Shirley, Edward Afghanistan Sniper

Trauma on the Front Line and Beyond

The war in Afghanistan had reached its most violent peak, and some of the bloodiest battles were taking place in Helmand Province. With their deployment to the front line drawing ever closer, a Welsh infantry battalion was in the process of selecting its best men for sniper training. The selected young Welshmen became close friends as they battled through the gruelling sniper training. Shortly after completing the course, they lost one of their comrades to the Taliban, and Eddie and the other lads were sent to Helmand province for the second time, into the raging war. Follow their journey as they take on the Taliban, from enemy snipers to Taliban leaders. As part of the largest air strike operation since World War II, they fired from a distance of one mile and even took out two enemy fighters with a single volley. They were victorious in battle and earned their title as snipers, but it came at a price. As the mission in Afghanistan came to an end, Eddie began to feel the effects of what was later diagnosed as post-traumatic stress disorder, which quickly took control of his life and sent him into a downward spiral. It was a humiliating, terrifying experience that lasted over a decade and nearly cost him his life. With the discouraging diagnosis that there is no known cure, Eddie decides to take his life into his own hands and find his own solutions, as this compelling story shows. With detailed accounts of his mental decline and complex insights into killing by pulling the trigger, Afghanistan Sniper takes readers on a journey through the highest highs and lowest lows that only those who have walked the same path know.