Lost A Old High School Friend In Afghanistan A few Nights Ago. R.I.P. Jorge Oliveira

NEWARK, NJ: The mission to Afghanistan was his third deployment, and after journeys to Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Jorge Oliveira told friends and co-workers this would be his last.

He was finally going to take time for himself, he told them. While on leave last month, he bought a new motorcycle and had closed on a new house in Elizabeth. Once his tour was up next year, he wanted to "travel the world" on the vacation of a lifetime, his sister said.

Those plans will never come to pass.

Oliveira, 33, a staff sergeant with the New Jersey Army National Guard, died Wednesday of injuries he sustained during an attack on his unit in the Paktika Province of Afghanistan, the Department of Defense said Thursday.

The Newark soldier, who was also an Essex County Sheriff’s detective, is at least the 140th service member with ties to New Jersey to die in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001.

It is unclear whether any other soldiers were killed or injured during the assault, but the Defense Department said insurgents attacked Oliveira’s unit with an improvised explosive device.

Friends and fellow officers remembered Oliveira Thursday as an adventurous and friendly presence who was committed to helping others.

"He was such a great brother, just an awesome person," said his sister, Jessica Oliveria, fighting back tears outside the family’s home in Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood. "Words can’t even describe how great he was. He always put everyone else before himself."

Sheriff Armando Fontoura said that selflessness and dedication extended to Oliveira’s job: He never took sick days and never asked for time off.

Whenever fellow officers in the sheriff’s department or soldiers in his guard unit wanted to spend the holidays with their wives and families, Oliveira was the first to volunteer to cover their shifts, Fontoura and family members said.

And when his unit was deployed to Afghanistan earlier this year, Oliveira decided to go — even though he didn’t have to and even though his mother begged him not to.

"He said ‘Mom, I gotta go."I gotta serve,’" Sheriff’s Sgt. Helena Oliveira, who is not a relative, said in recounting a conversation she had with Oliviera.

Oliveira joined the sheriff’s office in 2001, and served as a member of the S.W.A.T. team and warrants squad. Most recently, he was a detective with the fugitive squad.

"He was one of the very best. Very dedicated," Fontoura said.

Oliveira lived in the Ironbound with his parents, who are Portuguese. In addition to his mother and father, he is survived by his sister and a younger brother, Marco.

On the day of his deployment earlier this year, Oliveira seemed unfazed about entering a war zone for the second time in his life.

"It’s a job — it’s something I’m used to," he told the Times of Trenton.

Oliveira served three years with the U.S. Army after graduating from Newark’s East Side High School in 1996. As a member of the New Jersey Army National Guard, he was involved in operations in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2004, and relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. He also served a year of combat duty in Iraq, officials said.

Fontoura announced Oliveira’s death to his former colleagues during an emotional ceremony Thursday morning in Newark. Many of the officers bowed their heads and had tears in their eyes as the news was delivered.

Family members said the Army was Oliveira’s "passion" and a duty he felt he had to perform.

"He was always really adventurous," Marco Oliveira said. "He wanted to explore and serve the country."

Around Newark, Oliveira was considered a role model to his family and fellow officers.

"Anybody that Jorge touched or knew could say something good about him," said Detective Fitzgerald Figliuolo, his former partner in the sheriff’s office. "Jorge was truly an American hero. He protected us here. He protected us overseas."

While his dedication to the armed forces was an inspiration to friends and family, it was also a source of concern.

When Oliveira presented Fontoura with paperwork earlier this year, notifying his boss he’d be going on military leave for a third time, the sheriff said his "heart dropped."

Fontoura told Oliveira he was "pushing his luck," and wished him a safe return.

"Get your ass back here," Fontoura said he told Oliveira. But the detective said he needed to serve his country one last time.

"Boss," Oliveira replied, according to Fontoura. "You know I love this job."