UPDATE: NZDF has just named the soldier killed in Afghanistan overnight as Lt Timothy O'Donnell. The Manawatu Standard notes:
Linton-based Lieutenant O'Donnell received a Distinguished Service Decoration award in the 2008 New Year's Honours for his services as a platoon commander in East Timor between November, 2006 and, May, 2007.
On April 5, 2007, his platoon encountered a crowd of about 1000 Fretilin Party supporters returning from an election rally in Dili.
The crowd, fearing attacks from opposition political supporters, had halted on the outskirts of Manatuto.
While the platoon secured a safe route, United Nations police began moving the Fretilin supporters across a bridge toward Manatuto, despite having been requested not to do so.
The crowd was ambushed by about 600 opposition supporters who threw rocks and fired steel darts and arrows.
The police escort was forced to withdraw, which left the Fretilin supporters stranded on the bridge.
Lieutenant O'Donnell intervened in the attack, which meant that his platoon came under attack and had to fire warning shots and aimed shots against their assailants.
His platoon pushed back the attackers and secured a route around Manatuto for the Fretilin supporters, who safely navigated the town without loss of life or serious injury.
Lieutenant O'Donnell graduated from Officer Cadet School in December 2005 into the Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment and was posted to 1 RNZIR.
In 2008 he was posted to Burnham.
We've just heard the very news that a New Zealand soldier has been killed when a patrol was attacked in Bamyan in Afghanistan. Two other New Zealand soldiers have been wounded.
NZDF is holding a media conference at 7.10am, and there will be more to report then. In the meantime, we pause to remember and honour the fallen soldier, and to offer prayers for his whanau and his surviving colleagues. Kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui; arohanui.
UPDATE: We've just watched the NZDF media conference, and we commend Lt-Gen Jerry Mataparae on his dignified responses to the assembled media. And like our kindred blogger PM of NZ, we express the fervent hope that politicians of an anti-war ilk will not attempt to make political capital out of this tragic turn of events. This is a time when the NZDF needs widespread public and political support.
7 comments:
Echo your thoughts I2.
A sad day but, regretably, not unexpected.
Quite right Alex - the NZ forces have probably defied the odds by avoiding a death up until now. That of course doesn't make this death any less of a tragedy.
The other thing that will be sad is that the "media" will beside themselves trying to identify the dead soldier, his comrades and their families.
Once identified their lives will be a separate hell as cameras, flash bulbs and cheque books are waved at them for their "stories".
The following is not meant to be cynical but rather to bring a touch of realism to the death.
Isn't this what Soldiers do'?
The death of a Soldier is not a tragedy as such but rather a fact of life for any soldier entering a war zone. Unpalatable though it is.
PDM, the answer of course is yes.
People, sadly, forget that.
Well said Alex, I2 and pdm. It is a sad day for the NZDF and one where the families involved should be left to grieve in peace.My prayers go out for those affected.
In the days to come we will have the Media demanding that the troops come home. The troops serving in Afghanistan are much safer serving overseas than training in New Zealand, how many deaths of serving military have we had in the past nine years in NZ?
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