A 22-year-old Marine based in Käne'ohe was one of three Marines killed Sunday while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, the Department of Defense reported yesterday.

Lance Cpl. Timothy J. Poole, of Bowling Green, Ky., was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, from Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Käne'ohe Bay.

Poole's unit was deployed to Afghanistan in November and had joined Regimental Combat Team 7 to conduct counterinsurgency operations with the Afghan National Security Forces, provide security for the Afghan people and promote development in the region, according to a Marine Corps Base Hawaii release.

Poole joined the Marine Corps in July 2007 and had been deployed to Iraq in 2008 and 2009. He had most recently returned to Hawai'i in March of last year.

Poole's awards include a posthumous Purple Heart Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Afghanistan and Iraq Campaign Medals and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.