Some Troops Have A Sixth Sense For Bombs

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Joshua Nicholson and Lance Cpl. Mathew Cote provide security for fellow Marines during a patrol through the Nawa district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, Oct. 18, 2009. Nicholson and Cote are assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Artur Shvartsberg

From The L.A. Times:

Reporting from Twentynine Palms Marine Base, Calif. -- As Marines train to deploy to war zones, there is daily discussion about how to detect and disarm the buried roadside bombs that are the No. 1 killer of Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Military researchers have found that two groups of personnel are particularly good at spotting anomalies: those with hunting backgrounds, who traipsed through the woods as youths looking to bag a deer or turkey; and those who grew up in tough urban neighborhoods, where it is often important to know what gang controls which block.

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My Comment: My father said the same thing about his experience on the Russian Front in the Second World War. Soldiers (like himself) who were able to survive after 6 months in combat were also able to develop an instinct on knowing when there was danger ahead or not. When I questioned many of his comrades, they also mentioned to me the same thing. It appears that luck and following your instincts play a big role in surviving any war zone.

I guess this why veterans always play an important role in any military, their experience (and instincts) saves lives more than what we can understand or calculate.