Official citation: Staff Sergeant Kim Hughes, The Royal Logistic Corps

545PM GMT eighteen March 2010

On sixteen August 09, Staff Sergeant Hughes, a High Threat Improvised Explosive Device Disposal (IEDD) operator, along with a Royal Engineers Search Team (REST), was tasked to yield close await to the 2 RIFLES Battlegroup during an operation to transparent a route, south west of Sangin.

In credentials for the operation, elements of A Company deployed early to secure an Emergency Helicopter Landing Site and besiege compounds to the south of the track as piece of the middle cordon.

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Whilst conducting these rough moves the point territory instituted a Victim Operated IED (VOIED) ensuing in a really critical casualty.

During the misadventure liberation that followed, the stretcher-bearers instituted a second VOIED that resulted in dual crew being killed undisguised and 4 alternative really critical casualties, one of whom after died from his wounds.

The area was effectively an IED minefield, over-watched by the rivalry and the territory were stuck inside of it. Hughes and his group were called in to this nerve-racking and pell-mell incident to remove the casualties and redeem the bodies.

Speed was positively necessary if serve lives were not to be lost.

Without dilettante protecting wardrobe in sequence to save time, Hughes set about clearing a trail to the injured, on condition that consistent soundness that assistance was on the way.

On reaching the initial really bad harmed infantryman he rescued a serve VOIED inside of one metre of the misadventure that, since their proximity, constituted a grave and evident hazard to the lives of all the casualties.

Without meaningful the place of the energy source, but acutely attuned to the deadly risk he was confronting and the major need to get healing courtesy to the casualties rapidly, Hughes quietly carried out primer neutralisation of the device; any blunder would have valid now fatal.

This was a Category A movement usually conducted in one of dual circumstances; a warrant unfolding where explosives have been strapped to an trusting particular and a mass misadventure eventuality where not receiving movement is sure to outcome in serve casualties.

Both place the importance on saving alternative peoples lives even, if necessary, at the responsibility of the operator. It was an unusual act. With shots keeping the rivalry at bay, Hughes coolly incited his courtesy to reaching the superfluous casualties and retrieving the dead.

Clearing a trail brazen he rescued dual serve VOIEDs and, twice more, carried out primer neutralisation. His definitely unselfish movement enabled all the casualties to be extracted and the bodies recovered.

Even at this theatre Hughes charge was not finished. The Royal Engineers Search Team (REST) had rescued a serve 4 VOIEDs in the evident area and stoically, similar to he has on over 80 alternative occasions in the last five months, he set about disposing of them too.

Dealing with any form of IED is dangerous; to understanding with 7 VOIEDs related in a singular circuit, in a mass misadventure scenario, utilizing primer neutralisation techniques once, never mind 3 times, is the singular majority superb movement of bomb ordnance ordering ever available in Afghanistan.

That he did it but the security of dilettante protecting wardrobe serves even some-more to denote his superb gallantry. Hughes is unquestionably honourable of the top turn of open recognition.