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Inches divide life, death in the Afghan darkness
EFL.Weâve got some amazing people over there. Go to the link and read the whole thing.For a few seconds on a frigid Afghan night, Army Master Sgt. Tony Pryor fought Americaâs war on terror with only his bare hands. One of 26 Special Forces soldiers raiding an al-Qaeda compound in mountains north of Kandahar last year, Pryor found himself alone in a room with three enemy fighters. He shot two of them dead in the first few seconds. The third he would have to fight and kill hand to hand, so close he could smell the manâs sour breath. War creates widows, orphans, disabled Purple Heart veterans and soldiers such as Pryor, proficient in the dark art of killing. All of the nationâs nearly 30,000 special operations soldiers, sailors and airmen are skilled at close combat. But Pryor was specially trained. He was one of more than 80 Army Special Forces troops who drilled relentlessly in close-quarter fighting a combination of martial arts and street fighting to prepare for a series of raids in Afghanistan. "Whatever digging, scratching, biting, hair-pulling, ear-ripping-off whatever you got to do to get the job done, thatâs what you do," Pryor says, explaining actions that night that won him the Silver Star for heroism and saved the lives of other team members in the compound. "Because, bottom line, I got a life at home. They (his comrades) got a life at home. And weâre coming home." Iâm glad this guyâs on our side. Read the whole article. Posted by: tu3031 2003-10-21 |
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