A Schofield Barracks military policeman was killed Sunday in southern Afghanistan and another was wounded when a roadside bomb exploded as they were on foot patrol in Kandahar city, officials said.

Spc. Andrew C. Wilfahrt, 31, of Rosemount, Minn., was part of the 552nd Military Police Company, 8th Military Police Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command.

Wilfahrt, who was not married, is survived by his parents, a brother and a sister. His uncle, Charlie Wilfahrt of Minneapolis, said his nephew was a talented musician who found purpose in life in the Army.

Classmates of the 1997 Rosemount High School graduate described Wilfahrt as kind, outgoing and talented, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

He had been a member of the choir and marching band and later traveled around Europe and Central America, the newspaper said.

Wilfahrt’s father, Jeff, told the newspaper that family members were at Dover Air Force Base, Del., yesterday, grieving and awaiting the return of his body.

About 160 Hawaii-based soldiers with the 552nd M.P. Company deployed to Afghanistan in July and are attached to the 504th Military Police Battalion from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state.

Although 2010 was a record year for U.S. deaths in Afghanistan with 500 fatalities, there have been relatively few killed in action with Hawaii ties in recent months.

The 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment at Kaneohe Bay was replaced in November in Helmand province by another 1,000 Hawaii Marines from the 2nd Battalion. According to icasualties.org, which tracks war casualties, the 2nd Battalion has had no fatalities on the current seven-month deployment.

The commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. James Amos, recently told Kaneohe Bay Marines that the area they have operated in on recent deployments, the Nawa district in Helmand, has become the "poster child for how things have gone well in Afghanistan."