Petty Officer 2nd Class Mark A. Mayo saving the world
NBCWashington tells the story of the shooting at Norfolk Naval Base the other day and the heroics of Petty Officer 2nd Class Mark A. Mayo. Somehow, convicted felon, Jeffrey Tyrone Savage, got on the base with his truck. He proceeded to the USS Mahan, took the weapon of a petty officer. PO2 Mayo then took a bullet from that gun protecting the disarmed petty officer with his own body while discharging his weapon at Savage possibly killing Savage.
So what Savage was doing on the base, is still a question as are his motivations for the altercation which resulted in his death. It seems Savage had a record, but then, so do all of these gunmen lately;
Savage was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in Mecklenburg County, N.C., and released from prison Dec. 30, 2009, records showed.
[…]
Savage was also sentenced in Virginia in 1998 for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. He served nearly five years in federal prison before transferring to a halfway house and home confinement in the Raleigh, N.C., area, according to Chris Burke, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Savage also spent two years in federal prison beginning in 2010 after his supervision was revoked and was transferred to a halfway house in February 2012, Burke said.
Category: Navy
‘…after he took a gun from a petty officer who was on watch for the ship and used HER gun to shoot Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Mark Mayo….’ It could have happened to anybody, you might say. I say otherwise.
I do not know what PO2 Mayo’s career was like up to that point. All I do know is that when the rubber met the road, he was not found wanting.
May heaven have a special seat for him and condolences to the family.
“Greater love hath no man than one who would lay down his life for his friends.”
God Bless Petty Officer Mayo and his family. The lad was a hero and possibly saved many of his shipmates from a similar fate.
Good to see that a convicted felon was able to access the base and commit a murder. Bet there won’t be any knee jerk reactions to this.
I will be very interested to hear exactly how Savage disarmed the watchstander and gained control of a loaded weapon. Now that I know the gender of the disarmed service member, I am thinking that we may not learn much into how it happened. Cause that might disrupt the growing narrative that all women are super soldiers/sailors. Unfair to the women and ultimately may have contributed to Petty Officer Mayo’s death.
Having served in a combat arms unit, Army, anyone who has been trained to fight hand to hand knows tough doesn’t mean squat. There is trained then there is untrained. Let’s not judge her because of gender from the very beginning. The US Navy/USMC is responsible for her training. Was she trained to crush the frontal skull with her night stick? Was she trained to properly strike the throat and fracture the hyoid bone? What were the standing orders she was given when encountering an unauthorized person on her watch? It sounds like you are assuming to know quite a bit of info and assigning blame because of gender.
Under the wide and starry sky
Dig the grave and let me lie;
Glad did I live and glady die,
And I lay me down with a will!
This be the verse you ‘grave for me
“Here he lies, where he long’d to be;
Home is the sailor, home from the sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.”
RIP, PO2 Mark Mayo. When it mattered, you did your duty and you did it well – at the cost of your own life.
May God comfort your friends and family.
Fair winds and following seas, PO2 Mayo.
I, too, want to know how this clod Savage was able to get a pass to get on the base in the first place, but I will not speculate on it. I prefer the facts.
He had one thing needed for port access, a “TWIC card”. I thought that one had to be “felony free” to obtain that. And he came into the port by driving a semi truck. Sounds like the gate crew wasn’t doing all they should have been doing:
http://gcaptain.com/naval-station-norfolk-shooting-suspect-valid-twic/
The article Jonn linked to above says that a felony record is not an absolute bar to getting a TWIC, Frankly (though apparently conviction of some crimes is a permanent bar; the article doesn’t say which crimes). Normal requirement is out of prison for last 5 years. There’s also a waiver process.
Even so, the article also states that a TWIC alone shouldn’t have been enough for the man to have gotten on-base. A second item (e.g., pick-up or delivery manifest; other things also qualify) is also apparently required.
Sounds to me like the guy had a valid TWIC and either (1) had a (possibly forged) pick-up manifest, (2) BS-ed the gate guards with some plausible story about leaving it at home/his employer not giving him one/etc . . . and the guards cut him a break, or (3) the guards simply screwed up and waived him thru on his TWIC alone.
Convictions for manslaughter and selling crack, along with violating his parole??? Yeah, a real pillar of the community right there.
To the family and friends of Hero PO2 Mayo, you have my utmost sympathy and condolences.
MA2 Mayo Was on his 2nd enlistment. By all accounts he was a smart caring person. My heart goes out to his family.
MA2 Mayo was a Sheepdog.
MA2 = Master-at-Arms 2nd class?
You are correct.
The first article I read referred to the disarmed petty officer on watch as female. In my youth and all the way into my early thirties I was physically capable of exceeding the PT requirements of the Army, Navy and even of the Marines. (I had friends in the services and actually did it, just to prove myself). I had been a competitive gymnast since I was 6 and in Tae Kwon Do since my teens. I was freakishly strong and fast.
And I do not believe women should be in combat.
Or even in the armed forces, the police, fire or other emergency responder positions unless they are capable of passing the same PT standards of men. I believe it is the rare female that can compete with men on the same level. Just as not all men are capable of completing the most grueling PT requirements of the elite and special forces programs.
That said, ‘hiding’ the gender of the disarmed petty officer seems a calculated decision to, as was said above, not to interfere with the currant narrative of the female soldier/sailor being as capable as men. It is a shame, because we don’t know what happened. Maybe she was ambushed (in attentive to duty?), maybe she was physically overpowered. No matter what happened, a ‘man’ came to her rescue, and that surely can’t be allowed to be the message.
Liberals are doing the same thing to women they’ve done to the black community…keep telling them you are equal, you have been kept down, and here are the government policies to level the playing field for you because on your own, you can’t do it. But you are equal. But we have to change the rules for you, lower the standards to make it fair for you. But you are equal.
The problem with having this conversation now is all of it distracts from the honor of PO2 Mayo. Thank you sailor, God Bless you and your family.
Fair winds, and following seas, Sailor. Fair winds, and following seas.
A number of people had to screw up in order for Mayo to be in the position he was. And it appears that the last link to preventing the harm that occurred failed miserably. Was she asleep on duty? Was she scared out of her wits? Was she improperly trained in weapons retention and passed through? Did she draw her weapon and not know how to use it and it was taken from her? Those who know won’t be saying.
Yep.
Or was she ambushed/faked out?
Has no male ever been disarmed by an enemy?
Maybe we could wait for facts before blaming this on gender.
Just sayin’….
That’s the point. We won’t get the facts BECAUSE of her gender. As for this sort of thing happening elsewhere at other times and a male was responsible, there is no doubt. The difference is we get the scoop on the front end, usually. Protecting an image that continues to be carefully and purposefully cultivated (i.e., woman = man) is not the way to help women in any service because ity’s bullshit from the word go, to use an archaic expression of my youth.
Denise, we’ve had this conversation so many times the dead horse is now a fine grade of hamburger.
Eternal Father, Strong to Save …
That is beautiful, Master Chief. Thank you for posting that.
I’ve always loved our hymn.
Sailor, rest your oar.
Well done, PO2 Mayo. You were doing it all right, and we hardly knew ye … alas …
See you in a while, Brother.
Prayers for PO2 Mayo and his family. May this hero rest in eternal peace.
On behalf of a very grateful nation, thank you PO2 Mayo for displaying the honor, integrity and best attributes of our military services. Your actions are an inspiration. Rest now in peace.
To your family: your journey is made with many old vets and grateful citizens. While we cannot take away your pain, we can and will walk with you.
Very sad. There appear to be at least several failures which led to this fine young man being confronted with this killer. He should not have found himself in that position. But when he did, he showed us all that there are still fine examples of American manhood among us.
He should be a future recipient of the “Navy and Marine Corps Medal”!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navy_and_Marine_Corps_Medal
Agreed – an unfortunately posthumous one.
I agree
I couldn’t agree more
ugh, so many questions.
Having seen this type of security in person I’m not surprised though.
Maybe they’ll get serious about this stuff and there won’t be 5’0 sailors carrying rifles around looking like they are going to tip over if there is wind. At the least they should be wearing body armor if armed.
Rest in peace, Petty Officer Mayo.