Former U of I Student KIA in Afghanistan

An Army Special Operations (Green Beret) Staff Sergeant, Robert J. Miller, was killed during a combat mission in Barikowt, Afghanistan of wounds suffered when he encountered small-arms fire, the Department of Defense reports.

Born in Harrisburg, PA, Miller was a Freshman at the University of Iowa in 2002.

Miller is survived by his parents, Philip and Maureen Miller; brothers Thomas, Martin and Edward; and sisters Joanna, Mary, Therese and Patricia, all from Oviedo, Fla., located near Orlando.

He was assigned to Company A, 3rd Battallion, 3rd Special Forces Group Airborne based in Fort Bragg, NC.

Miller, who was 24, is at least the sixth U.S. soldier killed in Afghanistan this year and is the 64th person with ties to Iowa to die from injuries in Iraq or Afghanistan since March 2003.

Five other soldiers have been killed in action since mid-January:

•Army Sgt. Michael R. Sturdivant, 20, of Conway, Ark., died Jan. 22 in Kirkuk, Iraq, after being involved in an accident while on convoy.

•Marine Lance Cpl. James M. Gluff, 20, of Tunnel Hill, Ga., was killed Jan. 19 in Anbar province, Iraq.

•Army Staff Sgt. Justin R. Whiting, 27, of Hancock, N.Y., died Jan. 19 in Mosul, Iraq, after a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle.

•Army Spc. Jon M. Schoolcraft III, 26, of Wapakoneta, Ohio, was killed by a roadside bomb Jan. 19 in Taji, Iraq.

•Army Spc. Richard B. Burress, 25, of Naples, Fla., died Jan. 19 in Al Jabour, Iraq, after a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle.