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Two men assigned to the Army Reserve's 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion in Greensboro were killed Friday in Murcheh, Afghanistan, by a suicide bomber.

The Department of Defense today identified them as Pfc. Alan H. Newton Jr., 26, of Asheboro, and Capt. Benjamin A. Sklaver, 32, of Medford, Mass.

Newton was a civil affairs specialist with five years of military experience.

He was a 2002 graduate of Southwest Randolph High School in Asheboro. He lived in Asheboro with his wife, Lisa, and daughter.

His mother lives in Star, while his father resides in Wilmington.

More information about Newton is online here.

Sklaver is survived by his parents, Gary and Lisa Sklaver, of Hamden, Conn.

Sklaver, a civil team leader with eight years of military service, received two degrees from Tuft’s University, including a master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

He founded and directed ClearWater Initiative Corporation, a nonprofit organization that aims to give clean water to remote villages in Uganda.

According to the organization’s Web site, he began working in the field of humanitarian relief in 2003. From 2006 to 2007, he served under a Combined Joint Task Force in the Horn of Africa with a mission to mentor Ugandan military units.

While deployed, he noticed the high rates of child mortality linked to dirty drinking water and was inspired to create ClearWater Initiative. The organization has provided clean abd sustainable drinking water to more than 6,500 people since its inception in 2007.

Sklaver's funeral is scheduled for Tuesday in his native Connecticutt. Contributions in his honor can be made to ClearWater Initiative.

U.S. Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC), who represents the 6th district, said he is saddened by the soldiers’ deaths.

“It is always a tragedy when any of our brave servicemen and women are killed in the line of duty,” Coble said in a statement. “It is even sadder when those who fall have connections to our district. Our condolences go to the families of Captain Benjamin Sklaver of Greensboro and Private First Class Alan Newton of Asheboro.”