Yeah, 'tis amazing most of us survive. Thinking back and leaving the military aside, I never cease to be amazed that I've survived so long (nowadays I shiver a bit just thinking about it). Nearly bitten by a snake, trapped in a waterfall at cliff's top, blowing rocks up in mines and more. These incidents weren't out of gung ho bravado. I reckon I'm a reasonably timid person and they somehow snuck up on me unexpectedly.

BTW, I had a bullet whizz past me on a 50-yd mini range after it ricocheted, it left a lead trail on the concrete several inches from where I was lying. I'm still completely mystified how this could have happened. How could one of us have been so off-target when instructors were standing behind us and carefully watching what we did?