In The News

Tributes are paid to Army officer from Portadown

Tributes are paid to Army officer from Portadown

Tributes have been paid to an Army Officer from Portadown who was killed along with two colleagues in Afghanistan.

Lieutenant Neal Turkington, who was 26, died when a renegade Afghan soldier opened fire at a camp in Helmand province. Major James Bowman and Corporal Arjun Purja Pun also died in the attack.

All three were members of the 1st. Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles.

The Afghan soldier responsible for the attack escaped from the camp and remains on the run.

Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Strickland MBE, Commanding Officer 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, Combined Forces Nahr-e-Saraj South has paid tribute to Neal Turkington.

"Lieutenant Turkington was cruelly taken from us in his prime, gunned down as he took his turn on duty in the Company Operations Room.

"He was a courageous and determined platoon commander who was already known across the battalion as a man who could be trusted”.

The MP for Upper Bann, David Simpson, who has visited the Turkington family, said the officer’s parents were very proud of what their son had achieved in such a short life.

Lieutenant Turkington had received his commission earlier this year and was posted to Afghanistan in March.

 

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