Army Sergeant Honoured For Clearing Bombs
Sunday 3 October 2010 03:11, UK
An Army bomb disposal expert who continued working to free trapped comrades despite breaking two fingers clearing a Taliban minefield has been awarded the Military Cross.
Staff Sergeant Gareth Wood, 29, injured his hand when he ripped an improvised explosive device (IED) from the ground.
It happened as he was clearing the area around a Mastiff armoured vehicle marooned in enemy terrain in Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan.
Fellow soldiers urged him to return to base to seek treatment but he refused and carried on defusing the IEDs with his arm in a sling and his broken fingers in a splint.
Operating under heavy Taliban fire, he made safe five explosive devices, allowing the crew of the Mastiff to escape under cover of darkness.
His extraordinary display of heroism came after the fully-manned armoured vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb and became stranded in the minefield on March 30.
They raised the alarm and S/Sgt Wood, of 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, from Milton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, was flown in to help with the rescue operation.
With just four hours of daylight remaining, he set about clearing the IEDs, insisting that the other soldiers took cover as he did so.
His medal citation reads: "Still under fire, he moved on to the second device and wrenched it from the ground with his bare hands.
"In so doing he sustained a laceration to his hand and broke two fingers.
"He refused to be evacuated and insisted upon completing his task with nothing more than the crudest of first aid."
Most served in 11 Light Brigade's bloody tour of Afghanistan between October 2009 and April this year.
The honours will be presented at a later date.