Afghanistan Sniper is a major new memoir covering the experiences of a sniper in action in Helmand and his subsequent struggles to cope with this environment. It has been reprinted after 2 months of being published and has received excellent reviews including one from a former colleague:

Having trained Ted, I can honestly say he is one of the finest young men that I have had the privilege to train. His book is an honest, visceral account of what it truly takes to be a Sniper! (Amazon)

Ted’s time in Afghanistan and his ability as an elite sniper, saw him launched into some of the toughest operations in Afghanistan …. Here he describes part of one operation:

I lay on the roof behind my rifle and began to observe the wind as it moved over the fields in front of me. It seemed to be blowing in three different directions, between me and the buildings in the distance. This meant that to prepare my scope for accurate firing, I would have to make three separate wind calculations and average them. As well as these equations, I would also have to take into account the temperature, altitude, biometric pressure, and distance while making adjustments to my scope. The distance to the first row of buildings was over a mile. So, if a shot was going to be made, then it was going to be a difficult one. 

I took my time making my adjustments and then continued to scrutinise every dark hiding spot or bit of cover in the far distance. The sun, by now, had started to set, casting an orange glow over the land. ‘Mate, I’ve got someone. There’s three of them, with weapons,’ 

I had already made a plan of how this was going to go down. I would shoot the target at the rear of the group first, hoping to pick him off without too much disturbance to the other two targets. Then quickly, half a breath out, and bang! The round struck the man in the chest and violently threw him to the floor. I reloaded my rifle rapidly. The rear target lay on the floor, dying, as the next two turned around to see him. A distance of 1,456 metres would mean there would be a time delay between the round hitting the target and them hearing the initial shot from the rifle……

After serving one tour of Afghanistan, Ted Shirley was hand-picked from his Welsh infantry battalion, to go on a sniper training course back in the UK. The gruelling course took place in the Brecon Beacons and by the end of it, only a small number passed. These men then went on to form a sniper unit which was deployed back to Afghanistan. By this time, Afghanistan had become a much more dangerous place and the war there was entering a period which saw some of the heaviest fighting. The military commanders knew the value of these sniper units and they were deployed to some of the most dangerous situations, often being sent into battle where the operations had got out of hand and the snipers were needed to turn the tide. Situations were intense and the snipers put their lives on the line to protect their comrades and win back the initiative from the enemy, often making some impossible shots to wide acclaim of their fellow soldiers.

As the tour in Afghanistan came to an end this started to take its toll on Ted and he began to feel the effects of what would later be diagnosed as post-traumatic stress disorder. It quickly took over his life, sending him on a downward spiral. This was a humbling, terrifying experience which lasted for over a decade, and very nearly took his life. With an uninspiring diagnosis of no known cure, Ted decides to take control of his life and find his own solutions, in this riveting story.

Order your copy here.