Ned Gets shot at
 

Got a call from Ned Dawson yesterday all full of beans in Afghanistan. He has been flying with the Australian Army CH-47 guys, a US contingent with the 82nd Airborne using Black Hawk, CH-47 and Apache, and the poppy patrols in the Hueys he photographed last visit. In fact he was just about to launch on another poppy patrol.

The ramp must be like an airshow each day with Dutch Cougars and Apaches, more than 30 CH-47s, Lynx, C-130s of all nationalities, and a Harrier took off whilst we were talking!

I was starting to get jealous! but.....then I got a second call last night.

After he got back from the poppy patrols, he put a slightly different picture on it.....during the flight, the Huey he was onboard was engaged by small arms fire, and during the evasive manoeuvres only narrowly evaded an RPG-7. The crew flew back to base in silence for a change of shorts, and joined the hundreds of other aviators that have been through similar and worse in their efforts to stabilise Afghanistan.

I am not jealous anymore!
Glad you are still with us Ned and the boys.

They must be bloody lousy shots:{

See. Dreams do come true. If you pray hard enough.

Im sure he wasnt there to get pictures of the scenery. Wait till the next issue comes out.....

As a fellow named Churchill once quipped...."No greater thrill than to be shot at and be missed." (or words to that effect)

It is amazing however....it took two trips by Ned to provoke such a reaction. Is it he is mellowing in his old age or do the guys have better access to firearms?;)

This demonstrates a clear example of the security leaks going on in military operations these days. Someone told the bad guys that Neville Dawson was on that helicopter, and as anyone with a right mind and a rifle would have done, they tried to shoot him down.

Sad state of affairs, iddn't it.

-Mike

P.S. I'll have a Combat Action Badge ready for you when you get back, Ned!

Semi-

Why don't you go back to your day job?