It is with deep regret the Australian Defence Force announces the death of Lance Corporal Andrew Gordon Jones during operations in Afghanistan on 30 May 2011.
Twenty five year old Lance Corporal Jones was from the 9th Force Support Battalion in Amberley. Lance Corporal Jones was serving with the Force Support Unit. This was his first deployment to Afghanistan.
Lance Corporal Jones leaves behind his loving parents, two younger siblings and girlfriend, who are receiving support from Defence.
Lance Corporal Jones was born in Melbourne, Victoria in 1986. He joined the Army in 2004. After recruit training, he completed his initial employment training as a cook and was posted to the Catering Platoon of the 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment. He was posted to the 9th Force Support Battalion in 2008.
Lance Corporal Jones’ first operational deployment was to East Timor in 2008. His second, to Afghanistan, commenced in November 2010.
Lance Corporal Jones was a loyal, reliable and trustworthy soldier who was dedicated to serving his country. He was a team player who loved his job. He had a quiet personality but enjoyed a joke with his mates.
He was a skilled cook who was the first to volunteer to go on the road or on exercise. In 2010, he was promoted to Lance Corporal upon completing his Junior Leader Course. He displayed definite leadership potential.
His interests included chess, reading, computers, drawing and soccer.
Lance Corporal Jones was awarded:
- the Australian Service Medal with clasp Timor–Leste
- Australian Defence Medal
- the Australian Active Service Medal with ICAT Clasp
- the Afghanistan Campaign Medal
- the NATO ISAF Medal.
During Lance Corporal Jones service in the Australian Army, he deployed on the following operations:
- Operation Astute (East Timor) – Jul 2008 – Oct 2008
- Operation Slipper (Afghanistan) – Nov 2010 – May 2011.
Statements and tributes
Lance Corporal Jones' family and girlfriend
Today we are in deep mourning at the loss of our son, brother and boyfriend, Lance Corporal Andrew Jones.
Andrew was a dependable yet cheeky character who we will miss with all our hearts.
Andrew enjoyed his role in the Army and was an excellent soldier. We are sure his mates will also miss him, his professionalism, but most of all his sense of humour.
His dedication to his role as a cook was second to none. He would always call on all his resources to provide the very best meals for his mates, including using his favourite family recipes.
His mates within his unit loved him, not only for his great cooking, but for the great soldier and man he was. We believe Andrew was very, very happy, serving with his friends doing the job he loved.
We would like to especially thank those that helped Andrew in his last hours. We know you did your best to save him and continue to face the big job ahead of you while also dealing with his death.
We request our privacy to deal with our loss and hope the media and public will respect this wish. We will not be making further comment on Andrew’s death and believe the community would understand our need for space to grieve.