Slain soldier returns home to high honors

The body of a Czech soldier killed in Afghanistan arrived at the Prague-Kbely military airport June 5 to a hero's welcome.

Sergeant Robert Vyroubal was killed after the vehicle carrying him, an Afghan interpreter and two other soldiers struck an improvised explosive device (IED) in Afghanistan's Wardak province May 31, said Czech Army (AČR) spokeswoman Jana Růžičková.

Vyroubal, 31, is the fourth Czech service member to die in Afghanistan and the first in three years. The Afghan interpreter was also killed in the explosion.

Defense Minister Alexandr Vondra, Army Chief of Staff General Vlastimil Picek and family members were among those waiting at the airfield to greet the body June 5.

After an honor guard transferred the casket to a hearse, the Joint Forces Chaplain recited words of farewell. Vondra then gave a speech in which he called Vyroubal a "hero" who "gave the highest price of human life."

He also announced he was posthumously promoting Vyroubal to the rank of lieutenant and awarding him the State Defense Cross, the Defense Ministry's highest honor.

Vyroubal and the other soldiers involved in the incident were part of the Second AČR Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (OMLT), headquartered at Carwile Military Base in southern Wardak province. They were en route to a meeting with local authorities in the village of Salar, about 100 kilometers southwest of Kabul, when their Light Armored Vehicle tripped a roadside bomb, Růžičková said.

"We believe that the bomb was very powerful, containing about 50 kilograms of explosives," Picek said.  

Vyroubal was fatally injured and died onsite.

The other two soldiers - a staff sergeant who was seriously injured and unit commander Lt. Col. Michal Kucharský, who was lightly injured - were airlifted along with the Afghan interpreter to Shank Military Base in Logar Province. The interpreter succumbed to his injuries shortly thereafter.

The staff sergeant has been transported to the Central Military Hospital in Prague-Střešovice, where he is in stable condition.

Kucharský is still in Afghanistan in the care of doctors at Shank Military Base. He is expected to return to his unit within days.

Despite the tragedy, Vondra said the Czech military operations in Afghanistan would persist.

"Our soldiers will continue to carry out their duties," he said.

Parliament has cleared the deployment of 720 troops to Afghanistan in 2011, the largest number ever.

The 2nd OMLT, which comprises 54 personnel mainly from the 73rd Tank Battalion in Práslavice, north Moravia, helps train an Afghan National Army "Kandak," a unit roughly the size of a battalion.

The 1st OMLT was deployed in September 2010 for a six-month rotation and was replaced by the 2nd unit in April.

It is one of four AČR operations in Afghanistan, along with the ISAF-commanded Task Force in Kabul, the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Logar province, and the 6th Helicopter Unit in Paktika province.

A memorial ceremony for Vyroubal is scheduled for June 30, Armed Forces Day.

Gordon LaForge can be reached at
features@praguepost.com