NEW MARKET, AL, USA U.S. Army COL, 356TH QUARTERMASTER BATTALION, 13TH COSCOM, LAUREL, MS BAGHDAD, IRAQ 04/06/2008
He drove fast cars and was known as a daredevil who lived on the edge, but COL Scott met his maker doing a job that he completely believed in—supporting his troops and helping the Iraqi people stand up on their own.
COL Stephen Scott, 54, of New Market, Ala.; assigned to the 356th Quartermaster Battalion, Laurel, Miss.; died April 6, 2008 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with indirect fire. He was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad overseeing the transition of security forces to the Iraqi government. An avid runner who ran four or more miles a day, COL Scott was exercising in the protected Green Zone when the building was struck by mortar fire.
Scott received the Bronze Star in 2003 for his service as a battalion commander during a previous tour in Iraq. He worked two years in the Pentagon but volunteered for this short 6 month deployment to help train the Iraqi Army. He wrote, “I spent the last two and a half years up in Washington doing what I thought was important for the U.S. forces, but having come over here and spending a lot of time with my partners in the Iraqi army, I’m 100 percent behind what we’re doing. They’re on track. They’re on schedule. Their hearts are in the right places.”
Scott joined the Army immediately after graduating from Riverview Gardens High School in St. Louis County. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, Kenneth Scott, who also served in the Army.
Colonel Scott’s military career spanned nearly 35 years. He enlisted in the Army at age 18 as a PV1 in 1973 and was promoted to Colonel in 2005. Colonel Scott is a graduate of the Basic Airborne Course, the Air Assault School, the Quartermaster Officer Basic and Advanced Courses and the Command and General Staff College. His service included assignments with the United States Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command, the 81st Regional Readiness Command, Specials Operations Command, Pacific and at the Pentagon. Colonel Scott served tours in El Salvador, Kuwait and Iraq.
One of his last communiqués he writes, “It’s been a remarkable experience for me in the two and a half months that I have been here. … I’m real excited about what the future brings for Iraq and their capability to stand themselves up as an Iraqi army.”
“A friend to everyone he met, a mentor to many, he was doing a job that he thought was right. He had integrity; he was a Christian man. He cared about the Lord. And today, that tells us we know where he’s at.”
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