Now this Helmand combat video is a must-see! As you likely have already read in my previous Marine Corps-tagged posts and videos here at SQ, I’m a former Marine who deployed to Afghanistan – or more specifically Helmand Province – as an embedded advisor with the Afghan National Army, or “ANA”. These videos really bring me back to 2010/2011 when I was there – not for the combat, as I didn’t see much outside of a few IEDs and small-arms fire, but for the Helmand landscape and watching the ANA operate. You have to understand that they are not Marines, or in all honesty anything remotely close to what most Americans would consider professional soldiers; they are the pride of Afghanistan, and I will tell you that these guys can flat out fight. Sure they have their shortcomings, but fighting – at least the unit that I worked with – is not one of them. That being said, the 1:07 minute mark in this video made me just about choke on my coffee from laughter – more details after the jump!
Helmand Combat Video: Marines Clear Taliban Compound
The opening minute of this great video out of Helmand Province pretty much summed up our entire mission: you’ll see two Marines, and one ANA soldier with machine guns on the ridge. The two Marines are employing their machine guns perfectly, utilizing talking guns and well-aimed, controlled bursts; the Afghan soldier on the other hand, is what you would call “spraying and praying” – and FROM THE HIP! Of course first he has to get his weapon functioning, but once she’s up, I about lost it when he let loose a burst of 7.62 that just about toppled him backwards. Awesome. Is it funny – to me, yes, but I have gone on countless foot patrols with these guys and honestly have nothing but respect. The Taliban – at least where we were – would seldom engage the ANA, because the ANA would stay and fight, while the police were a different matter.
Overall this was an outstanding combat video, and it even provided a good-natured laugh – it doesn’t get much better than that, except now I have some coffee to clean up. If you’re craving more combat videos from Afghanistan, check out our tag cloud to the right: we’ve got tons of categories of military videos and content – you will definitely not be bored here at SQ, that’s for sure!
More combat videos to come – stay tuned and stay classy!