There’s nothing quite like 11 minutes of intense firefight video footage from a soldier’s helmet cam in Afghanistan to get you rolling before work on a Wednesday morning – am I right? Watch through this M240 SAW gunner’s helmet cam as his squad or platoon gets caught up in a crazy firefight which has them pinned down in a nearby mud hut compound, and this time the Taliban aren’t leaving anytime soon. More tactical video commentary after the link below!
Helmet Cam Firefight Video in Afghanistan
So what did you think of the video? I told you it was intense! There were two major things that jumped at me as I watched this firefight unfold, but I want to temper my comments as I always do with a preliminary note that this is nothing but the equivalent of armchair quarterbacking: while I was in Helmand Province for 7 cold and dusty, then hot and dusty months, I was not there for this firefight, so I am only going off what I see through this warrior’s helmet cam. In other words, who knows what led up to this firefight – there could be adjacent Army units in the area, or it may just be these soldiers – all we have is this video.
The first thing that immediately jumped out at me is that of fire and movement, and to a larger degree maneuver. The soldiers appear to be pinned down – and again there may be a second squad that was satellite patrolling that is maneuvering on the Taliban – but there doesn’t seem to be any action. In fact, the only soldier that is actively moving – and avoiding using the same firing position, over and over again – is the SAW gunner / helmet cam movie producer. The squad appears to know the general location of the enemy positions, and they even appear to gain fire superiority for a moment – which is the first thing that must be achieved – but then we all figure out why, and the reason is kind of chilling.
The Taliban force is advancing. Just as it appeared that the soldiers had quelled the firefight – and you can tell the surprise in the soldier’s voices when they realized it – they saw the Taliban advancing. This was the second thing that jumped out at me immediately, and I really hope that there are more units – a second squad, or a nearby platoon if this were more than just a patrol – that helped nullify that advance. If not – who in the world was the patrol leader, and why did you stay put in the same compound? One again, I am just going off what I see in these 11 minutes of footage, so take this armchair quarterbacking and all of its assumptions for what they’re worth.
It looks like we have a Part 2 from this firefight as well – look for tactical commentary on the sequel no later than tomorrow! If you are craving more firefight videos and combat footage from Afghanistan, we’ve got you covered here at SQ: just head on over to our Afghanistan combat videos tag and prepare to be entranced for at least the next couple of hours!