No Body Armour On Fallen Sas Hero

The Age

Thursday November 1, 2007

By NICOLAS PERPITCH

THE BODY of fallen soldier Matthew Locke was returned to home soil yesterday as it was revealed he was not wearing body armour when fatally shot by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

A sombre ceremony honoured the Special Air Service Regiment sergeant as his coffin was carried by fellow soldiers from a C-130 Hercules after it landed in Perth.

Sergeant Locke was hit in the chest by small arms fire while fighting the Taliban last Thursday in Afghanistan's rugged Oruzgan province. Defence spokesman Brigadier Andrew Nikolic revealed that Sergeant Locke had not been wearing body armour during his patrol's battle with Taliban fighters. But whether the ceramic plates contained in body armour would have saved him was pure speculation, he said.

"Sergeant Locke was involved in a task that required a high degree of agility, stealth and physical endurance," Brigadier Nikolic said. "The extra weight of ceramic armour plates would have had a significant detrimental effect on his patrol's ability to achieve its assigned task."

A private funeral is expected in Perth tomorrow.

© 2007 The Age

Back to News Index | Back to Home