And indeed if the (ambigous and yet unclear) info is correct:
According to
some sources Lt. Col. Andrew Harrison, commander of 2 Para, survived a direct hit of a Taliban RPG and shrapnell of one exploding right at his feet (in the picture below with Maj. Nick French in the background, image stolen from
2 Para home page):
Lt Col Andy Harrison has returned to the front line after a brief stint in medical care. He was said to be extremely lucky to avoid fatal injuries after the missile, designed to penetrate armoured vehicles, failed to detonate when it hit his body armour. “He had a pretty amazing escape,” said a colleague. “It’s not very often that someone gets hit full on by an RPG and lives to tell the tale.”
Lt Col Harrison was returning from Camp Bastion in an armoured vehicle when his soldiers spotted a number of Afghans digging an improvised explosive device (IED) into the road.
They stopped and immediately came under fire from the Taliban. It is understood that Lt Col Harrison became engaged in the firefight before he was hit in the chest.
According to
other sources he got struck by a fragmentation grenade in this incident, which took place FEB 17, 2011:
Two Para’s Lt Col Andy Harrison was struck by a grenade and gunfire after his convoy chanced upon the bombers in the act of planting a roadside device under cover of darkness near one of central Helmand’s main routes.
The decorated Para was first out of the vehicle and chased down the insurgents. To cover their escape the enemy threw a grenade and fired shots. A bullet struck his body armour chest plate while shrapnel wounded him in the face and thigh.
“I just had a bad morning and sometimes these things happen, but I’m fine,” he said in an exclusive interview with British Forces News.
Medevaced to Camp Bastion Hospital, the following day he discharged himself and returned to his patrol base, limping unaided from the helicopter, carrying his daysack and determined to return command. “I had a small operation and I’m back in the fray this morning.”
Its not the first time that LtCol Harrison made heard of himself: He was awarded an MBE in 2000 for leadership and bravery when his team of UN observers was taken hostage for two months by rebels in Sierra Leone. He managed to lead the hostages back to friendly territory.
Some people somehow seem to atract problems just to show they can solve them...
Rattler
