Colour Serjeant Kevin Charles Fortuna killed in Afghanistan

In the early evening of Monday 23 May 2011, Colour Serjeant* Fortuna was leading a patrol to disrupt enemy forces when he was killed by an improvised explosive device in the Sayedabad Kalay area of the Nahr-e Saraj (South) district of Helmand province.

Colour Serjeant Fortuna deployed to Afghanistan in April 2011 with Machine Gun Platoon, A Company, 1st Battalion The Rifles, in command of a multiple of twelve Riflemen. He was based in Check Point Sarhad in the Nahr-e-Saraj (South) district of Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Funeral:

Date: Thu 9 June

Time: 1400 hrs

Type of funeral: Full military funeral service

Location: St Peters Church

North Hill, Colchester

Essex CO1 1PG

Tel: 01206 868 043

Followed by a private family cremation at Colchester Crematorium

Family Flowers Only

Donations if desired to Help for Heroes and Colchester Zoo

Congregation are requested to arrive and be seated NLT 1330hrs

Cremation

Private family cremation (Family & close friends only)

Colour Serjeant Kevin Charles Fortuna

Colour Serjeant Fortuna was born on 18 June 1974 in Portsmouth, and attended Bourneside Comprehensive in Cheltenham. He joined the Army aged just sixteen, where his potential was recognised at an early stage. He joined the Gloucestershire Regiment in 1991 as a junior leader. Over the course of an exceptional career, Colour Serjeant Fortuna went on to deploy to Yugoslavia, Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. His vast experience, intellectual approach and calm manner led him to a position of great esteem within the Battalion.

Colour Serjeant Fortuna was a phenomenal, irreplaceable individual, who had already been selected for promotion and was very much a star of the future. He cared for those he commanded passionately, and had prepared both his men and himself flawlessly for this deployment. He will be very sorely missed by every man in the Battle Group.

Colour Serjeant Fortuna leaves behind his wife, Nia, mother, Sue, and brother, Kris. The thoughts of the Battle Group are very much with them at this tragic time.

Colour Serjeant Fortuna's family paid the following tribute to him:

"Kevin was a true professional who loved his job and lived life to the full. He gave 19 loyal years to the Army and will be sadly missed by his Wife, Mother, Family and friends."

Lieutenant Colonel James de Labillière DSO MBE, Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion The Rifles, said:

"Colour Serjeant Fortuna was an utterly professional commander, Rifleman and a man of irreproachable integrity.

"His presence strengthened the Battalion and the loss with his passing will be acute. He was remarkable for many reasons, not least his complete and unwavering commitment to his Riflemen and their care. He was restless until he had achieved the very best for them and encouraged them to be restless until they achieved the very best for themselves. He was a master-tactician, and a soldier of great experience. He was to be a Company Serjeant Major in just three months time.

"Tonight I saw the impact of his passing on his tight-knit Multiple, brought together under his leadership over the last 8 months of hard training and latterly operations. Their grief-stricken resolve to get back out and continue the work that Colour Serjeant Fortuna had set in motion was awe-inspiring. It is a testament to his legacy, which will, forever, bond that band of Riflemen together.

"I will never forget him and nor will 1 RIFLES. I relied often on his considered and impeccable judgement. And on his humour and sense of fun. His name joins the list of Rifles' heroes from which we will always draw inspiration and courage.

"At this impossibly difficult time our prayers and thoughts rest with his wife, Nia, and his Mother Sue and Brother Kris.

"Swift and Bold."

Major Carl Boswell, Officer Commanding A Company, 1st Battalion The Rifles, said:

"Colour Serjeant Fortuna was the finest of Riflemen and a good friend. His energy and enthusiasm for life were infectious and endless, his modesty humbling, and his resourcefulness inspiring. His core inner strength and confidence enabled an air of invulnerability; nothing was too much for him in both caring and understanding the needs of his Riflemen and ensuring mission success. But whether for his beloved wife Nia or for his fellow Riflemen, his first priority was to care for others. He was easy going, relaxed, yet hard working and professional, and had a waterproof smile that kept others going when things got tough.

"His wife and friends were all proud of him, as were we, his Brothers in Arms in Afghanistan. Our thoughts here are now with all those who knew him at this unimaginably awful time; we will not forget our Brother."

Major Jason Durup Royal Marines, Officer Commanding K Company, 42 Commando Royal Marines, said:

"I liked Colour Serjeant Fortuna instantly, as did everyone who met him. A towering individual he was an unassuming, proud and professional Rifleman who displayed all the qualities one would expect from someone about to be promoted to Warrant Officer: determination, unselfishness, courage, leadership and cheerfulness in adversity.

"This ethos was recognised and shared by the Royal Marines Commando colleagues with whom he lived and fought side by side. It was obvious his men were devoted to him and that there was a special bond between them; a strong identity that comes from being a small group of Rifleman operating in an isolated check point.

"This loss will be felt so deeply by Riflemen and Royal Marines alike. Colour Serjeant Fortuna was killed by an insurgent Improvised Explosive Device whilst leading his men; a cynical and cowardly mechanism of death that is unbecoming a man of his courage and stature. He will be missed by the 'Black Knights' of Kilo Company, 42 Commando Royal Marines and our thoughts are with his family, friends and the men he led and leaves behind."

Major Paul Kyte, Officer Commanding Support Company, 1st Battalion The Rifles, said:

"Colour Serjeant Fortuna was simply a pleasure to know. He was everything that I could ask for in a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer, and so much more. He was an utterly committed Rifleman, who had excelled himself time and again tactically in the field, as an instructor in the classroom and as a highly intelligent thinking member of my Command Group. Colour Serjeant Fortuna's potential shone bright, and he was shortly to take over as my Company Serjeant Major on promotion. Despite this huge talent, Colour Serjeant Fortuna's most inspiring quality was his quiet humility, which was the mark of the man.

"Gentle by nature, Colour Serjeant Fortuna cared deeply for each and every one of his Riflemen, in whom he invested so much of his time with both professional and personal interest. Colour Serjeant Fortuna's meticulous knowledge of his profession and his Riflemen made him an outstanding Platoon Commander who was much respected by all who served with him.

"I have no doubt that I, and many others, are better Riflemen for having known this extraordinary man. His tragic death, leading his men in the line of duty, is a loss to the Company of a fine future Company Serjeant Major. It has robbed The Rifles and its Riflemen of a friend and an exemplary role model. Our dearest thoughts are with Colour Serjeant Fortuna's wife and family."

Part 1