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Staff Sergeant Brett Linley and S/Sgt Schmid were Ammunition Technical Officers, the soldier heroes portrayed in movie The Hurt Locker who defuse mines threatening the lives of their colleagues.
Olaf, 30 - known as 'Oz' - was posthumously awarded the George Cross in March after being killed in a similar incident in October. His widow Christina collected his medal.
Last night ATO S/Sgt Gareth Wood - a colleague of both men in 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment Royal Logistic Corps - said: "Brett was a great big teddy bear of a man - as brave as they come.
"He leaves a big hole in my life... rest in peace mate. Look after him Oz."
S/Sgt Linley, 29, from Birmingham, began work as one of the Army's elite ATOs in April. Since then he had defused 20 IEDs.
He died on Saturday as he tried to clear a path for B-Company the Royal Gurkha Rifles in the notorious Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand Province.
Just like The Hurt Locker, Brett cordoned off a safe area around an IED, before putting on protective gear to make the "Long Walk" to defuse it.
As he approached the device he could be picked off by sniper or rocket fire from Taliban who planted it.
But there was also the risk of stepping on a booby-trap plate left hidden along the "Long Walk" between the cordon and IED.
S/Sgt Linley never made it. Reports said he was killed instantly.
Former ATO Chris Hunter, 37, who spent a decade as a bomb disposal expert and was an adviser on The Hurt Locker, said: "Nothing can prepare you for the Long Walk. It's the moment you leave the relative safety of the cordon and go in the danger zone.
"From that moment on you are playing an extreme form of chess. Your mind focuses on the bomb and the person who planted it.
"You will be thinking about why it is there. Who is he trying to kill? Civilians - or me? At the same time you know you are under threat from snipers or from a rocket attack. I was shattered to hear this news. It is my understanding Staff Sergeant Linley was desperate to get out to Afghanistan because he was desperate to save lives. His death is absolutely tragic."
Colleagues Brett died protecting also paid an emotional tribute yesterday.
Solent Lieutenant Colonel Gerald Strickland, 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles Battlegroup, said: "The loss has touched us all.
"He had been with us for most of the last three months. I have a vivid memory which I think captures everything that was courageous about him.
"After a soldier had been killed in an IED strike, Staff Sergeant Linley went forward to clear the area so that the soldier's personal effects could be recovered.
"I sat 50 metres away watching his lone figure edging down a wood line, step by painstaking step.
"In the space of an hour, on his own, he found three more IEDs. There was no fanfare, he simply dealt with each device, and then silently moved on to the next. He was a true hero."
Lieutenant Colonel Gareth Bex, CO 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, said: "Our Regiment has been shaken by the news of this latest operational death and my heartfelt condolences go out to Staff Sergeant Brett Linley's parents, partner and friends.
"He was an exceptional man, modest and unassuming, he took immense pride in his work and was remarkable at what he did."
And S/Sgt Ian Johnston, also of 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, said: "The Long Walk was a task undertaken, for which he wanted no thanks. It breaks my heart to say friend, sleep well."
Also killed on Friday and Saturday were Sergeant David Monkhouse, 35, Marine Jonathan Crookes, 26, and Senior Aircraftman Kinikki Griffiths, 20.
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