Remembering the Fallen: on this day in 2008, Corporal Jason Stuart Barnes from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, attached to 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, died in Afghanistan. He was driving a Vector ambulance vehicle when it hit an IED. As an armourer, his job was to maintain the company's weapons, but he at times drove the ambulance - in this instance he was on his way back to base after transporting a seriously-injured comrade (wounded in an earlier explosion) who required being evacuated by helicopter. He had previously served in Iraq, and was known for his commitment and determination. Company Commander, Major Grant Haywood, said: "Corporal Barnes was one of the true ‘all rounders’ and epitomised the ‘fighter first’ spirit of X Company. His boundless energy and selfless commitment meant he was the first to volunteer for the most difficult tasks and relished the opportunity to deploy on the ground in whatever the role. He was not one to be left behind when there was an operation to be conducted. In his primary role as an armourer, he was first class, never one to call time when there was a job to be done. He will be remembered here as an individual with natural charm, dry wit and a real zest for life. He died as he lived, placing others first and doing what he wanted to do, so well, without fear or complaint. Nothing exemplifies this more than the last moments before his passing where he helped to save the life of a colleague who was critically injured." Jason, from Exeter, was 25 years old and married.