Private Timothy Aplin

Private Timothy Aplin

2nd Commando Regiment

TIMOTHY JAMES APLIN

A Man for all Seasons

KIA, AFGHANISTAN  21 JUNE 2010

(8251206)

Timothy Aplin, known as “Tim”, was born in May 1972, the only son of Margaret Aplin of Brisbane, Queensland.

He spent most of his formative years surrounded by a large extended family of cousins, aunts, and uncles in the Western suburbs of Brisbane, where he attended Kenmore Primary and began his secondary schooling at Indooroopilly State High School.

He and his mother lived briefly in Sydney, where he was involved in the army cadets, igniting a passion for life in the military.

Tim later returned to Queensland and continued his education as a boarder at Toowoomba Grammar School and, later, as a day student at Brisbane Boys’ College.

Private Timothy Aplin
Private Timothy Aplin
Private Timothy Aplin
Private Timothy Aplin
Private Timothy Aplin

Tim was an allrounder sportsman playing schoolboy AFL from an early age.

He also represented Toowoomba Grammar and BBC in the seconds in Rugby, as well as representing the various Regiments to which he was posted.

In later years he was an avid Broncos supporter.

Private Timothy Aplin

In the mid-1980s Tim travelled with his mother to Europe, where he relished visits to the Imperial War Museum and the National Army Museum in London, as well as the Arc de Triumph and Musée de l’Armée in Paris.

According to Margaret, “Tim was letting me know where his future was heading”.

The year following their return Margaret met her husband Richard and Tim became his loving son and brother to Jonathan.

Private Timothy Aplin
Private Timothy Aplin
Private Timothy Aplin

After completing year 12, Tim studied Agricultural Science at Gatton College, Brisbane, before enlisting in the Australian Army under the Ready Reserves Scheme in February 1992.

After training at Kapooka and Singleton, he served as a private in the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, rising to the rank of corporal.

After 12 months of full-time service Tim went part-time and for the next two years continued studying in Brisbane.

Private Timothy Aplin

He enlisted in the Regular Army in 1995 and was posted to 1RAR in Townsville, fulfilling a lifelong dream to become a full-time soldier.

There he met his first wife, whom he married in April 1998, and they soon began a family.

In 2000 the couple welcomed their daughter followed by their son in 2002.

Private Timothy Aplin
Private Timothy Aplin

Tim developed into a proficient soldier. Rising to the rank of sergeant, he deployed to East Timor in 2000 to help provide security during the country’s transition to independence.

He went with 2RAR to Iraq in 2003, forming part of the first security detachment to ensure the safety of Australian government and military personnel in Baghdad following the overthrow of Ba’athist dictator Saddam Hussein.

Private Timothy Aplin
Private Timothy Aplin

On his return to Townsville Tim remained with 2RAR with one of his appointments the Sergeant of 2 RAR Pioneers.

Private Timothy Aplin
Private Timothy Aplin

Tim’s first marriage ended after his return, although the two remained good friends and he continued to cherish his time spent with his two children.

In 2006 Tim was posted to the Royal Military College, Duntroon, as a drill sergeant for officer cadets. By then he had met his second wife and they married in 2008.

He returned periodically to Queensland for holidays with his children on the Gold Coast, skiing in New Zealand, camping with his brother, and visiting family and friends in Brisbane.

Private Timothy Aplin
Private Timothy Aplin
Private Timothy Aplin

Tim, at the age of 36, was determined to undertake the Special Forces selection process, and after a gruelling six-week selection and training course he qualified for entry into 4RAR (Commando), the now 2 Commando Regiment.

On the day Tim was offered his entry to 4RAR (Commando) he was also offered his promotion to Warrant Officer, 2 RAR.  Tim chose the Commandos.

Based at Holsworthy in Sydney, Tim willingly accepted a reduction in rank to Private, whereupon he trained as a team demolitions specialist and deployed to Afghanistan with the Special Operations Task Group in January 2009.

Private Timothy Aplin

Based at Camp Russell at the multinational task force base at Tarin Kot, Tim was involved in counter-insurgency operations in Uruzgan and adjoining provinces in southern Afghanistan.

At that time the Commandos were involved in heavy fighting in neighboring Helmand province in an effort to disrupt the supply of arms feeding the insurgency in Uruzgan.

Private Timothy Aplin

After a brief return to Australia in 2009, Tim deployed once again to Afghanistan, where the Special Operations Task Group continued to target the insurgency.

In Operation Hamkani, a four-day disruption operation in the Shah Wali Kot district of northern Kandahar province, the Commandos contributed to the defeat of more than 100 Taliban insurgents.

For this, Special Operations Command received the first battle honour awarded to an Australian Army unit since the Vietnam War.

Private Timothy Aplin

In the early hours of 21 June 2010 an American UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed while transporting Australian commandos near Shah Wali Kot.

Among the 14 casualties on board was Private Timothy Aplin, who was one of three Australians who died in the crash.

He was brought home and buried with full military honours in the Native Garden at the Mount Gravatt Crematorium in Brisbane.

He was 38 years old.

Private Timothy Aplin
Private Timothy Aplin
Private Timothy Aplin
Private Timothy Aplin

Aplin was a highly skilled and professional soldier who lived life to its fullest. He was well-respected by those who served alongside him, who continue to remember their mate “Aps” or “Apples” by his character, professionalism, humour, and “shoddy attempts to grow a beard”.

He was, in the words of one Australian soldier, “the best platoon sergeant a new digger could ever get”. Those who trained with Tim remember his calming and reassuring influence on those around him. For them, Tim was an “old mare in a stockyard with young, nervous and excitable horses”.

Tim loved the army and his mates there, but above all he loved his two children and his extended family.  Time has not diminished their sadness, and his loss is still felt today. For his family, Tim’s humour, kindness, and practical no-fuss approach to life provides them with the courage to navigate through what continues to be an extremely difficult time.

Private Timothy Aplin

Private Timothy Aplin’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra along with the 41 other Australians who died as a result of their service in Afghanistan.

Private Timothy Aplin
Private Timothy Aplin
Private Timothy Aplin