Bullet-stopping Optic Saves Marine's Life

An example of how tough modern optic are.

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Sgt. Todd B. Bowers was a member of the 4th Civil Affairs Group, part of I Marine Expeditionary Force taking part in a security patrol outside of Fallujah when his element was attacked.

“It was about a four-hour firefight. Bullets were flying everywhere, and as I returned fire, it felt like my weapon blew up,” said Bowers.

One of the few Marines in his unit with an ACOG at the time, Bowers advanced up to fire well-aimed shots from his magazine of tracer ammo at identified positions to help the crew-served gunners better direct their fires.

As he was shooting, the rifle flew from his hands, knocking off his safety glasses and helmet. Blood was on the dirt when a corpsman began treating Bowers

As the corpsman began calling for a medical evacuation, Bowers initially refused to leave. “After he was cleaned up, I knew he would be okay, but I was surprised that he didn’t want to leave on a medical evacuation,” said Sgt. Jung Kil Yoo, a member of 4th CAG.

Small pieces of fragmentation can still be seen on the left side of his face. “Luckily, I had my ballistic goggles on to protect my eyes, without them I probably would not be able to see out of my left eye,” said Bowers.

After treating his wounds and examining the rifle, the corpsman declared Bowers the luckiest Marine in Fallujah.

A bullet from a 7.62x54mm Rimmed had hit Bowers’s ACOG, stopping about a half inch from his eye. Believed to be from one of the enemy snipers using an SVD Dragunov sniper rifle, the bullet was stopped and remained inside the ACOG. Despite the direct hit and damage, the optic's reticle was still visible and illuminated.

Something to keep in mind the next time someone suggests we need to stay with iron sights because an optic might fail in the field because it’s not durable enough.

https://www.1stmardiv.marines.mil/News/Article/Article/540810/rifle-scope-stops-incoming-fire-saves-marines-life/