Staff Sergeant Kim Hughes, a High Threat Improvised Explosive Device Disposal (IEDD) operator with the Royal Logistic Corps, is to receive the George Cross for what has been cited as the “single most outstanding act of explosive ordnance disposal ever recorded in Afghanistan.”

SSgt Hughes put himself in extreme personal danger when he manually neutralised three Victim Operated IEDs (VOIED) whilst trying to save five seriously wounded soldiers in the south west of Sangin in August last year.

Four of the soldiers had been injured by a detonated VOIED whilst going to the aid of the fifth soldier who had been very seriously wounded by an initial VOIED. Two soldiers from the stretcher party were killed outright.

Watched by the enemy, Staff Sergeant Hughes carefully began to clear a path in what was effectively a minefield of IEDs to the stranded and wounded soldiers without wearing specialist protective clothing in order to save time so that more lives were not lost.

However, on reaching the first badly injured soldier he discovered the first of seven further VOIEDs within one metre of the casualty.

An extraordinary act

Staff Sergeant Hughes made the critical decision to manually neutralise the devise, even without knowing the location of the power source, to ensure the casualties could receive rapid medical attention.

Manual neutralisation is rare as any error proves instantly fatal. It is only done in extreme circumstances where the emphasis is on saving other peoples’ lives even, if necessary, at the expense of the IEDD operator.

The citation reads that the neutralisation was “an extraordinary act” and with “shots keeping the enemy at bay, Hughes coolly turned his attention back to reaching the remaining casualties and retrieving the dead.”

However, “clearing a path forward he discovered two further VOIEDs and, twice more, carried out manual neutralisation. His utterly selfless action enabled all the casualties to be extracted and the bodies recovered.”

His citation also notes that this was not the end of the mission for Hughes as the Royal Engineers Search Team had detected a further four VOIEDS in the immediate area that required his attention.

Outstanding gallantry

His citation reads: “Dealing with any form of IED is dangerous; to deal with seven VOIEDs 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.”

Speaking at the announcement ceremony in London today (Thursday March 18th) SSgt Hughes said: “When you look back you realise what you have achieved. When I was there, I can’t say I was not thinking about it, but when you’re doing the job, you’re always thinking about the next step. It’s slightly unnatural – it’s just a task you get on with.

“It’s amazing to receive the award. In our trade we don’t get a lot of these awards on the whole.”

Bomb disposal a 'close-knit community'

Talking about Olaf Schmid, whom he was good friends with, he said he was really proud of his achievements. “Bomb disposal is a close-knit community. I’m honoured to be sitting here with Chrissy.”

Olaf’s widow was there to collect his citation at the announcement ceremony.

When asked when he thought he might be killed, SSgt Hughes said: “You don’t think like that. You just get on with it. You’re trained and we’re always thinking one step ahead. Where we train is the centre of excellence. It doesn’t cross your mind that you’re going to die.

“You join the army for a reason. You want to get out and experience stuff. As an Am Tech it opens up things for a soldier. I would encourage it. But you don’t get here overnight, you have to train for it.”

The announcement was made last week with the release of the latest operational honours and awards list, which includes 160 personnel. The awards are for the period April 1, 2009 to September 30, 2009.