Scottish Soldier: 'I Survived a Rocket Attack'

An Army officer cheated death when a rocket-propelled grenade bounced off him during combat in Afghanistan.

Lt. David Robertson was hit in the chest by the Taliban missile. But miraculously it ricocheted off his body armor and exploded against his vehicle, leaving him with nothing more than minor wounds to his arm.

The 30-year-old soldier, from 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (The Highlanders), said the hit came when he and his colleagues were under a volley of fire from several rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs).

"We were advancing on an old graveyard, up on some high ground," Robertson said. "There were some trees after a small village ... as I crested the last hill before the trees, several RPGs were fired at us.

"I just saw this one coming head-on. I didn't get my life flashing in front of me but it did slow down. The thing split into three parts coming towards me, hitting me and bouncing off and detonating."

Robertson, from Inverness, Scotland, is an infantry platoon commander based in Fallingbostel in northern Germany.

Robertson, serving as vehicle commander Robertson, serving with Helmand Task Force, Warrior Company, was standing with the top half of his body out of a turret as he directed operations on a patrol in Helmand province three days ago.

He and his fellow troops were approaching a Taliban position in the countryside around Musa Qala when they came under attack.

The soldier said: "I was knocked backwards, I hit the back of the turret pretty hard. I remember a big bang and a heatwave and then felt burning in my arm and side.

"I radioed back to report what had happened and then we started to extract some of the Afghan National Army casualties who'd been injured.

"One of my lads took a look at my arm which was stinging and felt hot and sore. He whacked a dressing on it and we carried on."

He said medics later took him and three Afghan casualties away from the dangerous area.

"At the time I was just cheesed off that I was being extracted," he added. "That night I was just constantly replaying it and thinking how incredibly lucky we were."

The soldier, who has a girlfriend from Cardiff, U.K., has been in Afghanistan since February and will finish his tour in August.

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