But it also ricocheted off his femur, which slowed the bullet down and prevented a potentially worse exit wound.

NPR: Combat Medicine: Fast-Tracking Troops to Germany

Captain Tariq Ahmad, a doctor who certified Pte Cutts' death, said he had mistakenly believed an exit wound above the soldier's eye was an entry wound.

BBC: NEWS | UK | England | Nottinghamshire | Friendly fire death claim probed

Captain Tariq Ahmad, a doctor who examined Pte Cutts shortly afterwards and certified him dead, said he had mistaken a bullet hole over the soldier's eye for an entry wound, when in fact it was an exit wound.

BBC: RELATED BBC SITES

Even an exit-row assignment barely salves the wound.

FORBES: Occupy This: Up in the Air