This
was Bombardier Hallam's first operation with the BRF and
no sooner had they landed on the ground, than the troops
came under fire. During the exchange of gunfire, an insurgent
bullet flew past the side of Bombardier Hallam's head:
"It
was pretty punchy, I could hear the bullets whizzing past
me and all I was focusing on was firing back," he
said. "I knew that one had come pretty close to me
because I heard the noise, felt the heat, and the force
of it knocked me over. But it wasn't until later that
I realised just how close it'd come."
Bombardier
Hallam picked himself up and continued to return fire.
A few minutes later, once under cover, one of the officers
asked Bombardier Hallam what was wrong with his helmet.
