FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – A Fort Bragg soldier has died while serving his country in Afghanistan.

According to the Department of Defense, 32-year-old Staff Sergeant Joshua Beale died Tuesday as the result of enemy small arms fire.

Beale, a native of Carrollton, Virginia, had more than seven years of service in the Army. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Old Dominion University in 2008, and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2011.

He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, and the Meritorious Service Medal, and posthumously promoted to Sgt. 1st Class.

Beale is survived by his wife and two children.