THE soldier from Nelson who was killed in Afghanistan on Monday has been named as Lance Corporal Michael Foley.

Lance Corporal Foley was serving as part of Task Force Helmand when he was shot and killed at the main entrance to Lashkar Gah Main Operating Base in Helmand province.

A statement from his family said: "Michael passed away while on operational duty in Afghanistan where he was very proud to be serving his country in support of our combined forces in this theatre of operations. He will be sorely missed by his family and friends and everyone privileged to serve with him both on his last tour and during his military career."

Lance Corporal Foley enlisted into the Army on the 12 September 2003, joining the Royal Logistic Corps six months later.

His first two postings were with 4 Logistic Support Regiment and 3 Logistic Support Regiment, both next door to each other in Abingdon.

It was during his second posting when he decided to re-trade to become a Combat Human Resources Specialist and after completing his trade training, he was posted to 9 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps in his new role as a military administrator.

He arrived in Sennelager, Germany in December 2010 on posting to the Headquarters of 20th Armoured Brigade who at that time were preparing to undergo training for deployment to Afghanistan in September 2011.

Lance Corporal Foley deployed to Afghanistan on Op HERRICK 15 in September as a key member of the Task Force Helmand Headquarters Information Hub team. He regularly provided close administrative support to the Task Force Commander and was a key enabler of the efforts of the Headquarters' staff.

On Monday he was manning the front gate as part of the guard force for Main Operating Base, Lashkar Gah, when he and Sergeant Luke Taylor, of the Royal Marines, were killed by a rogue member of the Afghan National Army.

He leaves his wife, Sophie, children Calum, Warren and Jake; parents Craig and Debbie, sister Lisa and brother Jordan.

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