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ARMY MEDIC CRISIS AS TWO SOLDIERS DIE

TWO British servicemen were killed in Afghanistan as it emerged yesterday that the Forces face a “deeply ­disturbing” shortage of medical staff.

Defence officials confirmed that an airman was killed by a blast in ­Kandahar and a soldier was shot dead in Helmand province.

The grim news came as official ­figures revealed the number of fully-qualified medical officers was 42 per cent below the required level.

The figures, obtained in a parliamentary question from former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell, also show a 21 per cent shortfall in the number of nurses.

Last night the Ministry of Defence admitted the shortages but stressed that they did not apply to troops fighting in Afghanistan.

The figures revealed the number of medical officers in the Defence Medical Service was 476 against the 818 needed.

Although there were 1,500 nurses, the required number was 1,900.

Sir Menzies said: “The 42 per cent shortage of medical officers is deeply disturbing and must inevitably place enormous strain on those who are actually in service.

“When we send young men and women into circumstances where they are at risk of life and limb, we owe it to them to provide the best medical cover.”

Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox said: “It is horrifying that they are so short-staffed when medical staff are needed more than ever.”

But an MoD spokesman said: “There is no question of British forces deploying on military operations without the appropriate medical support.”

The two latest deaths brought the nine-year conflict’s toll to 265. Both men’s families have been informed.

Officials said the airman, from 2 Squadron, Royal Air Force Regiment, was on a vehicle-mounted patrol at Kandahar Airfield when the bomb exploded. Lieutenant Colonel David Wakefield, spokesman for Task Force ­Helmand, said: “He died doing his duty and among his fellow airmen.”

The soldier, from A Company, 4th Battalion The Rifles, part of the 3 Rifles Battle Group, was killed near Sangin. He was honoured by the Duchess of Cornwall, Royal Colonel of the 4th Battalion The Rifles, who wore the battalion’s brooch in tribute while ­visiting a London school yesterday.

Meanwhile, hundreds of mourners gathered in Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, to pay their respects to two fallen heroes whose bodies were flown home yesterday. Lance Sergeant David Walker, 36, of 1st Battalion Scots Guards, and Lieutenant Douglas Dalzell, 27, of 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, died on February 18.

In another development, Pakistan said Taliban commander Mohammed Qari Zafar, wanted in connection with the 2006 bombing of Karachi’s American consulate, was killed by a CIA missile strike.


Source Daily Express

Heroes begin their final flight home: Rare glimpse inside RAF jet as four coffins are carried silently on board


Borne on the shoulders of comrades, Senior Aircraftsman Luke Southgate joins three other fallen servicemen for their final journey home from Afghanistan.

Overseen by a forces padre, their coffins are loaded into the vast hold of an RAF transport aircraft at Britain's base, Camp Bastion.

It is possibly the first time that this scene of solemn dignity - so often repeated as the British death toll in Afghanistan rises - has been photographed.


Emotional: Pallbearers carry the coffins of Sergeant Paul Fox, Rifleman Martin Kinggett, Senior Aircraftman Luke Southgate and Rifleman Carlo Apolis on board the Hercules jet at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan

Also journeying back to RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire were Sergeant Paul Fox, 34, of 28 Engineer Regiment, who was blown up by an improvised explosive device while on foot patrol, Rifleman Martin Kinggett, 19, of 4 Rifles, shot on February 25, and Rifleman Carlo Apolis, 28, also of 4 Rifles, shot on March 1 in Helmand.

SAC Southgate, 20, of 2 Squadron RAF Regiment, was killed in his Land Rover by an IED on February 26.

Hundreds lined the streets of Wootton Bassett to honour the four servicemen.

Before the cortege passed through the town, a Welsh male voice choir sang in tribute to the servicemen at the war memorial.

Sergeant Fox, 34, was described by his family as a 'legend' after he was blown up by an improvised explosive device while on foot patrol.

'Paul was a legend not only to his loving wife, children and family but also to anyone who ever knew him. Paul was a proud soldier who will be deeply missed,' his relatives said.


Silent tribute: A military chaplain leads pallbearers as they carry the coffin of Sergeant Paul Fox on to an RAF C17 in the early hours of the morning at Camp Bastion


Solitude: The body of Sergeant Fox from 28 Engineer Regiment Royal Engineers is repatriated to RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire

Lieutenant Colonel Matt Brazeley, the commanding officer of 28 Engineer Regiment, had said he was 'my best', adding: 'Sergeant Paul Fox was above all else a quite outstanding man.

'A tremendous soldier, impressive leader, fine engineer, good friend, cracking SNCO but principally just a great man.'

Senior Aircraftman Southgate was killed on February 24, while conducting a patrol to protect Kandahar Airfield from rocket attacks. He was hit by an IED whilst driving his WMIK Land Rover.

Rifleman Kinggett was shot and killed on February 25, while he and his comrades were providing covering fire during the evacuation of an injured colleague.

Sarah Griffiths, Rifleman Kinggett's cousin, said: 'He was a gentleman, very funny, never upset anyone, that's the most amazing thing. No one has a bad word to say against him.

'None of us can really function at the moment. He has left a huge gap. Life just isn't the same without him.

'He always wanted to be in the Army. He signed up and struggled at first so came out but signed back in a year later.'


Peace: The jet's normally cramped interior is hauntingly empty, except for a flag-draped coffin


Fallen: Sergeant Paul Fox, 34, Senior Aircraftman Luke Southgate, 20, Rifleman Martin Kinggett, 19, and Rifleman Carlo Apolis, 28, left to right

Rifleman Apolis's friends, including ten former and current workers from The Devon Hotel where he worked, threw flowers on his hearse as it passed through Wootton Bassett, pausing for a moment's silence at the war memorial.

Jacqui Parker worked alongside him at the hotel and said: 'He was amazing. He had the strangest mannerisms which we can all do impressions of.

'You couldn't help but smile when you were with him.

'Ten of us have come up here today. That tells you what kind of guy he was. One of a kind. One in a million.'

Another friend Sam Kerr said: 'He loved his girlfriend to bits. He went into the Army to secure a future for them, to save for a house. None of his family have been able to get over here so we are here for him today.'


Arriving in Wiltshire: The coffin of Rifleman Martin Kinggett is carried by pallbearers to waiting chaplains


Wootton Bassett mourns again: A Union flag flies at half mast as the funeral cortege of four fallen serviceme passes through

Rifleman Apolis, originally from South Africa, was killed on March 1 by a gunshot wound from small arms fire in Sangin, Helmand province. He was on a foot patrol about 700 metres east of Patrol Base Blenheim, as part of an operation to expand security around the district centre.

Nicknamed 'Apollo' by friends within his platoon he leaves behind his mother, father, two sisters and his long-term girlfriend Rebecca Williams, from Cardiff.

Meanwhile there were scenes of relief and jubilation in Cardiff, as hundreds of well-wishers lined the streets to greet soldiers returning from Afghanistan.

Crowds applauded and waved flags as 250 soldiers from 1st Battalion Welsh Guards marched through city streets as part of a homecoming tour of Wales.

Lauren Rennie, 24, from Cardiff, brought her one-year-old daughter, Nadine, to cheer on her fiance, 26-year-old Lance Sergeant Milo Bjegovic.

She said: 'It really felt like the whole community was welcoming them all back with open arms. I wanted to show my support and I think Milo loved it.

'Nadine was very young when he left and it was heartbreaking. I worried so much. I'm so relieved to have him back now.'


Welcome back: The 1st Battalion Welsh Guards march into Cardiff during their homecoming parade after completing a six-month tour of Afghanistan


Brothers in arms: The 1st Battalion Welsh Guards are formed up outside the Millennium Stadium before their parade

Guardsman Christopher Davis, 27, from Pontypridd, completed two tours of Afghanistan.

He was supported by his father and grandmother as he marched through the town but said the parade made him remember his seven comrades who died in the conflict.

'To see all the support that we get is great and it's nice for our families to see us marching,' Guardsman Davis said.

'It does bring back memories though, especially of the guys who didn't make it back.

'It would have been nice if they could have been marching with us.

'Every time we get together we think of the guys and notice they are not there.'


Cheers of support: Hundreds of well-wishers lined the streets to greet the soldiers returning from Afghanistan

He said the loss of their commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, the highest ranking British officer to die in Afghanistan, was particularly difficult.

'It was devastating, we were in the middle of a big operation,' Guardsman Davis said.

'It was something you don't expect. The commanding officer is not normally on the frontline where the boys are but, as always, he was out there where the boys were, doing what he loved.'

Armed Forces Minister Bill Rammell said the support of local people meant a lot to the soldiers.


Source Daily Mail

SOLDIER NO 6 DIES IN ONE BLOODY WEEK


BRITAIN has lost its sixth soldier in Afghanistan in just one week, the MoD revealed yesterday.

All six were from the same battlegroup – 3 Rifles – and were killed near Sangin, northern Helmand.

The latest victim, a soldier from 1st Battalion The Rifles serving as part of 3 Rifles battlegroup, died on Sunday in an explosion two miles south of Sangin.

Another soldier, from 4th Battalion The Rifles, was shot dead near Sangin, on Sunday. Both families have been informed.

During the weekend the deaths of two teenage soldiers – Rifleman Liam Maughan, 18, from Doncaster, South Yorks, and Rifleman Jonathon Allott, 19, from North Shields – were announced.

Last Tuesday Corporal Richard Green, 23, from 3 Rifles died and Rifleman Carlo Apolis, 28, from 4 Rifles died on Monday.

Source Daily Express



'BROWN'S BUDGET MADE US SLASH DEFENCE SPENDING'


MILITARY commanders were forced to slash their budgets because of Gordon Brown’s financial squeeze, the Ministry of Defence’s top civil servant told the Iraq Inquiry yesterday.

Whitehall chief Sir Bill Jeffrey admitted that senior officers faced tough decisions over reduced spending – and he refused to deny that the military was left with a “crisis budget”. He also described deaths of British troops in lightly armoured Snatch Land Rovers as “ghastly”.

His evidence to Sir John ­Chilcot’s inquiry into the Iraq War was an embarrassing blow to Mr Brown.

Last night, the Tories called for the Prime Minister to be recalled to the inquiry, arguing that his denial of cutting the defence budget had collapsed.

Shadow Defence Secretary Liam Fox wrote to Sir John ­Chilcot last night urging him to make the Prime Minister “clarify his evidence”.

Mr Fox said: “There have been so many other witnesses whose evidence directly contradicted his, concluding with Bill Jeffrey today, that there is a clear case for questioning Gordon Brown again.”

Sir Bill, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, told the inquiry yesterday: “The upwards pressures to which I have referred have meant that in successive years over my time, our ministers and we have had to think hard about what we could cut.

“Whether that constitutes a crisis, I don’t know.

“On one level, it’s the business that all Government departments have to do when resources are tight. But it certainly felt more than quite tight over the last period.”

Sir Bill also admitted British troops went into Iraq with “an outdated stock of armoured vehicles”. He told the inquiry: “The fundamental problem is that for some purposes military commanders will always argue that a highly mobile, lightweight vehicle of that sort is important and indeed operationally critical in some cases. That is little comfort to those who lost loved ones in Snatch Land Rovers. It is ghastly. I feel that very strongly.

“On the other hand, what there was not over that period was a ­silver-bullet solution in which a better-protected version of Snatch could have been bought very quickly.”

Officials travelling with Prime Minister Gordon Brown in Afghanistan at the weekend said an announcement on 200 new armoured vehicles to replace Snatch Land Rovers was expected within weeks.

But the Tories pointed out the original contract notice was for “up to 400” vehicles and accused the Government of cutting the number by half.

Explaining this apparent ­discrepancy, Sir Bill said: “The reason the Prime Minister’s announcement was confined to these 200 was because we are able to acquire these through an urgent operational requirement as a call on the reserve.

“It certainly does not mean that they won’t acquire more.”

Sir Bill said significant pressure was put on the Armed Forces when Britain sent troops to Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan in 2006 while maintaining a large deployment in Iraq.

A string of former defence chiefs including Lord Guthrie, Lord Boyce and General Richard Dannatt have all questioned Mr Brown’s claims that, as Chancellor, he never refused military requests for cash for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.


Source Daily Express

George Cross heroes: The bomb experts who kept on defying Taliban death traps


'Bravest of the brave': Staff Sgt Kim Hughes, with his George Cross citation, cleared a minefield by hand

After booby-trap bombs killed two of his comrades and left four maimed and stranded in the middle of a minefield, Staff Sergeant Kim Hughes knew he had no time to consider his own safety.

The bomb disposal expert had to clear a path across the dusty open ground so the wounded could be evacuated and the dead men retrieved - and he had to do it fast.

Shunning protective clothing to save time, the 30-year-old picked his way across the field dotted with more of the booby-trap bombs.

And all the time he knew the field was being watched by the Taliban fanatics who had planted the bombs. Indeed, even as he inched nearer the injured men, bullets were flying overhead as other soldiers tried to keep the gunmen at bay.

But, keeping his cool beneath the Afghan sun, he managed to dismantle seven of the improvised explosive devices - three by simply using his hands. There was no time to place charges and retreat to a safe distance.

His actions were described as 'extraordinary' by senior Army officers and yesterday Staff Sgt Hughes was awarded the George Cross for carrying out 'the single most outstanding act' of bomb disposal in Afghanistan.

It was one of two GCs - the UK's highest accolade for gallantry not in the face of the enemy - to be conferred. The other was awarded posthumously to his friend and fellow bomb disposal expert Staff Sgt Olaf Schmid, 30.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, the head of the Armed Forces, said the pair would 'go down in history as the bravest of the brave'.

He added: 'Their selfless commitment, unswerving devotion to duty and unsurpassed courage are both awe inspiring and humbling.'

The George Cross has been won only 161 times in its 70-year history.

On the morning of August 16 last year, as UK troops took part in Operation Panther's Claw to reclaim a chunk of Helmand province, Staff Sgt Hughes of the Royal Logistic Corps was called on to clear a path to rescue four seriously injured soldiers.

First, Lance Corporal James Fullarton, 24, had triggered a bomb. As he was evacuated on a stretcher by Fusilier Simon Annis, 22, and Fusilier Lewis Carter, 18, they tripped a second blast - killing them both and wounding three more.

Staff Sgt Hughes' citation said: 'Hughes and his team were called into this harrowing and chaotic situation to extract the casualties. Speed was absolutely essential.'

The sergeant, of Kineton, Warwickshire, decided not to wait for protective clothing and picked his way across the field to reach the first injured man.

But as he reassured the casualty, he noticed an IED a yard away. Realising it endangered the 11 men in the minefield and all the time aware of the desperate need to get the wounded out, he carried out a 'manual neutralisation' on the bomb.

Bomb disposal experts only resort to this technique in extremity. Instead, they usually use robots or place charges and detonate them from a safe distance.

The sound of bullets ringing in his ears, Staff Sgt Hughes then discovered two more IEDs. Again, with unimaginable cool, he disarmed them by hand. His 'utterly selfless action' allowed the casualties to be recovered.

But he was not finished. A team of Royal Engineers discovered four more bombs, which he also defused. Tragically, Lance Corporal Fullarton later died from his injuries.

In total, he has defused more than 80 bombs in Afghanistan.



The citation added: 'Dealing with any form of IED is dangerous; to deal with seven linked in a single circuit... using manual neutralisation techniques once, never mind three times, is the single most outstanding act of explosive ordnance disposal ever recorded in Afghanistan. That he did it without the security of specialist protective clothing serves even more to demonstrate his outstanding gallantry.'

After the presentation at the Honourable Artillery Company in in the City of London, the sergeant said he felt 'out of this world'.

He added: 'I'm very proud, but there's soldiers on the ground doing exactly the same job I did.

'When you look back, you realise what you have done, but when you are there you are thinking about the next step. Everyone who turns out deserves something. It's horrendous out there.'

His mother Frances Trask, 56, said she was the 'proudest mum in the world'. Her other son, Acting Staff Sgt Lee Hughes, 31, is also a bomb expert in the Royal Logistics Corps.

Kim Hughes, who has a three-year-old son Jack, came to prominence in October last year after bluntly telling Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth that 'more troops on the ground' were needed to defeat the Taliban.

Afterwards he said: 'What was he going to do, send me home?'

Staff Sgt Hughes and Olaf Schmid's widow Christina will receive the awards in a Royal investiture ceremony at a later date. They are among 150 honours for servicemen and women to be announced today.


Widow's pride in 'legendary' husband

She described it as 'a legendary award for my legendary husband'.

Christina Schmid's immense pride was evident for all to see as she collected Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid's George Cross citation yesterday.

The Army bomb disposal expert stared death in the face daily to defuse 64 explosive devices in Afghanistan.

He died instantly when the 65th blew up on October 31 last year - which should have been his final day before flying home to his family.


True hero: Christina (right) shows emotional strain as she listens to her husband Staff Sergeant Schmid's George Cross citation about his 'unsurpassed courage'

Receiving his posthumous bravery award at a ceremony in central London, his widow paid tribute to her husband and his close friend Staff Sergeant Kim Hughes, who also received a George Cross.

Mrs Schmid received a framed copy of her husband's citation for the medal from Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup.

She will collect his medal from the Queen at Buckingham Palace at a later date.

'I am as proud of my husband as he was magnificent and I'm truly thrilled,' she said. 'The George Cross is a fitting tribute to decorate Oz for his outstanding bravery. It is a fantastic, positive reminder of what he achieved.

'Oz would be really, really proud and chuffed they have achieved some appreciation for how hard they worked.

'They are completely extraordinary, exceptional human beings, facing death hourly in their daily tasks.'


Honour: Christina Schmid receives the George Cross citation for her husband Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid from Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup

Staff Sgt Schmid, who had been in the Army for 13 years and was a member of the Royal Logistic Corps' 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, died on the final operational day of a five-month tour of duty on the front line.

He was born in Cornwall, and lived in Winchester with his wife and stepson Laird.

He was killed on a day in which he had already dealt with three devices.

His citation said his actions 'probably saved the lives of his team' because they were trapped in an alley by an IED.

It added that he spent long periods of his tour 'in the gravest personal danger' because he was often called upon to go out on foot to tackle Taliban bombs without protective equipment.

On one day in August last year, he spent 11 hours in 45c heat making safe a series of IEDs by hand after a bomb disposal robot was destroyed by one of the devices.

On another occasion, in October, he placed his life on the line to defuse a live radio-controlled IED manually in order to save the lives of Afghan civilians in a bustling bazaar.

His citation said: 'His selfless gallantry, his devotion to duty and his indefatigable courage, displayed time and time again, saved countless military and civilian lives and is worthy of the highest recognition.'

Staff Sgt Hughes added: 'To be honoured, to be sat here with Chrissie, to know that I've achieved the award and Oz has achieved that award, is out of this world to be honest. It's really good.'


Decorated heroes: Christina poses with her husband's colleague Staff Sergeant Kim Hughes (left) who was also awarded a George Cross

Source Daily Mail


AFGHANISTAN: TRIBUTES FOR DEAD SOLDIERS


Lance Corporal Scott Hardy was killed by a Taliban explosion


TWO soldiers killed by a Taliban explosion in Afghanistan on Tuesday were named yesterday.

Lance Corporal Scott Hardy and Private James Grigg were both on duty with the 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment.

They were serving as part of the Household Cavalry Regiment Battle Group in Musa Qal’ah, in Helmand province.

L/Cpl Hardy, 26, from Chelmsford, was a bricklayer before joining the army. He leaves his family and girlfriend Charlene.

Pte Grigg, 21, from Hartismere in Suffolk, leaves parents and a sister.

Defence secretary Bob Ainsworth said: “Both had a bright future in the army; their loss will be keenly felt.” The double tragedy brings the death toll in Afghanistan to 275.


Source Daily Express

FUNERAL FOR AFGHAN GUNFIGHT VICTIM



Lance Corporal Tom Keogh from 4th Battalion The Rifles


A funeral is to take place for a British soldier shot dead during a gunfight in Afghanistan.

Lance Corporal Tom Keogh, 24, from 4th Battalion The Rifles, was described by his commanding officer as "one of the best".

He died in Sangin, Helmand Province, on March 7 when his patrol base came under attack from insurgents. A memorial service will take place at The Church of Our Lady of the Rosary, in Marylebone, north London.

L/Cpl Keogh, from nearby Paddington, joined the Army in 2003 and served until 2008, including a tour in Iraq. He rejoined after a year's break in 2009 and was deployed to Afghanistan.

The fallen soldier leaves behind his parents, Lawrence and Marion Keogh, and two brothers.

In a statement released at the time of his death, his parents said: "Tom was our eldest son and we all loved and admired him greatly. He loved the Army life and lived his life to the full. He brought laughter and happiness to our home and all who knew him.

"Our family has been left devastated by Tom's tragic death, but not a day will pass without us remembering the happiness and pride he gave us. We love you Tom."

Lt Col Rupert Jones, Commanding Officer, 4 Rifles, said: "It is sometimes tempting to get carried away in extolling the virtues of the fallen, but with Lance Corporal Tom Keogh there is no danger of drifting towards exaggeration.

"He was quite simply one of the very best soldiers in the battalion and proves yet again the sad adage that it is the best that die young."

Source Daily Express


Is this Britain's most fearless bomb disposal expert? Captain who defused record 93 devices in six months to receive medal



When two-year-old Poppy Owers asks her father what he did in Afghanistan, his answer will make her very proud.

Despite seeing colleagues suffer dreadful injuries, Captain Wayne Owers risked his life 93 times to defuse Taliban bombs, saving countless lives in a remarkable six-month tour.

Relying on his wits and courage, rather than protective gear and specialist equipment, Capt Owers's bravery in Afghanistan makes him the most prolific bomb destroyer in the history of the Army.


Decorated: Captain Wayne Owers with his medals - the Queen's Gallantry Medal is on the left


Painstaking: Captain Wayne Owers uncovers an IED during his tour in Afghanistan

His average of one improvised explosive device (IED) defused every two days between March and August last year is the highest strike rate recorded by the Ministry of Defence.

Now Capt Owers, 39, who lives in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, with his wife Sukie, 37, and their daughter Poppy, will receive the Queen's Gallantry Medal later this year for his bravery.

Capt Owers, who has served in the Army for 20 years, including tours in Iraq, Bosnia, Oman, Kosovo and Northern Ireland, said his job had pushed him 'to the limit', both mentally and physically.

He said: 'Everything is down to luck and to me numbers aren't significant.

'The best bomb disposal officer in the world could stand on an undetected bomb and it would be game over.

'The only way numbers are relevant is in the feeling that the more bombs you defuse, the more likely it seems that something could go horribly wrong.
A lonely job: Captain Owers makes safe a live bomb in Afghanistan

'But you have to be confident, and not let yourself think about what could happen.

'People ask me how I managed to get up every day and do that job, but it's different when you're actually out in Afghanistan and in that situation.

'You just have to get on with it and be as confident as possible. We all just had to knuckle down.



Brave: Captain Owers, who has spent 20 years in the Army, at his base today

'I used to enjoy the job when I first went out. But when that first bomb went off, I started to get a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.

'It really hit me when I saw my comrades get injured.'

During his tour of duty with the Royal Logistic Corps, Capt Owers saw comrades suffer horrendous

injuries. An explosion in May led to a colleague losing two legs and an arm. Two months later, Capt Owers was standing next to Corporal Jonny Wallace as he had his leg ripped open after stepping on a device.

Capt Owers said: 'He was handing me a piece of equipment - that's how close I was. It just went bang and I flew backwards. I didn't break a fingernail - I was very lucky.'

Lance Corporal Davie Timmins, Capt Owers's bodyguard, lost his right eye and hearing in his right ear in the explosion, in which he swallowed his own tongue.

L/Cpl Timmins, himself a Queen's Gallantry Medal recipient, said: 'I was losing a lot of blood but Capt Owers pulled my tongue out of my mouth, sat me up and whacked me on the back several times, saying, "don't die on me".'

Only 600 Queen's Gallantry Medals have been awarded since 1974.

An MoD spokesman said: 'This officer often took greater risks than normally permitted - relying on his wits and courage instead of a protective suit and specialist equipment.'

He added that Capt Owers's 'inspirational actions' had 'enabled countless missions to succeed and directly saved innumerable lives. His courage and gallantry is worthy of the very highest level of formal recognition.'

Capt Owers is now based in Britain and teaches others how to become bomb disposal experts.


Source Daily Mail

British soldier killed by grenade in Afghanistan

A British soldier on patrol in southern Afghanistan has been killed after a grenade was thrown from behind a wall, the Ministry of Defence said.

The soldier, from the Household Cavalry Regiment, serving as part of the Brigade Reconnaissance Force, was killed in Sangin this afternoon. Next of kin have been informed.

A total of 277 British troops have now died in the Afghan conflict since operations began in 2001.

Lieutenant Colonel David Wakefield, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, said: "It is my sad duty to have to inform you that a British soldier from the Household Cavalry Regiment, serving as part of the Brigade Reconnaissance Force, was killed in Sangin this afternoon.

"He was on a BRF foot patrol operating about three kilometres to the south of Sangin District Centre when he was fatally wounded by a grenade thrown from behind a wall.

"He was part of a BRF operation doing what the soldiers of the BRF have done throughout their tour in Helmand, boldly and relentlessly taking the fight to the insurgents.

"He will be sorely missed by us all and we will remember him."

Source Daily Telegraph