Shot in the head by the Taleban

By Andy Brownstone
Newsbeat reporter in Sangin, Afghanistan

How it feels to escape alive after being shot in the head

Sergeant Stephen McConnall sounds like a true veteran of the conflict.

The Acting Commander for 8 Platoon, the 1st Irish Regiment is coming to the end of his six month tour.

It's not his first, and it probably won't be his last, but he's come very close to not making it back home at all.

He told Newsbeat: "Bullets landing round our feet, explosions in front of us etc, it just becomes the norm."

He was out on a bomb clearing mission round the town of Sangin, when an explosion went off at the front of his patrol, injuring one of his men.

Then a gang of Taleban fighters opened fire on them.

He said: "I was caught out in the open, trying to get back to the casualty.

"A hail of gunfire came across the top of my head. One of the rounds must have struck my helmet and put me in a ditch.

On patrol and trying to build relationships with local kids

"At that moment, the main focus was getting back to the casualty. I didn't actually realise I'd been struck in the head by a round."

The bullet had hit him right in the front of his helmet, but because it had been fired from above, it went in and down, getting stuck before it could emerge.

If it had, he would have certainly died.

He and his men managed to rescue the injured troops and make it safely back to the base.

Despite his close escape, he has no second thoughts about getting back out in the thick of it.

He said: "You reflect on it for a few seconds, but you can't dwell on it or you end up not wanting to go back out the gate."

The area around the town of Sangin has become known as IED valley (Improvised Explosive Device) because of the amount of roadside bombs planted by the Taleban.

Finding and getting rid of them is a very dangerous business, but the Sergeant takes it, like everything else, firmly in his stride.

He added: "Everybody on the patrol has had a close escape from one type of explosion or another.

"We've been in about 20 major contacts with the Taleban as a platoon in the six months we've been here."