True Stories

On a classified Special Ops assignment, my buddy was "point," leading his squad through a 36-inch, corrugated steel culvert under a road heavily traveled by the enemy. As he and his squad crawled through it, my friend, a highly trained and experienced commando, suddenly stopped, sensing something wrong. He turned on the low setting of the SureFire L1 LumaMax® I'd given him for his birthday just before the mission. There, not more than three feet in front of him, was a coiled, six-foot rattlesnake.

My pal had come within inches of planting his hand on the snake, and he and his squad were a long way from medical attention. He quickly dispatched of the dangerous snake with his SureFire Delta Fixed knife, handling the situation without compromising the squad's position by firing shots. And thanks to the low setting on his two-stage L1, the enemy couldn't see any illumination from the culvert. He and his squad went on to successfully complete their mission.

As a retired member of a major metropolitan police SWAT team, I am totally sold on SureFire - and now so is my buddy. SureFire products are proven lifesavers.

Spencer L.
Walnut, CA

I received a G2® Nitrolon® from my father before deploying to Iraq. He is a narcotics officer and swears by his. I mounted it on my M16 and carried it all over the Babil and Karbala provinces, using it every day.

Toward the end of my tour, while on a convoy, I was manning an M249 SAW on a gun truck. We were struck by an IED (improvised explosive device) and the vehicle flipped two and a half times, landing on its turret. The force of the blast and the rollover blew my M249 SAW from the turret, along with my M16, SureFire attached, as always.

I escaped with a few cuts and bruises. I quickly found my weapons (the SAW was toast) and proceeded to cordon off and search the area. I thought my G2 would be in the same shape as the SAW, but when I turned it on, it shined as bright as ever. I will never own another brand of flashlight. Thanks, SureFire.

Sean O.
Ft. Hood, TX

P.S. I also work as a volunteer firefighter for my city. That same G2 is now mounted on my helmet.

On March 23, 2007, we were on Patrol in the Al Anbar Province when one of our vehicles was struck by an IED. The force of the explosion killed one of my friends and caused the roof of the Humvee to detach from the vehicle. We never did find the driver's side passenger door, and the turret was thrown over 200 meters from the truck.

After rendering aid to the wounded soldiers and securing the area, I found a SureFire flashlight on the ground. Its window was broken and its head was smashed. I picked it up and pressed the button, and, to my amazement, it still worked! Finding the destroyed rifle it had been attached to made me believe that there truly is no better flashlight than SureFire in the world.

Adam G.
Royalton, MN

It was a pitch-black, quiet night, and I was under the cover of a burned-out house. I saw what appeared to be an iPod and assumed it had been dropped by one of my fellow soldiers. Well, it wasn't an iPod; it was an IED (improvised explosive device).

I remember a bright, white light flashing, and waking up several hours later with a wall on top of me. I was 99% covered and stuck, except for my free right arm. I could not see and could barely breathe, but I could hear what I thought were drones passing by overhead and other units passing by. But I couldn't make a sound. Then I remembered that my SureFire L4 LumaMax® was on my belt.

After 10 minutes of painful wiggling, I was able to reach my L4 with my right hand. My head was split wide open, my nose was nearly completely off my face, so I couldn't get enough air, and I was quickly passing out, but I was able to click my L4 on and off several times before losing consciousness. It was enough to get me noticed by the drone passing over me. Roughly 20 minutes later, I was rescued and extricated from under a ton of debris.

Now, 197 stitches later, I'm back home recuperating and rehabilitating. The hundred-plus dollars I spent on my L4 was worth every penny. This is a life-saving tool. My only regret is that, after I passed out, I dropped my L4 and lost it forever. But I'm already saving up for a new one and hope to rejoin my unit in a few weeks.

God bless America, God bless The Corps, and God bless SureFire!

Gunny David M.
Piscataway, NJ

I am a U.S. Marine explosive ordnance disposal technician. Early on in my deployment in Iraq, our explosives robot had no lighting device, so we taped my SureFire G2® Nitrolon® onto the camera's mast. One day, while investigating an IED, our robot died right next to it. The IED detonated, and the robot was completely destroyed. When my team went to recover our robot's remains, they discovered the only piece that survived was my SureFire G2 — and it still worked as good as the day I took it out of its package.

Great gear, SureFire! We use your flashlights religiously.

SSgt Travis B., USMC
Vista, CA

While on a raid mission in Afghanistan, we were ambushed. I directed our gun truck to the left flank in the mountains to keep the Taliban fighters from surrounding us and cut off their flanking movement. A hail of small arms fire, machinegun fire, and rocket-propelled grenades ensued. The fight lasted almost three hours, until we finally broke free and moved on toward our objective.

When it was all said and done, my truck was riddled with bullet holes-- all in the area of where I'd been standing. We pulled armor-piercing bullets out of the glass in the windshield, and I later noticed that the infrared filter of my SureFire was missing. I didn't think anything of it until the next morning when, after further investigation of the battle damage, I realized an enemy armor-piercing bullet had glanced off the side of my light and through my shirt sleeve, finally embedding itself into the windshield of the truck. My little SureFire may have saved my life.

The light still works. It was on my M4 on the left side Picatinny Rail. The bullet apparently hit the filter and glanced off the side of the head of the light, through my shirt, and into the windshield. I still have the bullet, too — just to remember that my SureFire kept it out of me. Thanks for not cutting corners and building a tough product for tough scrapes.

SSG Frederick D.
160th L.R.S., Afghanistan

While deployed in Panjiway Province, Afghanistan, we often did missions at night. Several months into our mission, our searchlight was destroyed. A replacement light was unavailable.

Now, driving through towns like Khandahar at night without a light is insane. Luckily, I had my Surefire L4 LumaMax®, which we taped to the side of our .50 caliber machinegun mount. We finished the rest of our deployment using that Surefire L4 as a search light. Not only did it work, no one really noticed a difference. A lot of guys on our team refused to believe we used that little light every night--until they saw it light up for themselves. Through Taliban attacks, heavy rain and sandstorms, even rammings from other vehicles, our little L4 kept on working long after our heavy-duty searchlight broke.

Christopher W.
Aiea, HI

I am currently deployed in Camp Bucca, Iraq, at a detainment facility. I use my SureFire flashlight every night. Last night, I was with my friend, doing a count to make sure we had all of our detainees, and one of them reached through a food hole in the fence and stabbed my friend in the neck with a shank. I had my SureFire in my hand, so I flashed the detainee in the eyes and temporarily blinded him so we could identify and pull him out from behind the fence.

Branden H.
Springfield, GA

While in Iraq, my unit did a lot of personal security for the 49th MP brigade, so we were all over the place. In the beginning, we had lasers to warn traffic, but when we received our SureFire M900-Series WeaponLights, we really started to get the attention of the locals. These lights were so incredibly effective at stopping traffic, they even caused an accident or two. It was a shame we had to turn them in to the new unit.

I now own three SureFire flashlights, and I swear by them. Thanks for making such outstanding products, SureFire.

Steve U.
Nogales, AZ

While serving in Iraq, I used my M6® Guardian® as a machine gun light. I was part of the U.S. Navy's Task Force 26 Convoy/Quick Reaction Force Team, and we had a lot of good equipment, but we were missing something important—a bright personal light for the gunners. I'm glad I brought mine, which I'd purchased from your website in 2004, with me.

My M6 is used but still working great. There were many times it was used to "shine in" Iraqi civilians' cars late at night, and it helped me illuminate the insides of buildings known to harbor snipers. With 500 lumens of blinding light, it did more than anyone could ask for and helped to bring all of my team safely home last September. My Surefire provided me with over nine months of added security. If there was ever a flashlight that has "been there done that," it's my M6.

Michael S.
Colts Neck, NJ

I'm a U.S. Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technician currently deployed to Iraq and have an incredible testimonial to tell regarding the strength, durability, and life-saving value of my SureFire C2 Centurion flashlight.

My team and I were once again called out to investigate a possible Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in the middle of the night. Due to the engulfing darkness surrounding us that night, we were only able to get halfway to the object when it became apparent the lights we had on the robot would not be sufficient. We were quickly losing visibility and didn’t want to accidentally ditch our robot in the canal we were paralleling. We drove the robot back to our truck and formulated our next plan of attack.

At this point we had several options. We could make another attempt to drive the robot down to the object with the inherent danger of losing a $150,000 robot in the canal. I had an idea I thought just might work. What if I took my SureFire flashlight, which was many times brighter than the lights that came with the robot, and merely taped it atop the camera? This could possibly light up enough of the area to get the robot downrange and keep a human life out of harm’s way.

I took the controls of the robot and guided it back down towards the package, this time having no problem cutting through the darkness, keeping the robot out of the canal, and finding our dangerous target. I remotely opened the top flap of the box and saw the explosive cargo it held and the remote firing device sitting on top of it.

That was all she wrote. The next thing I heard was a loud detonation, just as I felt the blast wave and saw the screen go blue on the robot’s console.

What our team leader found, once he got down to the site, defied any logic and completely confounded all who were there. The robot was gone, there was nothing more than a few random pieces of plastic lying around the site; that was to be expected, it was right on top of the device when it detonated. What surprised us all was the fact that my SureFire C2 Centurion flashlight was sitting about 15 feet from the detonation site almost completely unharmed (I have pictures to prove it!). The glass on the front of the flashlight was shattered and it needs a new bulb, but that was the extent of the damage.

If I hadn’t carried that flashlight and used it for an otherwise unintended purpose, we would have had to send one of my fellow soldiers down range to investigate the package. We now know that would have been the last thing he ever would have done. The sheer practicality of the flashlight enabled us to use a robot that otherwise would have been useless, and in turn saved a man’s life. That, in and of itself, makes the flashlight an invaluable tool that I will never be caught without. The fact that it can withstand a large detonation from about 2 feet away just enhances its overall attractiveness.

Philip C.
Camp Victory, Iraq

I served as a Humvee gunner in Afghanistan. We had many difficulties trying to keep traffic away from convoys at night. Standard-issue military flashlights just didn't cut it, so I bought a 6P® and used it as an attention-getter for the drivers in the area. More than once it saved us from being hit or having to shoot someone who wasn't paying attention. It also helped when we had to look for IEDs (improvised explosive devices). My 6P even survived a fall from the Humvee one night. I had to trade a lesser flashlight and five bucks to an Afghani local just to get it back, but it was definitely worth it.

Thanks, Surefire!

Daniel L.
Westport, IN

Let me start by stating that I am proudly serving in the US Navy. I work in main propulsion, and about a month ago we were due to get underway for 2 weeks. One of the first things we do before lighting the burners in the boiler is remove the stack covers from the tops of the exhaust trunks (approx. 180 ft. above the waterline). Well when my friend Aaron went up to take them off I let him borrow my E2D Executive Defender.

Everything went as planned until he dropped it down the exhaust trunk. The E2D fell approximately 190 feet straight down until it reached the bend at the bottom, at which point it slid about 85 feet before falling into the trough used to keep water from getting into the fire box. Once he told me and we went to retrieve it (a 45 minute operation), I found it laying in the trough, covered in soot and still shining bright. I picked it up, wiped off the soot, and put it back in its holster like nothing had happened.

Until that day I had been mocked constantly for having an $80 flashlight. Now, over 3/4 of my division owns the exact same model as mine. I thank you for making such a great product, and so does the rest of my division.

Robert B.

My 6P saved the lives of myself and my soldiers.

While on deployment in Iraq, we were doing house-to-house searches. During the day, no problem. But when night started to fall, we were using conventional four-D-cell batteries, which didn't cut it as the night got darker. When another chief told me about SureFire and how well they lit things up and temporarily blinded suspects, I ordered a 6P with an ultra-high-output P61 bulb.

One night we entered what appeared to be a very dark abandoned building in the worst part of town. We encountered many insurgents and missed many of them, due to lack of light. We started to back out of the building, when I remembered that I had my 6P with me. So we proceeded to the second level and breached the doorway. I flashed my 6P in the direction of the insurgents, and to my surprise, they were blinded long enough to avoid any injuries occurring to my men. Needless to say, all of my men are now equipped with Surefire 6Ps with ever-wonderful P61 bulbs.

On behalf of my unit, I want to thank you, SureFire, for producing such outstanding flashlights.

Donald W.
Romeoville, IL

My company purchased 16 HellFighter lights to use while we are deployed to Iraq. They have been working great and serve as a great escalation-of-force tool, among other things, allowing us to get our point across without firing any rounds.

As you probably know, this country is riddled with IED's (improvised explosive devices), which occasionally strike US HMMWVS. Well, last week one of our vehicles sustained a catastrophic hit that obliterated the truck. Of the many pieces we found, one was the upper receiver assembly of the M2 .50 cal machinegun — about 150 meters from the explosion site — that had been ripped from the rest of the weapon in the explosion. To our surprise, the HellFighter light was still attached!

When we got back to our forward observation battalion, we got a power cable from another HellFighter to see if the blown-up one still worked. To our amazement it lit right up.

CPT Michael T
Iraq

I'm a sergeant in a gun-truck platoon that pulls security detail on logistical convoys in Iraq. We are on the road at all hours, day and night. On our way back to our FOB (forward operating base) from Baghdad, we came upon another unit that had stopped on the main route back to Baghdad. They'd found an IED (improvised explosive device), so we stopped to help with security until the EOD (explosive ordinance disposal) unit showed up.

Before EOD arrived, we used our SureFire 6P® flashlights and our weapon-mounted Scout Lights to illuminate the roadside where the IED's command wire ran from. Our lights lit up the IED trigger man and two others helping him. Because a lot of us soldiers were outfitted with these lights, we were able to take down three insurgents that will no longer be able to harm our troops.

Thank you for your support, from all of the troops here in Iraq.

Sgt. Thomas J.
Copenhagen, NY

While stationed in Iraq with the 3rd 116th Infantry as a convoy commander, we were leaving Taji at night, en route to pick up additional vehicles in Baghdad, when the alternator burned out in my armored security vehicle. During the quick stop in Baghdad en route back to Al Taqaddum, the mechanic told me I had a good chance of making it back to Al Taqaddum as long as the batteries maintained their charge. Well, with 150 miles left to travel, the vehicle lights went black, as did the radio communications, and my driver nearly hit a highway divider. So I used my SureFire M951 WeaponLight mounted on my weapon to illuminate the road all the way back to Al Taqaddum. An hour and three quarters later we made it back—and my M951 still had enough power to illuminate the path back to our cans. That's one tough light.

Murril M.
Danville, VA

My Navy Seal Team of six men were looking for a al-Qaida Maltich leader named Abu Ayoub. He was thought to be hiding in the Jibal Tuwayq Mountains. We were dropped off by helicopter and were instructed to move south, following an old sheep herders' trail.

After four hours into the mission, we began to take on some small-arms fire from a nearby hill. Light fire turned into heavy fire as we started to take on mortar fire. One of the team members had already been hit by an AK-47 round to the knee. As more heavy fire began to fall upon us, we decided to retreat to a nearby village about five miles away. By this time it was already 5:00 p.m., and it was starting to get dark, and somehow we managed to get separated from each other. We all knew the general direction of the village, so we kept on walking.

At around 9 p.m., after being spotted by a young boy who undoubtedly reported our position, we heard gun fire, and then it seemed like there were hundreds of men running toward us. I found a small ditch and jumped into it. We were each armed with an AR-15 and about 1,000 rounds of ammo. I charged my gun and began to fire back. But after about 400 rounds, my gun jammed. Luckily I had my SureFire 8NX, which my 12-year-old son had given me, in my pouch. As I activated the light, I could feel the warmth and could almost taste the high-output lamp's energy. I shined it into the gun and was able to fix the jam quickly, allowing me to fight on.

Later that week I was found by a Ranger team that was looking for survivors. That SureFire flashlight, given to me by my son, undoubtedly saved my life.

Barratt Y.
Murrayville, GA

A couple of years ago, I was in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, deployed in Iraq. Our final convoy out of the country was at night, and less than an hour into it we turned onto a dirt road. The sand was kicking up so thick that you couldn't see the taillights in front of you or the headlights behind you. We didn't even know if we were on the road. Luckily, our unit had recently issued us SureFire tactical WeaponLights for our weapons. We detached them from the weapons and, using flashes to both the front and rear, we were able to locate each other in the dust and make it out without any accidents.

I'm positive that our SureFires saved at least one life that night.

Dustin H.
The Woodlands, TX

When I was deployed overseas, we would spend up to a week at a time out on patrols and station ourselves on mountains at night. Whenever we had a commotion at night and went out to investigate, we each took our own flashlight. Everyone noted that, whether it was using the infrared filter with NVGs or using white light, my SureFire was the only light that could shine down into the valleys, and across to other mountains, and clearly light up the area.

After a few nights, the guys only took out their SureFires and left all the other flashlight brands behind, because they simply couldn't keep up. They saved us more than a few times and kept the curious at a distance when they realized we could see them before they could get close.

Greg D.
Toledo, OH

Before I deployed to Iraq in December 2005, I bought a Surefire 6P® Original and mounted it to my M4 rifle. I used it everyday in sweep-and-clear and combat operations—until February 27th, 2006. On this day, my vehicle was hit with an IED (improvised explosive device).

I sustained second- and third-degree burns to 50% of my face. When I was brought down into the Stryker, my weapon was left on top to burn with the rest of the vehicle until the fire burned out. After I was medevaced, my SureFire was used in the entirety of the deployment of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, including a four-month extension, where it was mounted to an M249 SAW.

The 172nd is now home in Alaska, and my SurFire 6P was returned to me by one of my team members. And it still works great.

PFC Daniel S.
Fort Wainwright, AK