A BRAVE veteran who was shot in the head while searching for explosives in Afghanistan is set to take on a mammoth 2,200 -mile cycling challenge.
Sam Jack, 31, admits he enjoyed one of the most dangerous jobs imaginable, leading the line in the hunt for roadside bombs.
As a soldier with the 33 EOD Royal Engineers, his job was to hunt for the devices used with horrifying regularity throughout the conflict.
He was carrying out this role in 2011 when he suffered a head wound.
The bullet stopped 1mm from his brainstem and left him in need of complex surgery.
He began a two year period of rehabilitation, including the removal of his right eye and a three month spell in hospital.
He said: “My job was to look for improvised explosive devices on the ground, so the main risk was losing a leg, not being shot.
“My eyes were always downwards.”
Sam was introduced to Help for Heroes when he attended the opening of Chavasse VC House recovery centre in Colchester, in 2012.
The centre prides itself on placing as much importance on the mental recovery of wounded veterans as the physical.
He said: “After I got shot, the Army were the only point of call in my recovery, “I was medically discharged in 2011 and Help for Heroes took over. Once I was out, I lost that network, you don’t have that support from the forces and you have to look for help elsewhere.
“I have been at the centre so much over the past few years, they have sent me skiing in Canada and always put on activity weeks.
“I think you do have some common ground when you meet people there.” When he received a phone call from former comrade Wes Craven he jumped at the chance to take up a challenge in aid of Help for Heroes.
The pair will cycle some 2,200 miles from Canada to Mexico over the space of six weeks.
Despite all he has been through, Sam has no regrets over his life choices.
He said: “I don’t regret my time in the Army at all, in fact, I really wish I was still in.
“I always knew there was a risk of injury.
“I enjoyed Afghanistan. It was the one place that the Army sent you where you could do your job.”
To sponsor the Sam and Wes, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/sam-jack1.
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