Czech soldier killed in Afghanistan to receive US medal

CTK

Czech military dog handler Tomas Prochazka, killed during a mission in Afghanistan last year, will receive the United States Armed Forces Bronze Star Medal in memoriam from a representative of the US embassy on Friday, the Defence Ministry reported in a press release today.

The ceremony, held at the military dog-handling centre at Chotyne, north Bohemia, where Prochazka served, will be attended by Czech Chief of Staff Ales Opata.

The United States Armed Forces Bronze Star Medal is among the US's ten highest military decorations, created during the Second World War.

The prerequisite of receiving the Bronze Star Medal is bravery in combat against the enemy and exemplary service in combat.

Prochazka was the 14th Czech soldier to die in the Afghan mission since 2002. He was killed at the Shindand Air Base in the Herat province by an Afghan soldier who started shooting at a vehicle crewed by Czech soldiers. The shooter also injured two special forces members present in the vehicle.

This year, President Milos Zeman awarded the Czech Medal of Heroism to Prochazka and promoted him to the rank of staff warrant officer in memoriam.

sinfin.digital