Allain Tikko (1979 in Kõpu,

Viljandimaa Viljandi County ( or ''Viljandimaa''; ) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in southern Estonia bordering Pärnu, Järva, Jõgeva, Tartu and Valga counties as well as Latvia. History Viljandimaa, under the German name of ''Kreis ...

– 15 June 2009) was an

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

n warrant officer (

veebel is an Estonian military rank which has existed since the 20th century. The word is derived from the German rank name of , and is usually, but incorrectly, translated into English as 'sergeant'. The official translation given by the Estonian Ar ...

) in charge of a jagu (a small military unit) in ESTCOY-8, which had been posted in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

as a part of

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

's military operations, itself a part of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

continuing operations in Afghanistan.

Service

Vbl Tikko began military service in 1998 in Battle School of EDF (Kaitseväe Lahingukool) and has served in the Scoutspataljon, the staff of the

Maavägi The Estonian Land Forces (), unofficially referred to as the Estonian Army, is the name of the unified ground forces among the Estonian Defense Forces where it has an offensive military formation role. The Estonian Land Forces is currently the ...

(Ground Forces) and the operative department of the

Headquarters of the Estonian Defence Forces The Headquarters of the Estonian Defence Forces is the working body of the Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces and joint staff of the Estonian Defence Forces. Its main tasks include supporting the activities of the Commander and Deputy Comm ...

. Before ESTCOY-8's mission in Afghanistan, Tikko had participated in three foreign missions: he had headed a section in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

in 2003 as a part of the Baltic Reconnaissance Squadron (BALTSQN) for

KFOR KFOR may refer to: * KFOR (AM), a radio station (1240 AM) licensed to Lincoln, Nebraska, United States, * KFOR-TV, a television station (channel 4 analog/27 digital) licensed to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, * KFOR-TV (Nebraska), a defun ...

; he had headed an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

section of ESTPLA-9 in Iraq in 2004, and he had served in Afghanistan in 2007 in ESTCOY-4.''

Eesti Ekspress ''Eesti Ekspress'' (''Estonian Express'') is an Estonian weekly newspaper. Founded in 1989, ''Eesti Ekspress'' was the first politically independent newspaper in the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic during the Soviet control of Estonia. Th ...

'', 15 June 2009, 14:31
Afganistanis langes Eesti kaitseväelane, kolm said haavata
mil.ee, 15 June 2009
Afganistanis langes kaitseväelane
/ref>''

Äripäev ''Äripäev'' (Estonian for "Business Day") is an Estonian financial newspaper in tabloid format. It was founded in 1989 by '' Dagens Industri'', a leading Swedish financial newspaper. The first issue of ''Äripäev'' was published on 9 October ...

'', 15 June 2009, 14:35
Afganistanis langes Eesti kaitseväelane
by Silvia Kruusmaa

Awards

Vbl Tikko has been awarded a () and a Service Medal for Battle Services of Estonian Defence Forces ().

Death

On early morning of 15 June 2009, vbl Tikko's squad was ambushed in about one kilometre from the Pimon patrol base in the

Helmand Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 18 ...

province. Opposing combatants fired a

rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG), also known colloquially as a rocket launcher, is a Shoulder-fired missile, shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon that launches rockets equipped with a Shaped charge, shaped-charge explosive warhead. Most RPGs can ...

upon the squad from about , killing Tikko and wounding three other members of his unit.'' Sakala'', 15 June 2009, 20:23
Viljandimaalt pärit sõdur hukkus Afganistanis
by Marko Suurmägi

Background

Estonia has been participating in NATO operations in Afghanistan since 2003. Before vbl Tikko, three Estonian soldiers had died in the course of these operations.''

Uus Eesti ''Uus Eesti'' (New Estonia) was a daily newspaper published in Estonia from September 1935 until the Soviet occupation of Estonia in June 1940. The newspaper was politically aligned with the Estonian government. History The paper was established ...

'' (citing the

Baltic News Service The Baltic News Service (BNS) is the largest news agency operating in the Baltic States. Founded in April 1990, by a group of students (the founding CEO was Allan Martinson), it sought to inform foreign correspondents in Moscow of developmen ...

), 15 June 2009
Riigijuhid avaldasid kaastunnet Allain Tikko lähedastele
/ref> After the scheduled five-month increase of military presence in July, intended to improve security during the upcoming presidential elections of Afghanistan, Estonian military contingent will be the second largest (after the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

) of the participating NATO forces. delfi.ee (citing ''

Eesti Päevaleht (Estonia Daily) is a major daily Estonian newspaper, from the same publishers as the weekly '' Eesti Ekspress''. Another newspaper under the same name is published weekly in Stockholm, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is ...

''), 8 June 2009, 7:05
Eesti sõjavägi – suurim Afganistanis
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tikko, Allain 1979 births 2009 deaths People from Põhja-Sakala Parish Estonian military personnel killed in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Recipients of the Military Order of the Cross of the Eagle