Two British bomb disposal experts awarded George Cross
Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid and Staff Sergeant Kim Hughes
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Thursday, 18, Mar 2010 05:35
By Richard James.
Two British bomb disposal experts, one of whom died in the line of duty, have been awarded the George Cross, one of the highest military awards for gallantry.
The Ministry of Defence said Staff Sergeant Kim Hughes and the late Staff Sergeant Olaf Schmid had been awarded one of the UK's highest awards for gallantry for their "selfless commitment, unswerving devotion to duty and unsurpassed courage".
SSgt Hughes and Mrs Christina Schmid, SSgt Schmid's widow, were personally congratulated by the chief of the defence staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, and defence secretary Bob Ainsworth at a special ceremony in central London.
Announcing the award of the two medals Sir Jock said: "As one of our top two operational honours, the George Cross is awarded only rarely; its recipients must have displayed the very highest levels of gallantry.
"The actions of Staff Sergeant Hughes and the late Staff Sergeant Schmid meet this most demanding test in full measure.
"Their selfless commitment, unswerving devotion to duty and unsurpassed courage are both awe-inspiring and humbling. The nation will rightly take enormous pride in their service; it owes them and their families an enormous debt of gratitude."
Mr Ainsworth added: "It should come us a source of enormous pride to every British citizen that the actions for which these honours are presented were committed by members of our country's military.
"The UK has the most gallant and professional armed forces in the world but as George Cross recipients, Staff Sergeant Schmid and Staff Sergeant Hughes will always be part of an even more special group: those responsible for the most outstanding acts of bravery."
SSgt Hughes and SSgt Schmid, both from the Royal Logistic Corps, were deployed to Helmand Province as part of 19 Light Brigade, which was deployed to Afghanistan on Operation Herrick 10 between March and November 2009.
The MoD described in particular how during that deployment SSgt Hughes had bravely cleared an area covered with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) without any specialist protective clothing after two personnel had been killed and many others lay injured.
A statement from the Ministry of Defence declares: "The area was effectively an IED minefield, over-watched by the enemy and the section were stranded within it. SSgt Hughes and his team were called in to extract the casualties and recover the bodies."
His citation adds: "Dealing with any form of IED is dangerous; to deal with seven IEDs linked in a single circuit, in a mass casualty scenario, 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. Hughes is unequivocally deserving of the highest level of public recognition."
SSgt Schmid's citation described how he personally dealt with 70 confirmed improvised explosive devices before his death on October 31st 2009.
His efforts included one mammoth 11-hour clearance effort when an infantry company based in Wishtan province was isolated by a substantial minefield.
On the day he died SSgt Schmid and his team also found themselves trapped down an alleyway after an unknown IED was detected.
The bomb disposal expert eventually traced a command wire IED incorporated in three linked buried main charges.
He was killed while dealing with the device.
His citation states: "Schmid's actions on that fateful day, when trapped in an alleyway with no safe means of escape, probably saved the lives of his team.
"These occasions are representative of the complexity and danger that Schmid had faced daily throughout his four month tour.
"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."
The George Cross is ranked alongside the Victoria Cross as one the nation's highest military awards.