Army Col. Stephen K. Scott

Died April 6, 2008 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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54, of New Market, Ala.; assigned to the 356th Quartermaster Battalion, Laurel, Miss.; died April 6 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with indirect fire. Also killed was Maj. Stuart A. Wolfer.

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St. Louis-area soldier killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS — A 54-year-old Army soldier who grew up in St. Louis was killed by mortar fire in Baghdad, the Defense Department said.

Family members of Col. Stephen Scott said military officials notified them Sunday night that he had been killed earlier that day in the city’s Green Zone.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Tuesday that Scott was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad overseeing the transition of security forces to the Iraqi government. He had been working at the Pentagon in recent years after growing up in the St. Louis area.

The newspaper reported that Scott was exercising in the protected Green Zone when the building was struck by mortar fire and he was killed.

Scott received the Bronze Star in 2003 for his service as a battalion commander during a previous tour in Iraq, according to the Department of Defense.

Scott was working to help equip the Iraqi army, according to the transcript of a February teleconference posted on a Department of Defense Web site. He said he had been struck by the positive relationships he had established with Iraqis in a short amount of time.

Scott said in the transcript that he had “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.”

Funeral plans and the return of Scott’s remains are still pending. Family members say he will be buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.

Colonel appears to be the highest rank of any U.S. military deaths in the Iraq war. According to an Associated Press database of U.S. military deaths in Iraq, at least eight other Army or Army Reserve colonels have died in the now-5-year-old war. At least one of those was promoted to that rank posthumously.

“Every one of our service members’ lives are equally precious,” said Maj. Brad Leighton, a military spokesman in Baghdad.

Scott was assigned to the 356th Quartermaster Battalion in Laurel, Miss., which was disbanded in September and its members dispersed, the military said. Messages left at Army Reserve Command in Atlanta were not returned Tuesday evening.

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9th colonel killed in Iraq

By Christopher Leonard

The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS — Family members are mourning an Army colonel who had worked at Redstone Arsenal in Alabama and who is only the ninth soldier of his rank to have been killed in the Iraq war.

Col. Stephen Scott died Sunday during a mortar attack on facilities inside the protected Green Zone in Baghdad, which houses the U.S. Embassy. An avid jogger, the 54-year-old Scott was killed as he exercised on a treadmill in a U.S. military facility, according to his sister, Kathleen King.

Scott is one of the highest ranking officers killed in the Iraq conflict, which has claimed the lives of more than 4,000 U.S. soldiers. Two colonels were among 12 people killed in 2007 when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed near Baghdad.

Colonel appears to be the highest rank of any U.S. military deaths in the Iraq war. According to an Associated Press database of U.S. military deaths in Iraq, at least eight other Army or Army Reserve colonels have died in the now 5-year-old war.

The AP database includes casualties awarded the rank of colonel posthumously. An Army database of casualties lists only five colonels who have died in Iraq, including Scott.

Scott, who had lived at New Market, Ala., had spent two years working at the Pentagon, but went to Iraq in December to help train and equip the Iraqi army. He had already served 18 months in Iraq, and his recent deployment was a short assignment that was set to end in June, King said.

Scott had long assured relatives he was safe inside the Green Zone, but a recent upsurge in violence in Iraq had Scott and his fellow soldiers worried, King said. Many took to sleeping in their offices because mortar attacks frequently targeted their barracks, she said.

“You could tell in his voice that he was telling us he was safe, but he wasn’t really believing it in the last three weeks,” King said.

Scott told reporters in February that he was pleased with the pace of development for the Iraqi army, according to American Forces Press Service.

“We are introducing more military sales to the (Iraqi) minister of defense, and we are making progress,” Scott said, according to the article. “It is very important to their government and ours that they become capable of defending themselves very soon.”

He said Iraqis referred to U.S. soldiers and officials as their brothers, according to the article.

Scott joined the Army immediately after graduating from Riverview Gardens High School in St. Louis County, King said. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, Kenneth Scott, who also served in the Army.

“Really, I think it was all my father,” King said. “He had dedicated his life to the Army and protecting our country, and that’s all Stephen really wanted to do.”

After leaving St. Louis, Scott spent more than 10 years based in Alabama, and still owns a house in New Market, which the Army lists as his current address. He was assigned to the 356th Quartermaster Battalion based in Laurel, Miss.

Also killed in the attack that claimed Scott’s life was 36-year-old Maj. Stuart Wolfer of Coral Springs, Fla. He was assigned to the 11th Battalion, 104th Division, Boise, Idaho.

Scott’s funeral will be at the First Baptist Church of Harvester in St. Charles County, King said. A date has not yet been set.

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Fallen colonel remembered at funeral

By Christopher Leonard

The Associated Press

ST. CHARLES, Mo. — Army Col. Stephen Scott drove fast cars and was known as a daredevil who lived on the edge. But it wasn’t thrill seeking that prompted his return to Iraq in December for a second tour of duty. Relatives said a dedication to his fellow soldiers drew him to Baghdad, where he was killed last week.

“He said: ‘I’m going back,”‘ Scott’s longtime friend Al Reed recalled during a eulogy at Scott’s funeral Monday. “‘How can I best support my troops’ — that’s all he wanted.”

Hundreds gathered for Scott’s funeral here, remembering a hometown boy who became only the ninth officer of his rank to be killed in the war in Iraq. Colonel appears to be the highest rank of any U.S. military deaths in the Iraq war.

Also killed in the attack that claimed Scott’s life was 36-year-old Maj. Stuart Wolfer of Coral Springs, Fla. He was assigned to the 11th Battalion, 104th Division, Boise, Idaho.

Scott, 54, was an avid jogger who ran four or more miles a day. He was exercising at a military gym last Sunday when a mortar stuck the facility and Scott was killed along with another soldier.

Scott’s relatives said his mother Patricia grew worried last Sunday when Scott hadn’t called her before she left for church.

“Even if he was halfway around the world, Steve would call his mother every Sunday morning. He was more worried about her than he was about himself,” said his brother, Mark Scott.

Scott had served one 18-month tour in Iraq had been working in the Pentagon for two years, said his sister Kathleen King. He returned to Iraq in December for a special six-month deployment to help train and equip the Iraqi Army, she said.

Over the last three weeks, Scott seemed to grow increasingly worried about the safety of his soldiers inside the fortified Green Zone as violence increased in Baghdad, King said.

Scott was raised in the St. Louis area and followed in his father Kenneth Scott’s footsteps by enlisting in the Army after he graduated from high school.

After leaving St. Louis, Scott spent more than 10 years based in Alabama, and still owns a house in the town of New Market, Ala., which the Army lists as his current address. He was assigned to the 356th Quartermaster Battalion based in Laurel, Miss.

Scott is one of the highest ranking officers killed in the Iraq conflict, which has claimed the lives of more than 4,000 U.S. soldiers. According to an Associated Press database of U.S. military deaths in Iraq, at least eight other Army or Army Reserve colonels have died.

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Army Col. Stephen K. Scott remembered

The Associated Press

Stephen K. Scott drove fast cars and was known as a daredevil.

But it wasn’t thrill-seeking that prompted his return to Iraq in December for a second tour.

Relatives said a dedication to his fellow soldiers drew him to Baghdad. “He said: ‘I’m going back,’” Scott’s longtime friend Al Reed recalled during a eulogy at Scott’s funeral. “‘How can I best support my troops’ — that’s all he wanted.”

Scott, 54, of New Market, Ala., was killed April 6 during a mortar attack in Baghdad. He was on his second tour and was assigned to Laurel, Miss.

Scott had spent two-thirds of his life serving in the military, joining the Army at age 18. From then, the military, fast cars and family became the focus on his life, said his daughter Rebekah Scott, 22.

“Military and cars,” she said. “That’s how I’ll remember him.

“Scott had served one 18-month tour in Iraq and had been working in the Pentagon for two years, said his sister, Kathleen King. He returned to Iraq in December for a special six-month deployment to help train and equip the Iraqi Army.

He also is survived by another daughter, Rachel Regot.