I truely respect their service to our country. If anyone deserves the freedoms we have it is certainly those who fought for them.

I had doubts about this vid. Reading your doubts and discussions, based on your experiences, only strengthens my resolve to thank every individual who has put it on the line for us.


Please keep up the gentlemanly discussion and post the information you find avalable so that we may, in the end, find this video truthful or not.

In the end if it is real..... I'm glad the gentlmen was not physically harmed. If it is fake, it is not embarrassment to our armed forces.

I still feel it is not realistic but I bow to yalls first hand knowledge as to what and how things happen over there.

[guncrasher]

well the truth about that video is that it's making a lot of money to the guy that posted due to ads.  now i understand why lots of people will copy videos and post them as their own.  they get paid for the ads and they will keep doing it unless they get caught.


semp

[Buzzard7]

Not Fort Carson. I live next to the post. I have driven all over that base for work and those hills are not on that post. Maybe Pinon Canyon I'll have to check the maps. Most of the hills on Fort Carson have reddish colored rock. Some on the east side are lighter grays but NONE are that high.

Not Pinon Canyon either.

[jay]

one would think that if friendlies were near him that you would be able to hear their return fire much better than the distance rounds?

[madhogg]

It is Real. Just understand that in battle some man brake down, he didnt know what he was doing.

[SmokinLoon]

Am I the only one seeing the enemy rounds impact near him?  Or hear the sounds of the impacts?   

I do not think this is fake.

[Vulcan]

Never been to war but the sounds remind me off training ammo being fired off, bangs but no supersonic crack. And the dirt hits are about the same size I see from .22lr when hunting bunnies, my .243 splashes a lot more than that when it hits dirt.