Defence names killed Digger as Corporal Scott James Smith

THE Australian Defence Force has released the name of the soldier killed in Afghanistan on Sunday night.

THE Australian Defence Force has released the name of the soldier killed in Afghanistan on Sunday night.

Corporal Scott James Smith was helping to clear a compound in Uruzgan province when an improvised exploding device detonated, killing him instantly.

Cpl Smith, who was on his second tour of Afghanistan, was a member of the Special Operations Task Group and was from the Special Operations Engineer Regiment based at Holsworthy Barracks in Sydney. He had also served as a peacekeeper in the Solomon Islands.

Cpl Smith is survived by his partner Liv, his parents, Katrina Paterson and Murray Smith, and sister, Roxanne.

The 24-year-old was born in the Barossa Valley in South Australia.

He joined the Army in February 2006 and, on completion of his initial training, was posted to the 1st Combat Engineer Regiment, Darwin.

In 2008, Cpl Smith was posted to the then Incident Response Regiment as a search operator.

He has been described as "exceptional soldier who possessed all the qualities and charisma of a great junior leader".

The ADF said Cpl Smith's unit had described him as "a genuine, honest and dedicated member who was probably one of the best junior non-commissioned officers that the unit has seen".

Cpl Smith was the 39th Australian soldier killed in Afghanistan since 2002 and the seventh this year.

Originally published as Defence names killed Digger as Corporal Scott James Smith