Milledgeville soldier killed in Afghanistan

Staff Sgt. Alex French, a member of the Georgia National Guard 48th Brigade, was a Bibb County Sheriff's deputy and the father of three.

Update: We have a longer story up now.















Image courtesy of Georgia National Guard.

UPDATE: From the formal announcement from the DOD and National Guard:

The Department of the Defense today announced the death of Staff Sergeant Alex French IV, a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry who died on Sept. 30, 2009 in Afghanistan.

According to the Department of the Defense, Staff Sgt. Alex French IV, 31, of Milledgeville, Ga., died Sept. 30 in Kwhost, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit using an improvised-explosive device. ...

"Word of the recent death of Staff Sgt. Alex French IV deeply saddens our Guard family," said Maj. Gen. Terry Nesbitt, Georgia's Adjutant General. "This was Staff Sgt. French's second deployment in support of the War on Terror, having deployed with the 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team to Iraq during 2005-06."