Army was short of bomb experts in Afghanistan, Olaf Schmid inquest told | World news | The Guardian: "A bomb disposal expert was killed at a time when the British army had only half its desired number of specialists qualified to tackle roadside devices, an inquest has heard.
Olaf Schmid, described during the hearing as a 'giant of a man', died as he tried to defuse bombs in an alleyway during his last patrol before heading back to the UK on leave.
Giving evidence to the inquest in Truro, Colonel Bob Seddon, formerly Britain's top bomb disposal expert, told how in the month after Schmid's death in October 2009, the army had 50% of its desired level of improvised explosive device (IED) specialists.
Seddon, who tendered his resignation recently after saying that the military needed more specialists and is to leave the army in the spring, also said it was a 'constant battle' to keep up with new IEDs developed by the Taliban. The device that killed Schmid had only a low metal content, making it difficult to detect with the equipment the army then had.
The inquest had heard that Schmid, 30, seemed more impatient than normal during the fatal patrol and it emerged that the day before his death his five-year-old stepson Laird had told him it was time for him to come home during a phone call."
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