“It is my duty, as a member of the Air Rescue Service, to save life and to aid the injured. I will be prepared at all times to perform my assigned duties quickly and efficiently, placing these duties before personal desires and comforts. These things I do that others may live.”

Pararescueman Killed in Action

Captain Mark K. Weber, 29, a Combat Rescue Officer with the 38th Rescue Squadron (RQS), was killed in a helicopter crash in Anbar Province, Iraq, March 15, 2018. Weber was assigned to the 38th Rescue Squadron. He commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Air Force in 2011. Mark graduated from Guyer High School, Denton, TX, in 2007, then attended the United States Air Force Academy. He graduated in 2011 as a contracting officer, but soon-after switched gears to become a combat rescue officer. As a Combat Rescue Officer, Mark was trained to direct Combat Search and Rescue operations and to plan, manage and execute Combat Search and Rescue tasks. Mark was known in the Combat Rescue community as one who would always put the care and well-being of his men before his own. In turn, his team would follow him with unwavering confidence. A member of Mark’s Squadron once said “In the pool, he would help the last team member across before surfacing for his own breath. On a ruck, I watched him carry a teammate whose body had quit. When the team screwed up, it was Capt. Weber who shouldered the responsibility. I never saw him tired and I never saw him afraid – not because he didn’t feel pain or experience fear, but he placed his duty before his own personal desires and comforts.” Maj. Jason Egger, the commander of Mark’s squadron, said “Mark has become part of the storied legacy of combat rescue officers and pararescuemen who paid the ultimate sacrifice. It is now up to us who continue to wear the beret, to honor that sacrifice and to understand that our words and our actions carry the full weight of our fallen comrades. We should strive to ensure that we never fall short of the standard of excellence and honor defined by those who have gone before us.” Mark leaves behind his parents, Ron and Margaret, along with four sisters: Lori, Kristin, Kathryn and Leah.
Members of the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard carry Capt. Mark Weber’s casket during his funeral service, July 9, 2018, at Arlington National Cemetery, Va	A combat rescue officer from the 103rd Rescue Squadron salutes Capt. Mark Weber’s casket during his funeral service, July 9, 2018, at Arlington National Cemetery, Va.
Maj. Jason Egger, 38th Rescue Squadron commander, presents a folded flag to the family of Capt. Mark Weber during his funeral service, July 9, 2018, at Arlington National Cemetery, Va.
NEWS ARTICLES
38th RQS MEMORIAL VIDEO	FOX NEWS VIDEO
DoD VIDEO