> CAUTION CAUTION CAUTION
>
> Caution .... do not open if you have a weak stomach!!
>
> What a shot!
> Al Jazeera needs to put these photos on their TV feed! A backwoods
> hunter from the Alabama National Guard spotted this guy, complete with
>
> suicide bomber vest, inside a compound in the Green Zone in Iraq. He
> used a well placed 50 cal sniper round from over 1700 yards (about a
> mile) to stop him.
This is a complete lie, hoax or sick joke. I had nothing to do with it. Apparently someone took it upon themselves to borrow one of my photos, tack on another photo, and add a 'convincing' story. I don't normally mind people copying my photos and distributing them. However, I do mind someone representing my photos as something they are not. I didn't include the photos as one of them is in my archives already, and I don't know who owns the copyrights on the photo of some gentleman with his skull blown in half.
To start off the disection of this hoax, I am not a hunter nor am I from Alabama. I am part of the 28th Infantry Division (Mechanized), the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. The photo was taken outside of Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo. I was part of the KFOR 5A rotation. I'm not a sniper, I'm a 25U (formerly 31U). That's a Signal Systems Support Specialist.
The ironic thing is that "KFOR" is clearly labeled on the nearby HMMWV (Hummer). I was on the range that day with the Irish and Finnish Armies. When on a range, one don't keep spare ammo laying around, nor magazines in the weapon, while not on the firing line. This M82 was borrowed from EOD. We needed to uh, test it. So, we borrowed a few cans of linked .50 cal ammo for the M2, delinked it all, and proceeded to have an amusing time demonstrating its capabilities to the foreign militaries present.
I haven't yet been deployed to Iraq. Ironically, I am currently helping others deploy.
UPDATE : I meantioned this hoax to a friend of mine from a Military Intelligence unit who recently got back from Iraq. He was a bit startled. He recognized the second photo, because he was there when the guy got shot. The insurgent in the second photo was killed in Mosul by the Iraqi National Guard in December 2004. He was not a suicide bomber, which I had already guessed from the standard AK47 magazine holding vest on his chest. He was simply shooting at Iraqi and American forces, and paid the price for doing so. What a small world...
It might be poor taste to say so, but I'm not quite good enough to hit someone in the head from a mile away. Even with a Barrett, it's not an easy shot. Move the rifle off target by a few mm, and the projectile will miss by many meters. Any claims of a single round hit of a target the size of a small dinner plate from a mile away shouldn't usually be taken seriously. With enough ammo and enough time, I'm sure I could hit the target. With a single round? No chance.
I don't know who started this. I really don't care. To whomever did this: In the future, don't cook up stories. I'm not sure if this was a poor attempt at humor, but I am not rather amused at this second.
I find it mildly annoying that whoever started this ripped off my worst M82 photo. Still, here are some better Barrett photos
- Seasons Greetings
- I'm rather bored.
My photo archives can be viewed at the following locations:
- RevDisk.net
- DeviantArt
My email address is revdisk at this domain. Or AIM me at "CSC".