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Question
mowart
Member Posts: 1,392 ✭✭✭✭✭
My granddaughter's husband transferred this week from Kuwait to Iraq for the first time. She said he was a "240 (?) turret gunner" for a humvee or the like. She felt this was more dangerous than for the rest of the crew. Is she right?
Comments
My granddaughter's husband transferred this week from Kuwait to Iraq for the first time. She said he was a "240 (?) turret gunner" for a humvee or the like. She felt this was more dangerous than for the rest of the crew. Is she right?
Only if he gets hit and they don't. If they get blown up together, then it's about the same.
quote:Originally posted by mowart
My granddaughter's husband transferred this week from Kuwait to Iraq for the first time. She said he was a "240 (?) turret gunner" for a humvee or the like. She felt this was more dangerous than for the rest of the crew. Is she right?
Only if he gets hit and they don't. If they get blown up together, then it's about the same.
+1
If he is in a hummer then there biggest worry is IED's.
quote:Originally posted by wittynbear
I have seen HMMWV's that hit IED's where the gunner is the only one to survive, and I have seen some where he is the only one who dies. You can say that one place is more dangerous than the other but the bottom line is when your number is called it don't matter where you are or what you are doing you're done. I would prefer to be a gunner myself at least I could return fire. The way I look at it is I am a dead man anyways, I'm here on borrowed time, so I am going to do what needs to be done and I can't worry about what might happen. Thats the reality of the situation. Its probably not what you wanted to hear but its the truth, hope it helps. Just one observation.
I agree, I'd rather run the gun so at least I know what's going on. Plus, if the truck starts burning it's easy to get out. I've also heard that alot of the shock from the blast is absorbed by your legs so you don't get as many back issues. I don't know if there is any truth to this.
Probably not what you want to hear but, the main danger that the gunner faces is a vehicle roll over, or wreck. I have seen more gunners hurt by these than by enemy contact including IED's. Usually resulting in anything from a broken hand, dislocated shoulder, missing teath, cut up face, to fractured skull or death. The most common is a back injury resulting in a medical discharge. But these risks are understood by the vehicle crew and leaders who try to reduce the risk as much as possable.
Wires across the roads are common too, they put them just at the height of a gunner on purpose, and they can be hard to see sometimes.