In the baking heat and dust of Afghanistan last week Lieutenant-Colonel Rupert Thorneloe was heading into hostile territory to check on his men engaged in a big operation against the Taliban.
He was riding in the front passenger seat of a Viking BVS10, a tracked vehicle with two cabins, originally designed for Arctic combat. The air-conditioning is poor and the armour not much better. Vikings are protected on the upper side but vulnerable to bombs exploding below.
In other circumstances, Thorneloe, a senior officer with 1,000 men under his command, would have travelled by helicopter; but it appears none was available (though yesterday the Ministry of Defence declined to confirm or deny this).
“He wanted to get up among his boys at the first possible opportunity,” said an MoD spokesman. “A resupply convoy was going up there and he hitched a lift on that.” The commander, he said, wanted to “get the lie of the land” in the offensive against insurgents.
As the Viking approached a canal crossing, it passed over a hidden IED - improvised explosive device – which destroyed the front cab. Thorneloe and the driver, Trooper Joshua Hammond, died instantly.
Back at base, Major Martyn Miles, one of Thorneloe’s senior officers, heard the news over the radio. “Details began to come over the network and many couldn’t believe it at first,” said Miles, 49, from Boston, Lincolnshire. Thorneloe, 39, was a well-respected officer who led from the front.
“But the headquarters and especially the men on the ground dealt with the situation with the utmost professionalism,” said Miles. “Our first thoughts were to do as much as we could for everyone who was in the vehicle when it struck the IED.”
Six other soldiers in the Viking were wounded by the explosion, two seriously.
“Colonel Rupert felt very strongly that what we were doing here was important, and he instilled that in each and every one of us,” said Miles. “We have a very definite reason for being here and all of us are determined that the loss of four of our family since the start of this tour will not be in vain.” > > >
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