Staff Sgt. Mark C. Baum was a terrific soldier who was well respected by the members of his team, his family and friends said.

He was undoubtedly doing the job he had been trained to do -- taking care of his troops -- when he was shot Saturday while his unit responded to a roadside bomb in Mushada, Iraq, his friends said.

Baum, 32, of Quakertown, Bucks County, was flown to Baghdad, where he died a few hours later.

His father, Howard Baum of Morgantown, Berks County, said his son loved the military.

"He was always great with people," Baum said. "He enjoyed what he was doing. ... He loved it with the military, the people he worked with. He was always talking about it. I was in the service myself, so I understand."

Mark Baum was a member of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard's 56th Stryker Brigade, based at Fort Indiantown Gap. About 4,000 members of the brigade arrived in Iraq about a month ago. Baum is the first member of the brigade to die in Iraq.

The 56th Stryker Brigade is scheduled to formally take over operations from its predecessors during a ceremony today.

In addition to his parents, Howard and Debra, Baum is survived by his wife, Heather, and three children.

Sgt. Mark Dunkle, who has known Baum for about two years since they trained together with the 56th Stryker Brigade at the Gap, said Baum often talked about his family.

"He loved his kids. He loved his wife," Dunkle said.

Baum was "an all-around great soldier," Dunkle said. "He always took care of his guys."

Dunkle, like Baum a team leader, did not deploy with the rest of the brigade because he required surgery. He said he heard about Baum's death a few hours after it happened.