Staff Sgt. Brian Studer was mere months away from leaving Afghanistan and the Army, with plans to return to Minnesota.

But Studer, 28, of Ramsey was killed Friday trying to disarm an explosive device in Ghazni Province.

Studer, who had been in the Army nine years, expected to leave Afghanistan in two months and finish his last couple of months of service in Germany, said his brother, Philip Studer. He served with an explosive ordnance disposal company based in Germany, the Army said.

"It was so close,'' Philip Studer said. "He was almost done. He was ready to get out."

Brian Studer grew up in Ramsey and graduated from Elk River High School in 1999, his brother said. "He was a good kid. Quiet. Smart. Kept to himself."

He took college classes his last two years of high school, Philip Studer said. After graduating from high school, he had the opportunity to go to college. "But he chose to go into the Army,'' Philip Studer said. "He wanted to see the world and do some good."

The Army transformed the kid who used to stay in his room all day and work on his computer, his brother said. "He stood straighter. He was more assertive. He was more talkative,'' Philip Studer said.

While in the Army, he was assigned to Germany, South Korea, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Philip Studer said his brother planned to use his military experience by joining HALO Trust, a nonpolitical, nongovernmental organization that specializes in removal of war debris, including mines.

"He wanted to use his experience in a nonmilitary way,'' Studer said. "He downplayed the danger and always reassured us."

Brian Studer's death brings to at least 74 the number of people with strong Minnesota ties who have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Studer is the fifth with Minnesota connections killed in Afghanistan.

Besides his brother, Philip, Brian Studer is survived by his mother, Ellen Hanson of Ramsey; his father, Gene Studer of Rose Creek, Minn.; two sisters, Crystal Studer and Chelle Hanson, both of Ramsey; and his maternal grandparents, Bernice and Bill Carpenter of Asutin, Minn.

The family has yet to plan the funeral services.

Mary Lynn Smith • 612-673-4788

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482