Ivar Brok

Ivar Brok Estonian Ground Force
Born	(1977-07-20)20 July 1977
Died	military hospital † Kandahar, Afghanistan
Allegiance	Estonia
Service/branch	Estonian Ground Force
Years of service	1997–2008
Rank	Senior Warrant Officer 15px
Unit	Estonian Afghanistan Contingent NSE-5 Estonian Afghanistan Contingent NSE-3 1st Infantry Brigade Quartermaster Battalion
Battles/wars	War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
Awards	Combat Merit Medal

Senior Warrant Officer (Estonian: Vanemveebel) (OR-9C) Ivar Brok (20 July 1977 – 23 May 2008) was a member of the Estonian Ground Force Estonian Afghanistan Contingent support unit NSE-5 depot group chief who was killed in an accident in Camp Bastion, Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2008.

On 23 May 2008 OR-9C Ivar Brok, 30, was performing military equipment loading task for the NSE-5 in a Helmand province Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, when he was hit by an armoured fighting vehicle XA-180 wheel from the equipment shift. The wheel weight was more than 260 kilograms.

The wheel caused severe injuries to Senior Warrant Officer Brok and he was transported to the British military Camp Bastion field hospital. The medics transported him to the higher Military Hospital of Kandahar where he died despite the medics efforts to save his life.

Service

Ivar Brok started his military career among the Estonian Defence Forces in 1997 as a conscript in the Quartermaster Battalion. During the conscript period he successfully passed the junior non-commissioned officer courses. After the end of the service he remained to the armed forces and in 1999 he graduated from the Defence Forces Battle School as a senior non-commissioned officer. Vanemveebel Brok served on various ranks among the Quartermaster Battalions study company, Combat Service Support School and the Combat Service Support battalion. Before heading to a foreign field operation Brok served in the 1st Infantry Brigades Combat Service Support Training Center Quartermaster Battalion Logistics Company as a kompaniiveebel.

In 2007 vanemveebel Brok received from Lieutenant General Ants Laaneots in return for an exemplary service the Ground Force Combat Merit Medal. He joined and began his field operation with the current Estonian Afghanistan Contingent support unit NSE-5 on 24 April 2008. Ivar Brok had previously been to Afghanistan with the NSE-3 as can be regarded as a veteran of the Afghanistan War.

Political reactions

Estonia — The President of the Republic of Estonia expressed his condolences to Brok's family and friends.

Estonia mourns the death of its soldier Sergeant Major Ivar Brok in Afghanistan,” President Toomas Hendrik Ilves said upon learning of the tragic accident that took place in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. “I extend my hand in compassion to the wife and children of Ivar Brok, to all his relatives and friends.”

Latvia — Latvian Foreign Minister Maris Riekstins sent a letter to his Estonian counterpart, Foreign Minister Urmas Paet, offering his deepest sympathies with regard to the death of a soldier of the Estonian Defence Forces, Ivar Brok, in a tragic accident in Afghanistan.

In this time of grief we commiserate with the family and friends of the Estonian soldier and the people of Estonia," stated Minister Riekstins in his letter.