Monday, May 31, 2010

A Pointless Death

Bomb Disposal Expert Killed After Defusing 13 Bombs In 36 Hours -- Times Online

An inquest into the death of a bomb disposal expert decorated for his bravery in Afghanistan has heard that he defused 13 bombs under sporadic enemy fire during the 36 hours leading to his death.

Captain Daniel Shepherd’s inquest follows the broadcast of a BBC One Panorama documentary on Monday in which the Army’s senior bomb disposal officer questioned the numbers of personnel available for Afghanistan and the pressures they faced. Captain Shepherd, 28, from Lincoln, was awarded the George Medal posthumously. He died while defusing a bomb on July 20 last year. The “unbelievably courageous” soldier, from 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, the Royal Logistic Corps, was killed as he tried to defuse a pressure-plated device, the inquest at the Cathedral Centre in Lincoln heard.

Read more ....

My Comment: This story was emailed to me by one of my readers this weekend. Defusing a bomb every few hours .... what was he and his superiors thinking .... or was he just too tired? They will conduct an inquest, but I suspect that the truth will never be known because the man who really knows is now dead.

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