A Fort Stewart soldier deployed to Iraq in support of Operation New Dawn was killed Monday after enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.                 
Cpl. Brandon S. Hocking, 24, of Seattle, Wash., died March 21 in As Samawah, Iraq.  He was assigned to the 87th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division.
“Cpl. Hocking was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star medals,” Fort Stewart spokesman Kevin Larson said.  “He was born on April 3,1986, joined the Army on Nov. 22, 2005, and was a small arms and artillery repairer.”
This deployment was Hocking’s second, according to Larson.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Cpl. Hocking’s family,” he said.
An eastern Redbud tree will be dedicated in memory of Hocking on Warriors Walk, according to public affairs. The ceremony has not yet been scheduled.
Hocking’s unit, the 3rd Sustainment Brigade, is tasked with sustaining troops as the United States military continues its large-scale retrograde operation in Iraq.