http://www.timesargus.com -- COLCHESTER, Vt. (AP) - Vermont Army National Guard Spc. Scott P. McLaughlin of Hardwick was killed in Iraq after a sniper's bullet pierced the seams of his body armor. His death Thursday was the second this week of a Vermont guardsman.

"I deeply regret another loss of one of our Green Mountain Boys in Iraq," said Maj. Gen. Martha Rainville, who announced McLaughlin's death Friday morning. She said he had been shot in the left shoulder while inside an observation post near Ramadi. He was flown to the nearby support hospital but died in surgery.

He was wearing his full body armor and a new Kevlar helmet and was in the turret of an armored vehicle when he was shot. Rainville said McLaughlin was following a minor disturbance outside the post and was shot from another direction. The American soldiers did not return fire out of fear of civilian casualties.

"The insurgents have had time to know what the weaknesses are," said Rainville of the sniper's success despite the armor.

McLaughlin, 29, is survived by his wife, Nicole, and two children, Molly, 1, and Tyler, 6.

"Keep them in your special thoughts as they go through a very difficult time," said the general.

McLaughlin was a member of C Company, 1st Battalion of the 172nd Armored Regiment based out of Morrisville. It is part of Task Force Saber, a group of almost 400 Vermonters from a number of different Guard units.

McLaughlin was the third member of Task Force Saber killed in Iraq and the second this week. Vermont National Guard Lt. Mark H. Dooley, who was a member of the same unit, was killed by a bomb on Monday. A third member of the unit, Sgt. 1st Class Chris S. Chapin, 39, of Proctor, was killed last month.

His death brings to 18 the number of American military service members with ties to Vermont who have died in Iraq since the war began. A 19th Vermonter died of natural causes in Kuwait while training to go to Iraq.

Despite the proportionally high number of Vermonters killed in Iraq, Rainville said the state's troops were not being singled out for more hazardous duty or denied protective equipment.

"It's frustrating for a small state. Every (death) is too many," Rainville said. "Are they being treated fairly? They are."

Rainville said Ramadi, a city about 75 miles west of Baghdad, was currently the most dangerous place in Iraq. It's one of the main routes used by insurgents and foreign fighters into Iraq.

The Vermonters are serving as part of a brigade combat team whose mission is to close that route to the insurgents, Rainville said.

"I think what we are seeing is (that Ramadi is) the focus of the insurgency," Rainville said. "The Vermonters are certainly right where the intensity is right now."

In civilian life McLaughlin worked for more than four years at a computer laser cutting manufacturer, CAD Cut in Middlesex, before he was deployed in January.

McLaughlin and his family spoke with Vermont Public Radio on the day his unit left for training in Mississippi. He was accompanied by his extended family.

McLaughlin was calm on the day he was deployed. He said that wasn't the case in the summer of 2004 when word came that he would be sent overseas.

"Well, when we first got the alert order a long time ago, it was pretty emotional then," he said.

He was more relaxed in January.

"When I come back, we'll all have to get together. I've got a bunch of land. We'll have a big party," McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin's boss at CAD Cut said his death was shocking news.

"He was a well-liked team member," Ben Winters said Friday. "He was someone that always spoke about his family and his love of the outdoors."

Winters said he had just spoken to McLaughlin, who had called by cell phone from Iraq several weeks ago.

"He was looking forward to work and being at home with his family," he said.

Vermont Army National Guard, Sergeant E-5 Scott Paul McLaughlin – 29, died Thursday, September 22, 2005 in Ramadi, Iraq while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Born in Berlin on June 18, 1976, he was the son of Kevin and Vickie (Wells) McLaughlin. On August 5, 2000, he married the former Nicole Renee MacIver in West Bolton.

Scott was a 1994 graduate of Mount Mansfield Union High School and enlisted in the U.S. Marines. Following his discharge, Scott worked as a cutting technician for Cadcut in Middlesex where he was currently employed. Continuing his military service, Scott joined the Army National Guard, Company C, 1st Battalion of the 172nd Armed Regiment of Morrisville with whom he was currently serving in Iraq as members of Task Force Saber.

Known for his quick smile and gentle, kindhearted spirit, Scott was most at home in the woods enjoying hunting and fishing. He cherished his wife, Nicole; their children, Tyler and Molly and the time spent with family and friends. Church played an integral role in Scott’s life, attending with his family at Living Hope Wesleyan Fellowship (formerly the Standard Church) in Waterbury Center.

Scott is survived by his wife, Nicole, and their children, Molly Marlene McLaughlin and Tyler Scott McLaughlin, all of Hardwick; his father and mother, Kevin and Vickie McLaughlin of West Bolton; his paternal grandmother, Esther McLaughlin of Cincinnati, Ohio; his sister, Shalena Hansen and her husband, Scott of West Bolton; his bother, John P. McLaughlin and his wife, Patricia Gray-McLaughlin of Underhill; as well as a large and loving extended family.
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