Graham Ragsdale

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Master Corporal Graham Ragsdale of the Canadian Forces was the commander of the Third Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry sniper team attached to the 101st Airborne of the US Army during Operation Anaconda in the Shah-i-kot Valley, Paktia Province, Afghanistan in March, 2002. The sniper team recorded more than 20 confirmed kills including the long distance record combat kill of 2430 metres set by Corporal Rob Furlong. Master Corporal Ragsdale, with selfless disregard for his personal safety, operated his sniper team through extreme weather conditions at high altitude while under direct and indirect enemy fire ensuring the success of the mission by identifying and neutralizing enemy targets and saving many allied lives. He was awarded the US Army Bronze Star with "V" for valour for his actions in combat and the Mention in Dispatches Oak Leaf by the Canadian Forces for valiant conduct and meritorious service.

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[edit] Biography

Graham Ragsdale was born in Ontario, Canada to English-Irish parents and joined the Canadian Forces after graduating from Secondary School. Upon completion of parachute training he was posted as a paratrooper to 2 Commando of the now disbanded Canadian Airborne Regiment, Special Service Force (SSF) where he gained the reconnaissance, and mountain operations qualifications. He was then posted to 3 PPCLI where he gained the sniper, mortarman, leadership, jumpmaster, freefall parachute instructor, unarmed combat instructor, British pathfinder and British sniper qualifications. In 2000 he completed a tour of duty in the Former Yugoslavia with NATO's Stabilization Force (SFOR), and was then placed in command of the battalion sniper group that in 2002 was deployed to Afghanistan as part of the US Operation Enduring Freedom and Canadian Operation Apollo. Master Corporal Ragsdale began to show symptoms of Operational Stress Injury (OSI) following the tour and in 2005 he was honourably released from the CF into the care of Veteran's Affairs Canada (VAC). He is now a student and an aspiring writer and lives in Alberta, Canada.

[edit] Medals and Decorations

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[edit] References

  • Naylor, Sean. "Not a Good Day to Die" Penguin Group (New York), 2005
  • Pegler, Martin. "Out of Nowhere - A History of Military Snipers" Osprey Publishing, 2006
  • Friscolanti, Michael. "We Were Abandoned" Maclean's, Rogers Publishing, 2006-05-15
  • Krott, Rob. "Canadian Snipers Take Out Taliban" Soldier of Fortune, 2002-08
  • 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry