As the Bushmaster weaves its way through Sunday morning traffic at a crowded Kabul roundabout, it swiped a car.
The driver of the car swerves in front of the 12-tonne armoured vehicle and stops a few metres away.
In a city like Kabul, the Australian soldiers quickly need to decide whether it is a simple accident or the beginning of an attack.
The risk of improvised explosive devices, mounted on a vehicle or strapped to a suicide vest, is very real.
The vehicle commander, Corporal Andrew Norrie, controls the machine gun on the top of the Bushmaster from his seat inside.
Force Protection Element Soldiers from 3RAR. Source: Myles Morgan
The driver of the Afghan car steps out and begins signalling with his hands, the universal signal for cash.
An empty water bottle is thrown out of the Bushmaster with an official IOU inside. The Afghan will have to claim his compensation somewhere else.
Within five minutes, the convoy is moving again.
“I'm pretty sure he hit us man because I felt it go like that,” the driver says, gesturing.
A few hours later, a Danish military convoy travelling on a similar route to the Australians is attacked by a suicide vehicle bomber. The two convoys actually crossed paths at one point.
The traffic in Kabul that Australian soldiers must navigate. Source: Myles Morgan
It's the reality of driving in Afghanistan for the soldiers of 3rd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR). This company of infantry soldiers is designated Force Protection Element 8. They drive between the Australian bases, spread around Kabul, as well as protecting Australian forces in the city.
Even with a ring of steel around Kabul, constant surveillance of the city, and strict security measures on the roads, the capital is not immune to attack.
In May, a massive car bomb was detonated in the city, killing more than 150 people.
“There's always a risk of VBIEDs, or vehicle borne IEDs so we have to keep an eye out for any cars that are acting strangely or different from normal,” Corporal Norrie told SBS.
“On the vehicle, we have weapons we use to scan all the traffic so we can cover 360 degrees around our convoy.
Corporal Andrew Norrie. Source: Myles Morgan
“The whole time, the driver and the co-driver are scanning for any atmospherics that have changed.”
The risk from Taliban and Islamic State attack is constant and not just on the roads.
Last week, both groups claimed responsibility for launching a barrage of rockets and mortars at Hamid Karzai International Airport in the hours after the arrival of US Secretary of Defense James Mattis.
Australians based at HKIA had to take cover during the indirect fire (IDF) attack.
“We pretty much just pulled up at the gate we were coming through and from there, we had to remain in place and pretty much just watch the IDF fall,” Corporal Norrie said.
“That's the first time we've seen the rounds fall in HKIA and it's pretty realistic. I think it hit home for a lot of the guys that we’re not as safe as we think we might be on this base.”
