Lance Corporal Pool:
A Scottish soldier killed in Afghanistan on Sunday has been named as 26-year-old Lance Corporal Joseph Pool.
Lance Corporal Pool, from Greenock, was serving with the Royal Scots Borderers in Helmand province when he was killed after his platoon came under fire from rocket-propelled grenades in the Nad ‘Ali district. His unit was part of a Brigade Reconnaissance Force tasked with improving the security of Afghans living in the province.
He had originally enlisted in August 2003 and had served in Northern Ireland and Iraq before being posted to Afghanistan. He also served as his battalion’s physical training instructor.
Family and colleagues have been paying tribute to Lance Corporal Pool, whose commanding officer described him as “the ultimate Scotsman”.
Lance Corporal Pool’s family paid the following tribute to him: "Joseph was a loving son to Stella and Roderick, brother of Ryan, loving father of Lee and Jamie and devoted partner to Lynsey. Joseph lived life to the full and was proud of everything he achieved in the Army, always putting others first and doing the best he could at all he did.
"RIP son, we will always love you."
His fiancée, Lynsey Houston, said: "Joe was a loving fiancé and wonderful dad of two boys aged seven and two; he was much loved and he will be missed by all his family and friends."
Lieutenant Colonel Charlie Herbert, Commanding Officer, The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, said: "Lance Corporal Joe Pool was killed in action in Nad 'Ali district on Sunday 5 September. A former King's Own Scottish Borderer, Joe was no stranger to operational tours, having served previously in Northern Ireland and Iraq. Fit and tough as a butcher's dog, he had recently qualified as a Physical Training Instructor and an Anti-Tank Detachment Commander.
"I take some small comfort from the knowledge that he died doing a job that he loved and that he was so very good at. He died a soldier's death, in close combat, bravely and tenaciously taking the fight to the insurgents, and in doing so helping to protect the people of Afghanistan from a barbaric enemy. I suspect that he believed passionately in what he was doing, and I know that he enjoyed it.
"Like so many young soldiers of his generation he had an irrepressible sense of adventure, and a talent for this unique profession of ours. I first met him in Iraq in early 2008 where he was serving with the Brigade Surveillance Company; a task reserved only for the best soldiers within the battalion, and a job which patently suited his natural soldiering skills.
"I was not at all surprised that he volunteered for the Brigade Reconnaissance Force during our tour in Afghanistan, or that he passed the demanding selection and training course with relative ease. As a member of the Brigade Reconnaissance Force he has been at the forefront of this counter-insurgency campaign over the last five months. Arguably they have seen more action than any other sub-unit during this deployment, and Joe was always at the vanguard of their fight.
"Joe was the ultimate Scotsman, exceptionally proud of his heritage, tough, stoical, and incredibly loyal."
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