"We will never forget him for the warrior that he was,"
Lieutenant Colonel Mark Jennings said of the most recent Australian soldier to die in Afghanistan.
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Private Bewes died in an improvised explosive device blast while he was patrolling part of the troubled Oruzgan province on July 9.
"Nate embodied all of what we seek in an Australian soldier," Colonel Jennings said as the soldier's body began its journey home to Australia.
Soldiers from the 1st Mentoring Task Force gathered at Tarin Kowt base, with personnel from other nations also stationed there, for the farewell ceremony on Monday.
Private Bewes had the moral courage to go out almost every day into harm's way and the self discipline to continue doing so despite the dangers that he faced," Colonel Jennings said.
"This ethos is the mark of the Australian soldier."
Private Bewes' coffin was loaded on to a Hercules for return to Australia.
His fatality brought to 17 the number of Australians killed in the almost decade long war.
