Top Tweets for #KennethRowe

3 months ago

#LanceCorporal #KennethRowe was supposed to leave his remote base in #Afghanistan 🇦🇫 on 23rd July 2008. Instead, the young #RoyalArmyVeterinaryCorps #RAVC soldier asked to remain. His reason was practical rather than dramatic. Rowe was an Ammunition and Explosives Search dog handler attached to #2ndBattalion, The #ParachuteRegiment 🦅🟦, and he was concerned that his departure would leave the #soldiers around him without sufficient specialist search support. His work involved taking a trained dog ahead with patrols to locate concealed #weapons, ammunition and #explosives before they could be used against #British 🇬🇧 and other coalition troops or #Afghan civilians. Commanders agreed that he could stay. The following evening, Rowe went out again with his yellow Labrador, Sasha. Neither would return. Their deaths on 24th July would became one of the most #poignant stories involving Britain's #military working dog teams during the Afghanistan campaign. Rowe had joined the #Army in #Newcastle on 7th March 2005. He completed his initial training at Winchester that June and qualified in military dog handling the following month. An early deployment to #NorthernIreland helped establish his reputation as an unusually capable handler and trainer. Colleagues remembered a proud Geordie with considerable energy, an enthusiasm for football and running, and an ability to lift morale wherever he went. He represented both his unit and the Royal Army Veterinary Corps in football and was regarded as one of the quickest runners in the unit. He was equally remembered for games of Risk and Monopoly during quieter moments and for nights that could end with him singing karaoke. His professional ambitions were taken seriously by those above him. Senior colleagues described him as a rising talent who constantly asked questions because he wanted to understand his profession better. He also helped raise thousands for charities including #HelpForHeroes and #SSAFA. Rowe deployed to Afghanistan in March 2008, where his specialist skills became particularly important. #British forces in #Helmand faced the persistent danger of hidden explosives and weapons caches, making military working dog teams valuable to patrols moving through contested areas. Rowe operated from Forward Operating Base #Inkerman in northern Helmand alongside soldiers of #2PARA. Sasha worked with him as an explosives search dog. The Labrador developed an impressive operational record, making confirmed discoveries of ammunition and explosives during her deployment. The partnership between handler and animal required considerable trust. A search dog might detect danger before any soldier could see it, but doing so meant moving into precisely the areas where hidden weapons or enemy forces might be present. Rowe's commanders recognised that this repeatedly placed him and Sasha in exposed positions. Their specialist role was therefore not separate from the patrol. It was one of the things allowing the patrol to move forward. On the evening of 24th July, Rowe's company moved out from Inkerman during an operation intended to prevent Taliban forces threatening the #Helmand #RiverValley and the area surrounding the base. Rowe and Sasha accompanied the troops as part of the search capability. During contact with enemy forces, both handler and dog were killed. The #MOD #MinistryOfDefence emphasised that Rowe had remained composed and professional while facing substantial danger and was supporting his colleagues when he died. The loss was felt particularly strongly because he had voluntarily extended his time at Inkerman when he could already have been preparing to leave. Accounts from those who served with him repeatedly returned to that decision. It was seen not as an isolated gesture but as characteristic of someone who placed considerable importance on doing his job properly and supporting the people around him. He left behind his parents, Lyn and Kenneth, and two sisters. CONTINUED:

Cairnlodge1's tweet photo. #LanceCorporal #KennethRowe was supposed to leave his remote base in #Afghanistan 🇦🇫 on 23rd July 2008. Instead, the young #RoyalArmyVeterinaryCorps #RAVC soldier asked to remain. His reason was practical rather than dramatic. Rowe was an Ammunition and Explosives Search dog handler attached to #2ndBattalion, The #ParachuteRegiment 🦅🟦, and he was concerned that his departure would leave the #soldiers around him without sufficient specialist search support. His work involved taking a trained dog ahead with patrols to locate concealed #weapons, ammunition and #explosives before they could be used against #British 🇬🇧 and other coalition troops or #Afghan civilians. Commanders agreed that he could stay. The following evening, Rowe went out again with his yellow Labrador, Sasha. Neither would return. Their deaths on 24th July would became one of the most #poignant stories involving Britain's #military working dog teams during the Afghanistan campaign.

Rowe had joined the #Army in #Newcastle on 7th March 2005. He completed his initial training at Winchester that June and qualified in military dog handling the following month. An early deployment to #NorthernIreland helped establish his reputation as an unusually capable handler and trainer. Colleagues remembered a proud Geordie with considerable energy, an enthusiasm for football and running, and an ability to lift morale wherever he went. He represented both his unit and the Royal Army Veterinary Corps in football and was regarded as one of the quickest runners in the unit. He was equally remembered for games of Risk and Monopoly during quieter moments and for nights that could end with him singing karaoke. His professional ambitions were taken seriously by those above him. Senior colleagues described him as a rising talent who constantly asked questions because he wanted to understand his profession better. He also helped raise thousands for charities including #HelpForHeroes and #SSAFA.

Rowe deployed to Afghanistan in March 2008, where his specialist skills became particularly important. #British forces in #Helmand faced the persistent danger of hidden explosives and weapons caches, making military working dog teams valuable to patrols moving through contested areas. Rowe operated from Forward Operating Base #Inkerman in northern Helmand alongside soldiers of #2PARA. Sasha worked with him as an explosives search dog. The Labrador developed an impressive operational record, making confirmed discoveries of ammunition and explosives during her deployment. The partnership between handler and animal required considerable trust. A search dog might detect danger before any soldier could see it, but doing so meant moving into precisely the areas where hidden weapons or enemy forces might be present. Rowe's commanders recognised that this repeatedly placed him and Sasha in exposed positions. Their specialist role was therefore not separate from the patrol. It was one of the things allowing the patrol to move forward.

On the evening of 24th July, Rowe's company moved out from Inkerman during an operation intended to prevent Taliban forces threatening the #Helmand #RiverValley and the area surrounding the base. Rowe and Sasha accompanied the troops as part of the search capability. During contact with enemy forces, both handler and dog were killed. The #MOD #MinistryOfDefence emphasised that Rowe had remained composed and professional while facing substantial danger and was supporting his colleagues when he died. The loss was felt particularly strongly because he had voluntarily extended his time at Inkerman when he could already have been preparing to leave. Accounts from those who served with him repeatedly returned to that decision. It was seen not as an isolated gesture but as characteristic of someone who placed considerable importance on doing his job properly and supporting the people around him. He left behind his parents, Lyn and Kenneth, and two sisters.

CONTINUED:

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Aidan Foster-Carter

@fcaidan

almost 4 years ago

RIP #KennethRowe. What a life! Born No Kum Sol in northern Korea, in 1953 he flew his MiG-15 across the DMZ to Kimpo. Later he became American. Great book on him by @blaineharden: https://t.co/t7N5uClgkC & a nice summary obituary by @OliverJia1014: https://t.co/xuRmnNr2UL

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