On 26 July 2010 Sapper Smith and his Search team deployed in support of 40 Commando Royal Marines Battlegroup, Combined Force Sangin.
The team was conducting a Counter-Improvised Explosive Device clearance in order to enable a joint UK-Afghan operation to improve Afghan District and Provincial Government influence and security in the area around the Sangin District Centre.
Whilst elements of the Counter-Improvised Device clearance team were moving into position, a smoke screen was requested to enable their movement.
As this was being undertaken, initial reports suggest that one of the smoke shells may have fallen short of its intended target, tragically killing Sapper Smith.
Sapper Mark Antony Smith was 26 years old and from Swanley, Kent. He enlisted into the Corps of Royal Engineers in June 2001 and, following training as a Combat Engineer and trade training as a Communications and Information Systems Operator, he was posted to 36 Engineer Regiment in December 2002.
He deployed to Iraq in 2003 and deployed on his first tour to Afghanistan in 2007. In April 2010 he volunteered for a second tour to Afghanistan on Operation HERRICK 12 having successfully completed the Royal Engineer Search Course.
Sapper Smith was a member of the Joint Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group, part of the Counter-Improvised Explosive Device Task Force. His role was as a Searcher in a Royal Engineer Search Team.
A close friend has made the following statement on behalf of Sapper Antony Smith's family: "Mark Smith, fondly known by his friends as 'Smit' and Army colleagues as 'Smudge', was truly unique. His cheeky grin could light up a room and his zest for life was an inspiration to us all. His friendship and loyalty to those closest to him knew no bounds and I am truly honoured to have called him my friend.
"Smit will be greatly missed but it is difficult to think of him without smiling as he had a unique ability to lift anyone from the most sombre of moods and was always the life and soul of the party. He loved his Army life and his courage and bravery, all inspiring. Mark was a lovable rogue and the world will certainly be a sadder place without him."
Lieutenant Colonel David Southall MBE Royal Engineers, Commanding Officer Counter-Improvised Explosive Device Task Force, said: "Sapper Mark Smith, or Smudge to his friends, was one of life's real characters. A scruffy, loveable, wheeler-dealer, he was often near to, but never seemingly the cause of, endless mischief. Big in character and big in heart, he'd charm his way out of the stickiest of situations and we loved him for it. Having served the Corps for eight years, Smudge volunteered for a 2nd tour in Afghanistan as part of a C-IED Search Team.
"He plied his trade daily, hunting out IEDs in the most deadly of areas. As an accomplished senior Sapper the younger lads relied much on his presence, his sharp eye and quick wit sustained them all through thick and thin. Mark's death, a tragic accident, has shocked us all.
"He leaves behind his mother and brother whose grief we share at this most difficult of times."
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