ONE of the Australian soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan has links with Australind and the South West.
Lance Corporal Mervyn McDonald, 30, was from Carnarvon in the state's north but went to high school in Australind.
Mervyn’s brother Gary, spoke on behalf of the family to ABC local radio this afternoon and confirmed that Mervyn grew up in the South West.
“We all were shocked (when we heard the news) but we are very proud of what he’s done,” he said.
“Mervyn and his younger brother grew up in Bunbury and Australind area."
Gary said Mervyn always loved the army and "made his career there".
A former Australind Senior High School classmate of Mervyn told the Bunbury Mail they remembered him from high school.
Corporal McDonald was one of two soldiers killed when their Black Hawk crashed in Helmand province on Thursday.
The other soldier was Private Nathanael Galagher, 23, from Wee Waa in NSW, Defence chief David Hurley said.
Lieutenant General Hurley said Lance Corporal McDonald enlisted in the army in May 1999. He served for five years, left in 2004 and then re-enlisted in 2005.
He was deployed to East Timor and was on his sixth deployment to Afghanistan.
"Corporal McDonald is survived by his fiancee, his mother and stepfather and three brothers," Gen Hurley said.
Private Galagher enlisted in the army in 2007 and was on his second deployment to Afghanistan.
"He is survived by his partner, parents and sister," Gen Hurley told reporters in Canberra.
The men were among five soldiers killed in two separate incidents this week.
An Afghan soldier tasked with guarding a patrol base shot and killed three Diggers and wounded another two.
Defence Minister Stephen Smith said today the sergeant was known to the Oruzgan chief of police and was being chased by Afghan and international forces.
The families of three men killed in an insider attack by a member of the Afghan National Army are not yet ready to have their personal details released.
"We all feel this loss deeply," the general said.