Remembering a Soldier's Soldier

Every unit has one. From the most hard-core combat organization, to the most obscure service support entity, there is always one Soldier who seems to have been drafted to provide the necessary comic relief just when the situation seems to be at its darkest.

As an Army Reserve Soldier deployed to Afghanistan in 2002, I was fortunate to be in the company of a good-natured, fun-loving Soldier's Soldier. Staff Sgt. Eric Barker was our comedic relief during some of the most difficult stages of our deployment. In a unit full of class-clown types, it took something special to stand out. Whatever it was, he had it.

Barker was a talented photojournalist assigned to the 300th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment from Atlanta. The unit mission was to support Coalition Joint Task Force 180 with media and command information support.

Barker returned from Afghanistan and completed his police training and took a job with the DeKalb County Police Department near Atlanta.
I heard a news story on the evening news Jan. 16 about the deaths of two patrolmen from the Atlanta area. The announcer on the D.C. station I was watching didn't use the officers' names, so I had no reason to make a connection.

Mid-morning Jan. 17, I received an e-mail that would bring the distant news story closer to home.

Early the morning before, Barker, 33, and a fellow officer, 26-year-old Ricky Bryant Jr. were killed while they worked as off-duty security guards at an area apartment building, according to published news reports.

James Coble, a broadcast journalist mobilized for Afghanistan with the 300th, worked with Barker in Bosnia, too. "I was new to the 300th. I was glad that I was going with someone I had known before. He was a unique guy," Coble said in a phone conversation Thursday after he and other Soldiers who had served with Barker learned of his death.

Coble recalled Barker's selfless service in Afghanistan. "He liked what he was doing. He couldn't get enough of it. He couldn't get out enough to see the country and the people. He wanted to help them. It was the same in Bosnia."

Barker reported from Bagram, Kabul and Kandahar. His work filled many pages of Freedom Watch, the task force newspaper, during the deployment.
"In Bosnia, he was the most-published journalist in the Talon," Coble said of Barker's work there for the Task Force Eagle newspaper.

"He was larger-than-life," recalled Nikki Prodromos, another broadcaster sent to Afghanistan with the 300th.

"It's such a shame to deploy to a combat zone and return safely, only to be taken out by some criminal," Prodromos said. Though she admits not knowing him well, his personality made a lasting impression on her. "It's sad. He was a really good guy."

"You only live once. Eric knew that," said Coble. "That's how he went at life and everything he did."

He was a character. I'm sure he made a fine police officer."

Barker held his troops to a hard line in Afghanistan, Coble said. Remembering an exchange he had with the sergeant while he and his team were on a remote assignment during the deployment, Coble described a phone conversation he had with Barker after members of his team had commented on how hard everyone was working.

"You're pushing them pretty hard," Coble said to Barker.

"You trained me," Coble said Barker replied.

To soften harsh orders, Barker often assumed a character role from a TV sketch comedy show.

"I am the gen-e-rall," Barker would exclaim in a voice that was half George C. Scott as Patton and half Damon Wayans as Major Payne. The voice, the expression on his face, and the quote always generated a laugh. Soldiers around Barker knew he understood the drudgery of the task and its importance. They also knew he would be right there with them to help carry the load.

Today, there is one less Soldier to shoulder the burden; one less to bring a smile to the faces of others or a laugh to their voices in times of adversity. The loss of such a Soldier should serve as a reminder to all who serve the Army. Coble suggested a lesson to comrades mourning Barker's tragic passing, "You're not guaranteed a tomorrow, sarge, so you gotta do what you gotta do."

Barker did that, for his country and his community.