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Police Sergeant Headed Back To Iraq

By KYLE MARTIN

Published: January 28, 2008

BROOKSVILLE - BROOKSVILLE -
In the coming months, Brooksville police Sgt. Ed Serrano will still be carrying a gun and wearing a bulletproof vest.
But his uniform will be brown, not black, and it's a good guess his Humvee won't come with a light bar.
Serrano will say goodbye today to his colleagues before he sets out for a yearlong deployment in Iraq with the U.S. Army Reserve.
Serrano has already been in training with the 320th Military Police Battalion for the past 20 days and is on a brief leave to wrap up business in Brooksville.
The battalion Serrano serves in has a variety of purposes, including security at the Abu Ghraib prison.
Lt. Rick Hankins calls the sergeant a "born leader" and credits him for kick-starting the department's field training program.
"He's very valuable to the agency," Hankins said.
His absence will be filled on a temporary basis, though no one is available to take the job yet.
Six officers spent the end of last week in a promotional exam in hopes of adding the sergeant's chevron to their sleeve.
Serrano formerly served as the city's full-time traffic cop, but he's cut back on those duties because of a shortfall in staff. He's also been instrumental in training other officers and heads the department's SWAT team.
Only a year has passed since his last tour of duty, but Serrano, 46, says this is what he signed up for in 2004.
Still, it's going to be tough to leave his wife of two years and his role as a supervisor on the force.
"I get very attached" to the citizens of the city, Serrano said. "It's my life."