USDA volunteer killed in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- A U.S. Forest Service agricultural expert who had volunteered for Afghanistan reconstruction, was killed by a roadside bomb, officials said Friday.

Steven Thomas Stefani, known as Tom, was in a convoy that was hit by a roadside bomb Thursday near Ghazni, Acting Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner announced.

Stefani was a rangeland management specialist in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada. In Afghanistan, he was working with a provincial reconstruction team in Ghazni Province.

In Ghazni, he had talked of beginning construction on a cold storage facility for farmers and working on a project to improve grape production.

"The fact that Tom recently requested an extension of his service time in Afghanistan speaks to his courage and commitment to protecting our freedom and creating a better life for a deserving people,“ Conner said.