Ivar Brok

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Ivar Brok

Estonian Ground Force

July 20, 1977(1977-07-20)May 23, 2008 (aged 30)

Estonian Defence Forces File Photo
Place of death military hospital †
Kandahar, Afghanistan
Allegiance Flag of Estonia Estonia
Service/branch Estonian Ground Force
Years of service 1997–2008
Rank Senior Warrant Officer
Unit Estonian Afghanistan Contingent NSE-5
Estonian Afghanistan Contingent NSE-3
1st Infantry Brigade
Quartermaster Battalion
Battles/wars War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
Awards Combat Merit Medal

Senior Warrant Officer (Estonian: Vanemveebel) (OR-9C) Ivar Brok (July 20, 1977 - May 23, 2008) was a member of the Estonian Ground Force Estonian Afghanistan Contingent support unit NSE-5 depot group chief who was killed in a tragic accident in Camp Bastion, Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2008.

On May 23, 2008 OR-9C Ivar Brok, 30, was performing military equipment loading task for the NSE-5 in a Helmand province Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, when he was hit by an armoured fighting vehicle XA-180 wheel from the equipment shift. The wheel weight was more than 260 kilograms.[1]

The wheel caused severe injuries to Senior Warrant Officer Brok and he was transported to the British military Camp Bastion field hospital. The medics transported him to the higher Military Hospital of Kandahar where he died despite the medics efforts to save his life.[2]

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Service

Ivar Brok started his military career among the Estonian Defence Forces in 1997 as a conscript in the Quartermaster Battalion. During the conscript period he successfully passed the junior non-commissioned officer courses. After the end of the service he remained to the armed forces and in 1999 he graduated the Defence Forces Battle School as a senior non-commissioned officer. Vanemveebel Brok served on various ranks among the Quartermaster Battalions study company, Combat Service Support School and the Combat Service Support battalion. Before heading to a foreign field operation Brok served in the 1st Infantry Brigades Combat Service Support Training Center Quartermaster Battalion Logistics Company as a kompaniiveebel.[3]

In 2007 vanemveebel Brok received from Lieutenant General Ants Laaneots in return for an exemplary service the Ground Force Combat Merit Medal. He joined and began his field operation with the current Estonian Afghanistan Contingent support unit NSE-5 on April 24 in 2008. Ivar Brok had previously been to Afghanistan with the NSE-3 as can be regarded as a veteran of the Afghanistan War.[4]

[edit] In memory

[edit] Posthumous recognition

[edit] Political reactions

Flag of Estonia Estonia — The President of the Republic of Estonia expressed his condolences to the family and friends of the member of the Defense Forces who died in Afghanistan.

“Estonia mourns the death of its soldier Sergeant Major Ivar Brok in Afghanistan,” President Toomas Hendrik Ilves said upon learning of the tragic accident that took place in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. “I extend my hand in compassion to the wife and children of Ivar Brok, to all his relatives and friends.”[5]

Flag of Latvia Latvia — Latvian Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins has sent a letter to his Estonian counterpart, Foreign Minister Urmas Paet, offering his deepest sympathies with regard to the death of a soldier of the Estonian Defence Forces, Ivar Brok, in a tragic accident in Afghanistan.

"In this time of grief we commiserate with the family and friends of the Estonian soldier and the people of Estonia," states Minister Riekstins in his letter.[6]

[edit] References