North Ogden Mayor Brent Taylor killed in Afghanistan in 'apparent insider attack'

North Ogden Mayor Brent Taylor killed in Afghanistan in 'apparent insider attack' After he got his orders to deploy to Afghanistan ...

North Ogden Mayor Brent Taylor killed in Afghanistan in 'apparent insider attack'

After he got his orders to deploy to Afghanistan in January, North Ogden Mayor Brent Taylor went live on Facebook to tell his constituents he'd be gone and what to expect.

It was an easy choice, one that was months in the making, rooted in decisions he’d made years ago to serve God, his family and his country.

“While I am far from perfect in any of these respects,” he said, “I have given my life to serve all three of these loyalties whenever and however I can.”

The plan was to be gone one year. Family learned Saturday he'd never return.

Taylor was killed during an apparent insider attack early Saturday in Kabul, a friend of the family told The Salt Lake Tribune.

The attacker was immediately killed by Afghan Forces, according to NATO. The Utah National Guard hasn’t confirmed Taylor was killed in the at tack, but Maj. Gen. Jefferson S. Burton, the adjutant general, in a news release, said: “My heart breaks for the loss and sacrifice of our soldier, particularly for the family. I wish them all the comfort and courage to face the difficult days ahead."

Utah Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, on Facebook wrote, “We lost a genuine hero and one of the best people in our state. We must rally around his sweet family.”

Taylor, a major with the Utah National Guard, deployed as part of an advisory team training staff in an Afghan commando battalion. In his Facebook Live video announcing his deployment, Taylor said his service would help fulfill President Donald Trump’s order to increase troops and expand the capabilities of the Afghan units.

“Serving as the mayor of North Ogden city has b een one of the greatest honors of my life and the highlight of my civilian professional career,” he said at the time. “Service is really what leadership is all about.“

On the day of his deployment in mid-January, North Ogden police escorted him and his family around town as hundreds of residents lined the streets to see him off.

“I think it proves what a great leader he is that he’s willing to sacrifice and leave his family to fight for his country. I think it’s really honorable,” Jeremiah Jones, deputy fire chief for North View Fire District, told ABC4 at the time.

In his last Facebook post, written on Oct. 28, Taylor wrote about the recent Afghan election, saying: “The strong turnout, despite the attacks and challenges, was a success for the long-suffering people of Afghanistan and for the cause of human freedom. I am proud of the brave Afghan and U.S. soldiers I serve with. Many American, NATO allies, and Afghan troops have died to make moments like this possible; for example, my dear friend Lt. Kefayatullah who was killed fighting the Taliban the day before voting began.️

“As the USA gets ready to vote in our own election next week, I hope everyone back home exercises their precious right to vote. And that whether the Republicans or the Democrats win, that we all remember that we have far more as Americans that unites us than divides us. ‘United we stand, divided we fall.’ God Bless America.”

Taylor is survived by his wife, Jennie, and seven children. Taylor documented his deployment on Facebook, posting that he watched his youngest daughter learn how to walk through Skype and that he missed his 15th wedding anniversary this year. On Sept. 18, he posted: “My rock star wife has been superwoman through bir thing and raising seven children, and through four deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and over five total years of separation for military service.”

During a deployment to Iraq in 2007, Brent and Jennie Taylor led an effort called “Feed Uncle SAM,” which saw Jennie gather about $75,000 in care packages, toys, educational materials and humanitarian supplies in Utah. Then Taylor let 14 other Utah soldiers to the rural Iraqi villages of Qudeela and Ankawa to distribute the donations.

"I want you to know you put smiles on the faces of the Iraqi people today," Brent Taylor said in a statement to the Utahns who donated.

Jennie Taylor, at the time, said: “To see the good our soldiers are doing among the local Iraqi people reminds me why my husband and I ever decided he needed to go over there in the first place.”

No rth Ogden City Councilman Phillip Swanson said he’d just spoken with Taylor two days ago, and that he and Taylor’s friends and family are “all just heartbroken” over the news.

“He’s one of a kind, one of a kind both in his public service, his private life and in his political life. He’s just one of a kind. We’ve lost a really good man,” he said.

Swanson, who said he and Taylor had gotten close as “political crazies” in North Ogden over the last six years, said city officials are still trying to wrap their heads around the news, but are planning some kind of ceremony to honor Taylor. He said he’d have more information on the event on Monday.

Taylor was elected to the North Ogden City Council in 2009 and then as mayor in 2013. He was re-elected in 2017. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University in 2006, and went on to get a master’s degree from the University of Utah in 2012, according to his biography on th e North Ogden city website.

He was also a vocal critic of the Utah Transit Authority, even as he served on the UTA board. Members of that board initially tried to block his appointment by the Weber Council of Governments, since his father is a train operator. State Auditor John Dougall disagreed and Taylor took his seat. He was the only member to vote against UTA’s budget last year. That UTA board has been disbanded, replaced with a new three-person board.

Before his death, Taylor served more than a decade in the U.S. Army National Guard, including seven years on active duty. He had served two tours in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, not including this most recent tour.

Without naming Taylor, the Utah National Guard said in a release that the soldier who was killed was a “trained professional, fully committed to the community, the country, an d the mission.”

“The selflessness and sacrifice of our service members define the Utah National Guard. Our priority right now is to take care of the family, ensuring they have all the resources they need during this critical time,” the release said.

The last Utah National Guardsman killed in action was 27-year-old Staff Sgt. Aaron Butler. He died on Aug. 16, 2017 in an explosion while clearing buildings in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province.

Before Butler, two other Utah National Guardsman were killed in action in Afghanistan: Sgt. 1st Class James Thode in 2010 and 2nd Lt. Scott Lundell in 2006.

Tribune columnist Robert Gehrke contributed to this report.

Source: Google News | Netizen 24 United States