SASEBO NAVAL BASE, Japan — A Hawaii-based Marine from the III Marine Expeditionary Force was killed Wednesday in Afghanistan, according to the Department of Defense.

Cpl. Nicholas S. Ott, 23, of Manchester, N.J., died while conducting combat operations in the country’s volatile Helmand province.

Ott was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, according to 1st Lt. Diann Olson, a spokeswoman for the unit.

Ott and his unit arrived in the Garmsir District in April and were doing infrastructure maintenance and school and soccer field construction, Olson said Friday. It was his first deployment to Afghanistan.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Cpl. Ott’s family, and I’m sure the Marines and sailors of 1/3 are grieving and praying for their fallen brother,” Olson said in an email.

Ott began his Marine Corps career in September 2007 as an infantryman and joined III MEF in 2010.

Migrated