He was supposed to come home in March after serving a military tour in Afghanistan. Instead, Navy Lt. Jeffrey Ammon volunteered to stay another year. The 37-year-old Orem sailor and father wanted to complete his mission, but now he won't.
   
    The Department of Defense announced Friday that Ammon was killed this week by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.
   
    After serving 14 months on the ground in Afghanistan, Ammon died Tuesday as a result of injuries suffered from an improvised explosive device in the Aband District. He was a member of the Provincial Reconstruction Team Ghazni, according to the DOD.
   
    Ammon, who was stationed in Bangor, Wash., as part of Commander Navy Region Northwest, was married with two children.
   
    "He was a helluva guy," said Jim Edwards, Ammon's brother-in-law, outside his Orem home Friday.
   
    Ammon was a loving, caring man who loved going hiking and camping and the outdoors, Edwards said. Ammon joined the Navy after graduating from high school, and was married after completing basic training. Ammon was also a creative thinker whose hobbies were Lego building projects and computers, Edwards said.
   
    "Give him a box of Legos and he could build you anything," he recalled.
   
    Ammon's decision to extend his tour of duty was typical for him, Edwards said. Ammon always tried to go the extra mile to help others.
   
    Ammon enlisted in the Navy in October 1988, after graduating from Orem High School. He eventually became a submarine engineering officer and later an operations and planning staff officer at Region Northwest, said Navy spokesman Sean Hughes.
   
    He was one of 1,446 sailors on 26 reconstruction teams in Afghanistan that are supporting the country's efforts to improve security, governing and economic opportunities. Ammon was working with business owners to get loans and grow, or sometimes reopen, their stores, Hughes said.
   
    Rear Adm. James Symonds said in an e-mail to the region: "Please take a moment to reflect upon and recognize the great sacrifice Lieutenant Ammon made while helping the Afghan people rebuild and develop their country. Lieutenant Ammon is a hero and a role model."
   
    Ammon is the 47th Utahn to be killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts since 2003. He is the first Utah service member to be killed this year.
   
    The family is taking the news hard, Edwards said. The memorial and funeral services will be open only to relatives and friends, Hughes said.
   
    "They [the family] want all details to be private," he said.
   
    In a statement, Symonds said, "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Lieutenant Ammon's family and to our Navy Region Northwest family during this very difficult time. . . . He was a professional who was extremely dedicated to his family, his shipmates and our nation. He will be greatly missed by all of those who loved him and worked with him."