STUART NASHRifleman Stuart Nash was killed in action during combat in Afghanistan on 17 December, 2008.The 21-year-old, from the Gloucestershire-base d 1st Battalion The Rifles, died after he was hit by enemy fire in southern Helmand. Hehad joined the Army just nine months previously.He was wounded as he was covering comrades from a compound rooftop in Zarghun Kalay, Nad e Ali District, Helmand Province.He was an Australian citizen, born in Sydney on 19 April 1987.The parents of Rifleman Nash paid tribute to their son in a statement released by the Ministry of Defence.In it, Bill and Amanda Nash said: "We are shattered of course by the news, but Stuart was doing what he most wanted to do in life, having harboured a wish for a military career since joining the cadets at the age of 13."He went to the UK to join up to get a better opportunity to do real soldiering, which he has done, if only briefly."He was a willing volunteer; our soldiers have chosen their profession and we are, and will remain, proud of their willingness to make these sacrifices for the security of all of us who remain at home."Rifleman Nash enlisted in The Rifles in March 2008 in Gloucester.He attended the Combat Infantryman's Course at the Infantry Training Centre in Catterick, where he quickly established himself as a popular and confident character.He was recognised as having maturity "beyond his years" and was a positive influence on his peers.After passing out of Catterick in September 2008, Rifleman Nash was assigned to the 1st Battalion The Rifles at Beachley Barracks in Chepstow.Following pre-deployment training in the United Kingdom he joined the battalion on operations in Afghanistan.He joined his mentoring and liaison team in Nad e Ali, a District Centre west of Lashkar Gah.Although the newest and youngest member of his team his manner and thorough professionalism instantly gained him acceptance.He stood out as a polite man of strong faith who was always happy, and was always ready to put others before himself. If he was ever the man left behind, the returning patrol was always greeted with chopped wood for a fire and hot water for brews.His Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Joe Cavanagh shared such a brew with Rifleman Nash and his friends the day before he was killed and remembered clearly his impressive and humbling loyalty, good humour, maturity and intellect.Lt Col Cavanagh, said: "Rifleman Nash was clearly thriving on the dual challenges of his own early professional service and the responsibilities of mentoring his Afghan National Army warrior colleagues."He was honest about the difficulty and danger of his work, modest about his own reserves of courage, robust and determined to succeed.“He was already enthusing - utterly realistically - about joining the battalion's reconnaissance or sniper platoons after this operation in Afghanistan."He would have been superb in either. He fell a hero, in combat alongside his fellow Riflemen."His friends from training and his mentoring and liaison team recall that he was undeterred by the dangerous side of soldiering and had joined the Army to do operational service, 'proper soldiering' as he called it.Corporal Joseph Nash, who shared the same name and had quickly become a friend, was with him when he was wounded.Cpl Nash said: "He was shot whilst calling out target indications and returning fire, all the time under heavy enemy fire. Despite being recently out of training he was a professional and a soldier in the best traditions of Australia and Britain."Once a Rifleman always a Rifleman. Swift and Bold."Henry Elwes, Her Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant in Gloucestershire, paid tribute to Rifleman Nash.He said: "The tragic death of a soldier of the 1st Bn The Rifles brings home to us all the appalling risks taken by our forces in the very hostile environment of Afghanistan."Our soldiers are engaged in what is as near as one can get to outright war and they deserve the support of the whole community."It was never going to be an easy mission but I know that they are putting their training to excellent effect and that they will undertake their tasks with true professionalism."As Lord-Lieutenant I speak for the whole of Gloucestershire when I send our deepest sympathy to the family of Rifleman Nash." Rifleman Nash was injured while working as part of the 1 RIFLES Operational Mentoring and Liaison Team Battle Group.His fellow Riflemen administered first aid and he was evacuated by a Medical Emergency Response Team helicopter, but sadly died of his wounds.The soldier is the 134th British serviceman to die in Afghanistan since the start of operations in 2001.
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