Suckfiel, Mark

Born in 1979, Mark Suckfiel is from the Pittsburgh area, and he hails from a family with a long military tradition:  they can in fact trace their roots back to the American Revolution.  He had also wanted to be a teacher, and that is the career he was pursuing when 9/11 happened.  The events of that day prompted him to visit a recruiting office – but with all federal buildings closed, he had to wait.  During that interval his mother convinced him to complete his education degree, and he joined the US Army Reserve in February 2002, beginning active duty in May at Fort Leonard Wood.  He was called up in late 2003, and he completed his training at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin, with a combat engineer MOS.  He would be attached to the 1st Cavalry Division, a mechanized armor division, and in short order Mark was deployed to Iraq.  The initial stop was in Kuwait, where important additional training took place, and from there Mark went to Camp Victory North in Baghdad.  As an Army reservist he was attached to A Company 91, Engr. Batt., 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st  Cavalry Division, Camp Black Jack 2 from Ft. Hood, TX.  Their job in Baghdad quickly took on an infantry element as they did patrols and were part of Quick Reaction Forces, dealing with IEDs and entry raids to search homes for potential terrorists and gather intelligence.  Unlike previous generations’ wars Mark realized that his was a “Garrison War” fought from a base.  He patrolled the regions of Rasheed, Mansour and Khadamiyah, where temperatures could reach 127 degrees Fahrenheit.  Unfortunately Mark lost a good friend, Clarence Adams, who was KIA 9.7.2004.  Mark said that he engaged with the local civilian population, visiting schools, playgrounds and homes. Coming home in March/April 2005, Mark said that things were OK at first, but that over time his life turned in a negative direction.  He said that it took years to seek treatment from the Veteran Center but that meeting his future wife in April 2005 is really what saved his life.  They were married in 2008, and now they have a family and Mark has returned to teaching.  We met Mark Suckfiel via zoom – courtesy of the Veterans Breakfast Club –  in May 2024.