bobdina
08-31-2009, 05:44 PM
IT was the day bomb disposal expert Major Chris Hunter knew it was time to get out of Iraq.
Outside his hotel was a car stuffed with enough explosives to kill anyone within 200 metres.
Normally the seasoned soldier would put on his protective suit and get to work defusing the device, but he suddenly felt a chill in his bones.
The hunch told him this wasn't a normal terrorist bomb.
Acting on his instinct, he called in a robot probe to check it out.
The second the boot popped open the bomb exploded, sending debris flying and making a deafening boom so loud it could be heard for miles.
It was a booby trap, sent specifically to kill Chris by insurgents frustrated at being repeatedly foiled by his steady hand.
Now retired from the Army, Chris is a legend in the field of counter-terrorism. He has written books about his astonishing experiences during 18 years as an ATO - Ammunition Technical Officer.
Chris is so revered in his field that the producers of acclaimed new movie The Hurt Locker - about an American bomb disposal team working in Iraq - invited him to a special screening to gauge his opinion.
Afterwards, he said: "For the first time since leaving the Army I relived the tension and pressure I felt while I was doing my service. Watching it, I felt the butterflies in my stomach and the gut-churning nerves."
Chilling
During Chris's long service he completed two tours in Iraq, two in Afghanistan and spent years in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
By far his most eventful tour was in 2004, when he led a team of eight men through Iraq.
Their mission was to defuse and dismantle explosive devices left by insurgents - bombs intended to maim and kill as many of Our Boys and Girls as possible.
Chris and his team became so effective at outsmarting the terrorists' traps that he became a direct target himself.
After the near miss outside the hotel in July 2004, he was told by top brass that it was time for him to get out.
Chris was in real danger of being turned into a red mist, and had become a danger to the rest of his team.
"The things you see out there are pretty gruesome. They are a ruthless enemy," says 36-year-old Chris.
"Al-Qaeda target mentally disabled people to strap bombs to their bodies.
"The British squaddie is going to be less suspicious of a Down's Syndrome person coming towards them. Plus they are easier to brainwash. It's very sick.
"One particularly chilling moment for me was when I was interrogating a bomb maker we had tracked down.
"I asked him, 'What about the innocent people you are killing?'
"He just turned to me and said, 'It's Allah's will'. He had absolutely no remorse over the carnage and death he was inflicting."
During his time in Iraq, Chris safely dismantled 45 bombs.
More than 75 per cent of IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices or home-made bombs) in Iraq and Afghanistan are made from discarded ordnance from US and British troops.
"There was more than 650,000 tonnes of explosives left by coalition forces in the first missions in the Gulf," Chris explained.
"Only 400,000 tonnes were recovered. That leaves 250,000 tonnes in the hands of the lunatics hell-bent on killing us.
"Most of the devices were radio controlled, set off remotely by a terrorist using something like a mobile phone.
"It will be an old artillery shell with a charge drilled into it, buried under the dirt. The terrorist will usually be waiting in their car.
"As the Army patrol goes past the bomb, boom - they set it off and make their getaway.
"Just a single artillery shell will kill anyone within ten metres of it. It will damage anything or anyone within 100 metres.
"Problem is, it's rarely a single shell. There's a great scene in the film where the ATO uncovers a shell then, as he follows the charge wire, finds it is connected to about ten more.
"This is called a daisy chain device. The biggest daisy chain I found was 100 artillery shells long.
"It stretched for a mile and would have been devastating if we hadn't found it."
Chris became so obsessed by his deadly work that he got to know the bombers by the way they made each bomb.
"I began building a profile of the bomb makers from the methods they had used.
"It was a strange thing, but I knew who had made each bomb and where they were likely to have made it.
"We used the profile I built to locate them and raid their factories. It's hard to explain but I developed a certain respect for some of them.
"I abhorred what they did and would never admire them, but there was a healthy respect for my enemy.
Reckless
"It's a mistake to think of the rebels in Iraq and Afghanistan as stupid just because their country is basic. If you underestimate them, you're a goner.
"IEDs are becoming more and more widespread in Afghanistan. The Taliban know it is the best weapon against our troops.
"A bomb is very demoralising for British soldiers because you can't see it and fighting against it is a constant game of cat and mouse. The Hurt Locker is very accurate at capturing what life is like for an ATO.
"It especially nailed the way IED teams are full of such varying characters, from the cool and calm to the reckless and gung-ho.
"The movie also shows well how an ATO is expected to switch to normal life when he flies home to his wife and kids after weeks of seeing women and children having their arms and legs blown off in terrorist bombs."
For Chris the frontline stuff is over, but now he acts as a consultant to NATO, helping them stay one step ahead of the enemy.
He adds: "My thoughts are with the lads in Afghanistan doing the same job as I did, it's not a nice environment "There's a special prayer that an ATO repeats quietly to himself each time he puts on that protective suit. It goes:
'If fate is against me and I'm killed, so be it, but make it quick and painless.
"If I'm wounded, don't let me be crippled.
"But above all don't let me f*** up the task'.
"I think that pretty much sums up the mindset of an ATO."
Outside his hotel was a car stuffed with enough explosives to kill anyone within 200 metres.
Normally the seasoned soldier would put on his protective suit and get to work defusing the device, but he suddenly felt a chill in his bones.
The hunch told him this wasn't a normal terrorist bomb.
Acting on his instinct, he called in a robot probe to check it out.
The second the boot popped open the bomb exploded, sending debris flying and making a deafening boom so loud it could be heard for miles.
It was a booby trap, sent specifically to kill Chris by insurgents frustrated at being repeatedly foiled by his steady hand.
Now retired from the Army, Chris is a legend in the field of counter-terrorism. He has written books about his astonishing experiences during 18 years as an ATO - Ammunition Technical Officer.
Chris is so revered in his field that the producers of acclaimed new movie The Hurt Locker - about an American bomb disposal team working in Iraq - invited him to a special screening to gauge his opinion.
Afterwards, he said: "For the first time since leaving the Army I relived the tension and pressure I felt while I was doing my service. Watching it, I felt the butterflies in my stomach and the gut-churning nerves."
Chilling
During Chris's long service he completed two tours in Iraq, two in Afghanistan and spent years in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.
By far his most eventful tour was in 2004, when he led a team of eight men through Iraq.
Their mission was to defuse and dismantle explosive devices left by insurgents - bombs intended to maim and kill as many of Our Boys and Girls as possible.
Chris and his team became so effective at outsmarting the terrorists' traps that he became a direct target himself.
After the near miss outside the hotel in July 2004, he was told by top brass that it was time for him to get out.
Chris was in real danger of being turned into a red mist, and had become a danger to the rest of his team.
"The things you see out there are pretty gruesome. They are a ruthless enemy," says 36-year-old Chris.
"Al-Qaeda target mentally disabled people to strap bombs to their bodies.
"The British squaddie is going to be less suspicious of a Down's Syndrome person coming towards them. Plus they are easier to brainwash. It's very sick.
"One particularly chilling moment for me was when I was interrogating a bomb maker we had tracked down.
"I asked him, 'What about the innocent people you are killing?'
"He just turned to me and said, 'It's Allah's will'. He had absolutely no remorse over the carnage and death he was inflicting."
During his time in Iraq, Chris safely dismantled 45 bombs.
More than 75 per cent of IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices or home-made bombs) in Iraq and Afghanistan are made from discarded ordnance from US and British troops.
"There was more than 650,000 tonnes of explosives left by coalition forces in the first missions in the Gulf," Chris explained.
"Only 400,000 tonnes were recovered. That leaves 250,000 tonnes in the hands of the lunatics hell-bent on killing us.
"Most of the devices were radio controlled, set off remotely by a terrorist using something like a mobile phone.
"It will be an old artillery shell with a charge drilled into it, buried under the dirt. The terrorist will usually be waiting in their car.
"As the Army patrol goes past the bomb, boom - they set it off and make their getaway.
"Just a single artillery shell will kill anyone within ten metres of it. It will damage anything or anyone within 100 metres.
"Problem is, it's rarely a single shell. There's a great scene in the film where the ATO uncovers a shell then, as he follows the charge wire, finds it is connected to about ten more.
"This is called a daisy chain device. The biggest daisy chain I found was 100 artillery shells long.
"It stretched for a mile and would have been devastating if we hadn't found it."
Chris became so obsessed by his deadly work that he got to know the bombers by the way they made each bomb.
"I began building a profile of the bomb makers from the methods they had used.
"It was a strange thing, but I knew who had made each bomb and where they were likely to have made it.
"We used the profile I built to locate them and raid their factories. It's hard to explain but I developed a certain respect for some of them.
"I abhorred what they did and would never admire them, but there was a healthy respect for my enemy.
Reckless
"It's a mistake to think of the rebels in Iraq and Afghanistan as stupid just because their country is basic. If you underestimate them, you're a goner.
"IEDs are becoming more and more widespread in Afghanistan. The Taliban know it is the best weapon against our troops.
"A bomb is very demoralising for British soldiers because you can't see it and fighting against it is a constant game of cat and mouse. The Hurt Locker is very accurate at capturing what life is like for an ATO.
"It especially nailed the way IED teams are full of such varying characters, from the cool and calm to the reckless and gung-ho.
"The movie also shows well how an ATO is expected to switch to normal life when he flies home to his wife and kids after weeks of seeing women and children having their arms and legs blown off in terrorist bombs."
For Chris the frontline stuff is over, but now he acts as a consultant to NATO, helping them stay one step ahead of the enemy.
He adds: "My thoughts are with the lads in Afghanistan doing the same job as I did, it's not a nice environment "There's a special prayer that an ATO repeats quietly to himself each time he puts on that protective suit. It goes:
'If fate is against me and I'm killed, so be it, but make it quick and painless.
"If I'm wounded, don't let me be crippled.
"But above all don't let me f*** up the task'.
"I think that pretty much sums up the mindset of an ATO."