Brit soldiers kick some Taliban ass--in Santa hats

[Rob]

I'd just finished reading the story from the other xmas thread I posted a few minutes ago, when I came across this....I thought it was a bit of a laugh:

THOUSANDS of miles from their loved ones, Royal Marines sing Christmas carols in Afghanistan – moments before Taliban forces staged a surprise attack.

The troops, from 40 Commando Royal Marines, were attempting to bring a touch of British normality to war-torn Helmand Province when their festive service was interrupted by enemy gunfire.

Hurling aside hymn sheets, they rushed to grab their weapons and – still in their Santa hats – loosed off round after round of mortar fire to see off the enemy.

Then, as the Taliban retreated and with no injuries to the British troops, our heroes resumed their carol service before tucking into turkey for Christmas lunch.

The extraordinary pictures were captured by soldier and amateur photographer Capt Euan Goodman. They illustrate the relentless call of duty experienced by the thousands of British servicemen and women spending Christmas on the front lines.

Full link, with a bunch more pictures


On a more serious note, I hope that whether we support the conflicts or not, we're all sending our best prayers/thoughts/karma/etc to all the men and women serving overseas.

[Faceman]

If Americans did this, this thread would not exist.

[RichyCunningham]

If Americans did this, this thread would not exist.

[Rob]

If Americans did this, this thread would not exist.

Obvious troll is obvious.

[Invig]

Last Christmas they forced us to wear Santa hats for a Company photo in Iraq. We were all standing on the stairs to our TOC when a 5 ton full of marines drove down the road in front of us, slammed on the brakes, floored it in reverse and a marine got out of the turret and took a picture of us. With no hesitation the entire company was flipping off the marines and yelling "fuck you!"

I was forced to wear a stupid Santa hat for a photo they could put in the monthly news letter. I wonder if the same thing happened to these guys.

[Ginger Lord]

Oh the British do it for fun and don't care what we look like.

[Invig]

Oh the British do it for fun and don't care what we look like.

Of course that must be the case.


So which guy in a Santa hat are you in this photo?

[Ginger Lord]

The one on the right.

[D.O.A]

If Americans did this, this thread would not exist.

Obvious troll is obvious.

It's true. A Marine jumping on a grenade to save his buddies would never make headlines, but oh look! Here's a Marine throwing a puppy off a cliff!

But enough highjack, here's another kickass Royal Marine who jumped on a grenade for his buddies, and only suffered a nosebleed.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... Cross.html

[Cheeto]

If Americans did this, this thread would not exist.

Obvious troll is obvious.

It's true. A Marine jumping on a grenade to save his buddies would never make headlines, but oh look! Here's a Marine throwing a puppy off a cliff!

But enough highjack, here's another kickass Royal Marine who jumped on a grenade for his buddies, and only suffered a nosebleed.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... Cross.html

Actually I seem to recall a medal of honor being given to a marine who jumped on a grenade for his buddies. In fact, wasn't it the first medal of honor awarded for Iraq?