NEW ORLEANS, LA, US
U. S. Army
SSG, MAINTENANCE TROOP, REGTAL SPT SQD, FORT HOOD, TEXAS
04/02/2011, BABIL, IRAQ
Twenty-six year old Staff Sergeant Quadi Shareem Hudgins was killed on April 2, 2011 as their position was attacked by indirect fire in Babil, a province between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers south of Baghdad, Iraq. He was assigned to the Maintenance Troop, Regimental Support Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas. SSG Hudgins was one of two soldiers killed in the attack. His awards include two Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, a Meritorious Unit Commendation, two Army Good Conduct Medals, a National Defense Service Medal, a Korean Defense Service Medal and an Iraqi Campaign Medal. He also received an Air Assault Badge, for completing the Army’s Air Assault School.
After graduating from high school, SSG Hudgins joined the United States Army on 18 June 2003 and attended Basic Combat Training at Fort Benning, Georgia.
After Basic Combat Training, he reported to the Fire Center of Excellence in Fort Gordon, Georgia for Advanced Individual Training in Radio and Communications Security (COMSEC). As a COMSEC Repairer, SSG Hudgins was reassigned to Maintenance Troop, Regimental Support Squadron, 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas as a Senior Radio and Communications Security Repairer. In August 2010, SSG Hudgins deployed in support of Operation New Dawn to COS Kalsu, Babil Province where he served as a lead vehicle commander in the Convoy Security Detachment Platoon. He joined the 3rd ACR in June 2010, four months before the regiment deployed to Iraq with the mission of helping train Iraqi police and military forces. SSG Hudgins had previously deployed supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom October 05 to September 06.
Staff Sergeant Hudgins had a penchant for boxing, which he said stemmed from the fights he was involved in on the way to and from high school, in a neighborhood he called “highly territorial,” according to a March 2010 interview published in the Fort Hood Sentinel, an Army publication. He won various boxing honors for himself, and his Fort Hood unit at the 2010 All-Army Boxing Tournament. SSG Hudgins’ uncle told him, “If you are going to fight somebody, you might as well do it in the ring,” SSG Hudgins reported this to the Fort Hood Sentinel, as he reported on his and other soldiers’ competitive boxing efforts. Brave Rifle Hudgins was scheduled to leave Iraq early to redeploy to Fort Carson, Colo. to train with the Army Boxing team. It was to be another step toward fulfilling his dream to compete in the 2012 Olympics.
Staff Sergeant Hudgins is survived by his wife Ashley, daughter Nyima Cherrelle, his parents Charles and Katrina Hudgins. He was a proven fighter, in the ring and on the battlefield. He also was a loving father who wrote his daughter’s name on his boots, in his hat and on his boxing gloves. “Military service is a calling, not a job,” said a fellow service member, “These men gave their lives answering that calling.”
Senator Willard-Lewis executed Senate Concurrent Resolution (SLS) 11RS-421 during the 2011 Regular Senate Session to honor SSG Hudgins.