Explosives Expert Killed While Defusing a Bomb
Staff Sergeant Olaf Sean George Schmid died at age 30 when he was attempting to defuse an IED (improvised explosive device) in Afghanistan this past Saturday. He had been deployed to Afghanistan only five months ago. In that time he had made safe 64 IEDs and found 11 bomb-making centres.
His family and fellow soldiers remembered the best of this brave man:
Schmid, also known as Oz, was from Winchester, Hampshire. His wife, Christina, said: “Oz was a phenomenal husband and loving father who was cruelly murdered during a relentless five-month tour. He was my best friend and soulmate. The pain of losing him is overwhelming. I take comfort knowing he saved countless lives with his hard work. I am so proud of him.”
Lieutenant Colonel Gareth Bex, commanding officer of the British counter-IED taskforce in Helmand, described Schmid as a “brilliant IEDD operator and a superb soldier”.
He added: “We loved him like a brother; he was a much adored member of our close-knit family … he had such a bright future ahead of him in a career that he so blatantly loved; the army has been robbed of a superb talent.”
Lt Col Robert Thomson, commander of the 2 Rifles battle group, said Schmid was “simply the bravest and most courageous man I have ever met”.
He added: “[Schmid] saved lives in 2 Rifles time after time and for that he will retain a very special place in every heart of every rifleman in our extraordinary battle group. Superlatives do not do the man justice. Better than the best. Better than the best of the best.”
One of Schmid’s colleagues, Major Tim Gould, described him as “a man of extreme courage”.
He added: “To see him out here in Afghanistan was to view a man very much in his element; he simply loved what he did. In fact, you would swear that he was born for it.” (Guardian.co.uk)
