Sergeant forsook safety to be with his troops

[SR-25]

There are no safe Army jobs in Iraq, but Master Sgt. Brian Mack could have chosen one less dangerous than leading a scout platoon in the streets of Mosul.
He’d already completed his assignment as a platoon sergeant, training and caring for 40 infantrymen. He could have taken a headquarters staff job.

“Most would have sat back and said, ‘I’ve done my time,’ but not Mack,” Lt. Robert Decker told mourners Wednesday at a memorial ceremony for the fallen soldier. “You couldn’t drag him away from troops. He risked his life with us every day, being with his boys.”

Mack, 36, was killed Jan. 13 in Mosul when he was hit by shrapnel from a roadside bomb. He was standing in a hatch of his Stryker armored vehicle, officials said.

The Phoenix native, who was promoted posthumously, is the highest-ranked enlisted soldier from Fort Lewis to be killed in Iraq.

Soldiers recalled him as a great leader, teacher and mentor. He was with the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division.

For most of the past couple of years Mack was in charge of advanced specialty training across the 4,200-soldier 1st Brigade.

“He was the one I sent soldiers to when they wanted to be better,” said Carlton Dedrich, who retired last year as the brigade’s command sergeant major. “He was the best, and he loved to train soldiers. He was the most passionate leader and soldier that I ever met.”

Mack volunteered to be platoon sergeant with the 3-21’s scouts in Iraq. Decker, the young lieutenant in charge, said he was grateful for Mack’s move.

It is the experienced platoon sergeant’s job to teach his young commander about life with soldiers.

“He watched my back and took care of me,” Decker said,

Mack’s widow, Lisa, and their daughter Ashley, 17, held one another tight and cried together throughout the ceremony at the main post chapel. The family is from DuPont.

“I know how much he loved you and cared about you,” Decker told them. “He talked about you often.”

Decker and one of the platoon’s squad leaders, Staff Sgt. Michael Mesmer, were home on leave when Mack was killed. They struggled to keep their composure as they eulogized their friend.

“Brian cared about me,” Mesmer said, “as he did all of his men: from his heart.” Michael Gilbert: 253-597-8921



http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/l...-4209761c.html

[AngelBear]

Thoughts and prayers going out to his family and fellow soldiers

[rabbid37]

Ditto! Air Power!!!!

[SSGMike.Ivy]

Rest in peace soldier you shall never be forgotten

He gave his life so that others may live in Peace. He sounds like the kind of man/soldier who would never back down and let his soldiers do all the dangerous stuff. May GOD bless his family and his soldiers, both have lost a great leader. R.I.P.

[0311Marine]

A true Credit to his Country and the Army, May others gain courage to do what they think is right from his example.