A Ft. Benning Solider has been killed while serving in Iraq. According to military officials, 25-year-old Staff Sergeant Jeffery Hartley of Hampstead, Texas was killed on April 8th, when an improvised explosive device hit his vehicle. Hartley joined the US Army in June of 2001 and had been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan during several deployments. Hartley was assigned to the First Battalion, 10th Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. He was a Radio Operator Maintainer and had received more than 20 awards and honors including the Purple Heart and Bronze Star.