Gov. Chris Christie has ordered flags at all state buildings to be flown at half-staff to honor a New Jersey soldier killed in Afghanistan.
The flags will be lowered Friday in tribute to Army Sgt. Alessandro Plutino of Pitman.
Plutino, 28, an Army Ranger, was killed Monday by small arms fire in Paktia Province.
His death came just days after a deadly helicopter crash that killed 30 U.S. troops.
Plutino was a rifle team leader in B Company, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. He was on his third tour in Afghanistan and was scheduled to return home later this month.
Plutino joined the Army in 2005. He was a star wrestler at Pitman High School and later at Western New England College in Massachusetts.
In his executive order, Christie called Plutino “an honorable and courageous young man who loved his country and the military.”
