Kelly, Robert Michael

First Lieutenant Robert Michael Kelly was a 29-year-old Marine officer from Tallahassee, Florida. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force Forward, based at Camp Pendleton, California. The battalion deployed to Afghanistan in the fall of 2010 as part of Regimental Combat Team 2.

Kelly was killed on November 9, 2010, while conducting combat operations in the Sangin district of Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold and a region with a high concentration of improvised explosive devices. According to the Department of Defense, he died from wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.

His death occurred during a major offensive by U.S. Marines and allied Afghan forces to clear insurgents from Sangin. The 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines, known as 'Darkhorse,' sustained heavy casualties during this period, which U.S. military officials described as some of the most intense fighting of the war in Afghanistan.

Kelly's death was reported by multiple news outlets, including the Associated Press and the Military Times. He was survived by his parents and siblings. His father, a retired Marine colonel, publicly discussed the loss in subsequent years, framing it within the broader costs of the war.

First Lieutenant Kelly is memorialized on the 'Darkhorse' battalion's casualty list and on the Afghanistan War casualty roster maintained by the Pentagon. His unit continued its deployment in Sangin until the following spring.

First Lieutenant Kelly was killed during Operation Enduring Freedom (2001–2014). The conflict concluded in December 2014. See the full roster of those killed in this conflict.

Among those documented in the same conflict: Andrews, Evander Earl, Edmunds, Jonn Joseph, Stonesifer, Kristofor Tif, Davis, Bryant Leroy.

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