Porter County Sheriff's Department

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Field Office Headquarters Building

900 East Linton Av., Springfield, Illinois

 Dedication Ceremony December 15, 2005

Special Agent Robert “Rob" R. Hardesty, Springfield Field Office, died on June 2, 2005, from injuries suffered in the line of duty while conducting Advance SWAT Training at the Tactical Firearms Training Center at the FBI Academy, Ouantico, On May 25, 2005

 Rob was a highly respected and well-liked Agent whose dedication and leadership impressed everyone who knew him.  He began his FBI career in the Normal, Illinois Resident Agency on December 30, 2001, after serving for eight years with the Porter County Sheriff’s Department where he attained the rank of lieutenant.  Prior to that, he served six years as a police officer with the Indiana Excise Police.

The Springfield SWAT Team accepted Rob after one year in the FBI due to his extensive prior SWAT experience. (Rob was one of the founders of the Porter County Sheriff’s Department SWAT Team.)  It did not take long for Rob to prove that his selection was the right decision.  Rob was a diligent student of Bureau SWAT procedure and a stickler for detail.  Rob accepted all assignments, no matter how unimportant they seemed, as though they were the most important.  Rob maintained a quiet, steady, all-business demeanor during missions and training but was quick to light up the room with laughter at the completion of his duties.  Rob’s quiet confidence and enthusiasm were contagious to not only his SWAT Team but also to his entire field office.

Rob not only excelled at his job, he excelled at everything he did.  He was a devoted husband to Toni; and a protective, strict, and yet nurturing father to two young daughters, Sydney and Carly.  He loved teaching the girls sports and spending quality time with them.  He was the son that any parent would be proud of, and he was the brother and friend that anyone would want to call their own.

Rob Hardesty’s passing was a blow to the FBI, but it was also his gift because it brought out the best in all of us and reminded us that we are truly a family.  Rob would be pleased because he was a team player first and foremost, dedicated to his home family, his SWAT family, and his Bureau family.  It is in his memory and name that we dedicate the Robert R. Hardesty FBI Springfield Headquarters Building.  We do so in honor of one who gave his life in the line of duty and in recognition of those who put their lives at risk every day to protect our country and the American way of life.