VIDEO: U.S. Soldier Picks Up Wired IED
12 years ago

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the bright lights of the 2012 Olympic games and lose sight of the realer stories going on around the globe. While America was watching our Olympians representing in London and bellyaching about the French anchor in the 4 x 100 meter freestyle overtaking Ryan Lochte on the final leg, there was some real life shit going on in the Middle East.

These American soldiers walked up on a presumably live IED (improvised explosive device) on the dirt streets of Afghanistan. Seemingly unsure what it was, the soldier unburied it and picked it up before realizing it was a device rigged to explode. It didn’t detonate, thankfully. A change of drawers and a quick convo with the man upstairs followed this incident instead of the tragic alternative.

He’ll likely get an earful from his superiors, because I’m fairly confident he didn’t follow proper protocol on this one. He’ll be happy to accept that earful, though. He still has his life.

This video will make for a great “What not to do” instructional.

  3. The Standard

    Can somebody who actually knows what they are talking about provide insight as to what he did wrong and what the correct protocol is? Inquiring minds want to know.

    12 years ago at 11:23 am
    1. TheCommodore

      I’m not in the armed forces, but protocol would probably have been to radio for an EOD team and clear the area out for their arrival

      12 years ago at 12:48 pm
    2. schadenfreude

      SOP varies. Typically what we do is if you see shit while you are out on patrol you tell someone ranking to you and they have RTO call higher and get EOD out because grunts aren’t trained on disarming shit…. trust me..
      Since this dude was a E5 he could have just been the highest ranking guy on the patrol and being careless… but seeing as how the camera guy was holding a camera and not his weapon it seems like they were on a presence patrol, not being tactical or like they were expecting to come across that…

      12 years ago at 4:13 pm
  4. LeaderoftheFratWorld

    Is realer honestly a word? Anyone with a dictionary on hand? It sounds like an adjective that rappers would use to describe themselves in comparison to others..

    12 years ago at 3:24 pm
    1. anon7472974648

      Perhaps not, but I’ve been told that it’s deceitfully a word. One time I was deceitful towards my parents. I told them that I liked the mashed potatoes they made, but in reality, I had stuffed them in my pockets because they still had the skins in them. I wonder if potatoes can get sunburned.

      12 years ago at 3:33 pm