Date: 1/7/2011
Rank: Private 1st Class
Branch: U.S. Army
Operation: Operation Enduring Freedom
Pfc. Robert J. Near, 21, of Nampa, Idaho, died Jan. 7, 2011 at Kandahar, Afghanistan from combat related injuries. He was assigned to the 86th Signal Battalion, Fort Huachuca, Ariz. He was born in Woodland, CA, but was raised on a cherry farm in Granger, WA. After graduating Granger High School in 2007, he joined the Job Corps and moved to Nampa, Idaho where he learned computer technology skills. He trained for 13 months at Centennial Jobs Corps, which is a career technical-training program operated by the U.S. Department of Labor in Nampa, before joining the Army. One of his teachers mentioned that “He was still fired up on being a soldier and enjoying what he was doing and proud of what he was doing.” He put his computer technology skills to use in the Army, operating and maintaining communication devices. His middle school principal said “He was a funny and a fun kid, he just always was looking for a way to make people laugh and get people’s attention.”
Robert enlisted in March 2009 and was assigned to Company C, 86th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, based at Fort Huachuca. He deployed to Afghanistan in March of 2010 and was due to return home within a few weeks. Relatives in Granger, Wash., where he grew up, remembered him as an honorable man. “He was a good kid. He put his life on the line for this country. That ought to tell you something,” his uncle said. “He was a bright kid. He was dedicated to learning. He loved his family.”