PMCI October 2014 | Page 11

O n July 2nd 2013 at 04:30am Taliban attacked the compound in which myself and my colleagues live in and this is my point of view of the events as they happened. If someone reading this knows of other details I have omitted I apologise. The night before the attack happened our PM (Project Manager) bought us all pizza and soda drinks as a “Thank you” for a good rotation, as he was due out the next morning on his leave. He also encouraged us to be extra vigilant whilst he was gone due to the fact we had seen several different people dicking (watching) our movements in and out of our base location. After sitting with the full team and with banter flowing really well, we decided to call it a night, at which point we dispersed back to our rooms in two different accommodation blocks to do whatever it was we needed to do. I went away and phoned my wife and children and then went to bed. At 04:30hrs I was woken by a massive blast and it took me a couple seconds to realise what happened. At the time, I thought it was an IDF rocket or mortar attack as I had woken up and seen my window fly across the room and smash into the wall next to my bed. The roof tiles came falling around me, everything was smashed and glass and kit lay everywhere with dust filling the air outside and inside the building. Hurrying to get all of my kit on, I remember I could not find my trousers (which would have been embarrassing had I gone without them), so I grabbed a baggy pair of shorts - which was certainly not ideal but I had no time as rounds where already being fired at close quar ѕ