NSW:Funeral to be held for fallen soldier

08-26-2010
NSW:Funeral to be held for fallen soldier

SYDNEY, Aug 26 AAP - A funeral is to be held in Sydney for Trooper Jason Brown who
was killed in Afghanistan two weeks ago.

Trooper Brown will be farewelled in a private service, understood to be taking place
in Normanhurst in Sydney's northwest on Thursday.

The 29-year-old member of the the Perth-based Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) died
from multiple gunshot wounds when insurgents opened fire on his patrol in the northern
Kandahar province on August 13.

Trooper Brown was the 18th Australian soldier to die in Afghanistan.

Since his death, three more soldiers have been killed in the Afghan war.

Lance Corporal Jared MacKinney, 28, was shot dead during a three-hour battle with insurgents
on Tuesday, while Privates Grant Kirby, 35, and Tomas Dale, 21, died in the blast of an
improvised explosive device on Friday, August 20.

Born and raised in Sydney, Trooper Brown, unmarried with no children, was an experienced
soldier with more than 10 years service in the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

His family said he died "doing what he loved".

Trooper Brown joined the army in 2001, serving with the 1st Battalion Royal Australian
Regiment (1RAR) and then with the commando battalion 4RAR.

He joined the SASR in 2007.

This was his first deployment to Afghanistan but he had served three times in East Timor.

Trooper Brown is survived by his parents Graham and Ann, and his sister Stephanie.

AAP ih/wjf/apm

KEYWORD: AFGHAN AUST BROWN

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