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SOLDIER SURVIVES GRENADE ATTACK IN AFGHANISTAN

An Equipment and Logistics news article

29 Mar 10
http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/EquipmentAndLogistics/SoldierSurvivesGrenadeAttackInAfghanistan.htm
A soldier from the Coldstream Guards currently serving in Afghanistan has said that his new helmet and body armour probably saved his life when a grenade bounced off his head.

Lance Sergeant Richard French, Coldstream Guards, has new respect for his Mark 7 Combat Helmet and Osprey Assault Body Armour since surviving a grenade attack

Lance Sergeant Richard French aged 28, was manning the radio at a new Command Post in Babaji when he felt a thump on his helmet and heard something drop to the floor:

"I thought the blokes on stag were throwing stones at me as a joke, so I started to shout some friendly abuse at them. Then, in an instant, I realised what had happened.

"I shouted 'GRENADE' and dived on the floor to my right. It was not clear where it had landed; I just dived right because that's what my instinct told me to do."

Luckily for him, LSgt French's instinct was correct. He hit the floor only a split second before the grenade detonated.

There was less than a metre between him and the grenade. In that space there was a small mound of dirt, not more than six to eight centimetres high, something that LSgt French cites as a factor in his survival.

Following the incident earlier this month LSgt French says that he and his men have gained a new found respect for their Mark 7 Combat Helmets and Osprey Assault Body Armour:

"The new helmet and body-armour probably saved my life," he said, showing a hole in both, from which he dug three pieces of shrapnel.

The only visible wounds he has after the incident are a few scratches on his face most likely caused by flying dirt and stones.

Despite a ringing in his ears for a day or so, and blurred vision which is steadily improving, the military doctor who assessed him has said that there is no lasting damage:

"I could have been killed. We were all wearing our helmets and body armour because we had some IDF [indirect fire] earlier on. It was just as well!"

LSgt French has been in the Army for ten years and in that time has only spent one full year in the UK not on operations.

He has served two tours of Northern Ireland, one in Iraq, and this is his third deployment to Afghanistan.

He is currently serving in Afghanistan's Helmand province in the Coldstream Guards Battlegroup. as the Second in Command of the Recce Multiple, Number 1 Company.

He is part of the team establishing the new Command Post. The location was selected specifically for its suitability to house new Afghan National Policemen who have arrived in the area in a bid to increase the overall presence of security forces.

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