Staff Sergeant Olaf Sean George Schmid, known as Oz, died when a roadside bomb his improvised explosive device disposal (IEDD) team was trying to defuse went off.
The 30-year-old's widow said she had lost her 'soul mate', which his commanding officer described him as 'simply the bravest and most courageous man I have ever met'.
SSgt Schmid, who died in the Sangin region of Helmand province, had been in Afghanistan since June 10th and took part in this summer's Operation Panther's Claw, during which time he and his team defused 64 IEDs.
His wife Christina, who he lived with in Winchester with stepson Laird, said in a statement: 'Oz was a phenomenal husband and loving father who was cruelly murdered on his last day of a relentless five-month tour. He was my best friend and soul mate. The pain of losing him is overwhelming. I take comfort knowing he saved countless lives with his hard work. I am so proud of him.'
Lieutenant Colonel Robert Thomson, the staff sergeant's commanding officer, led tributes for the Cornwall-born soldier from the army.
'No matter how difficult or lethal the task which lay in front of us, he was the man who only saw solutions,' he said.
'He saved lives in 2 Rifles time after time and for that he will retain a very special place in every heart of every rifleman in our extraordinary battle group. Superlatives do not do the man justice. Better than the best. Better than the best of the best. Our thoughts and prayers are with his beloved family.'
SSgt Schmid's death brings the UK military death-toll in Afghanistan to 224.
The 30-year-old's widow said she had lost her 'soul mate', which his commanding officer described him as 'simply the bravest and most courageous man I have ever met'.
SSgt Schmid, who died in the Sangin region of Helmand province, had been in Afghanistan since June 10th and took part in this summer's Operation Panther's Claw, during which time he and his team defused 64 IEDs.
His wife Christina, who he lived with in Winchester with stepson Laird, said in a statement: 'Oz was a phenomenal husband and loving father who was cruelly murdered on his last day of a relentless five-month tour. He was my best friend and soul mate. The pain of losing him is overwhelming. I take comfort knowing he saved countless lives with his hard work. I am so proud of him.'
Lieutenant Colonel Robert Thomson, the staff sergeant's commanding officer, led tributes for the Cornwall-born soldier from the army.
'No matter how difficult or lethal the task which lay in front of us, he was the man who only saw solutions,' he said.
'He saved lives in 2 Rifles time after time and for that he will retain a very special place in every heart of every rifleman in our extraordinary battle group. Superlatives do not do the man justice. Better than the best. Better than the best of the best. Our thoughts and prayers are with his beloved family.'
SSgt Schmid's death brings the UK military death-toll in Afghanistan to 224.
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