Allain Tikko (1979 in

Kõpu Kõpu is a small borough ( et, alevik) in Viljandi County, Estonia. It was the administrative centre of Kõpu Parish. Suure-Kõpu manor Suure-Kõpu manor (german: Gross-Köppo), located in the village, has a history that goes back to 1487. Du ...

Viljandimaa Viljandi County ( et, Viljandi maakond or ''Viljandimaa''; german: Kreis Fellin) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in southern Estonia bordering Pärnu, Järva, Jõgeva, Tartu and Valga counties. History Viljandimaa, under the ...

– 15 June 2009) was an

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

n warrant officer (

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

) 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,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

's military operations, itself a part of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

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 Scouts Battalion ( et, Scoutspataljon) is a battalion of the Estonian Land Forces. It is a part of the 1st Infantry Brigade and acts as its rapid response unit. The battalion is currently based at Tapa and is commanded by Lieutenant colone ...

, the staff of the

Maavägi The Estonian Land Forces ( et, Maavägi), 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. It is currently the largest ...

(Ground Forces) and the operative department of the Head Staff of Kaitsevägi (the Estonian Defence Forces). Before ESTCOY-8's mission in Afghanistan, Tikko had participated in three foreign missions: he had headed a section in

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

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 defunct ...

; he had headed an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

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 Octobe ...

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

Awards

Vbl Tikko has been awarded a ( et, Kaitseväe teenetemärk) and a Service Medal for Battle Services of Estonian Defence Forces ( et, Kaitseväe teenetemärk lahinguliste teenete eest).

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 13 ...

province. Opposing combatants fired a

rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) is a shoulder-fired missile weapon that launches rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier, and are frequently used as anti-tank weapons. These warheads are a ...

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'' 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 then Estonian government. History The paper was established in Septe ...

'' (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 development ...

), 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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

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

Eesti Päevaleht ''Eesti Päevaleht'' ''("Estonia Daily")'' is a major daily Estonian newspaper, from the same publishers as the weekly '' Eesti Ekspress''. It has a daily circulation of around 36,000. History and profile ''Eesti Päevaleht'' was founded on 5 Ju ...

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

References

1979 births 2009 deaths People from Põhja-Sakala Parish Estonian military personnel killed in action Estonian military personnel killed in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) {{Estonia-mil-bio-stub