Posts Tagged ‘ ranger ’

Night raid (click to view larger) It was Christmas Eve 2007 and US Army rangers were searching for suspected Al-Qaeda members in Mosul, Iraq. They were using their night vision goggles so they would have the element of surprise on their side. They found 2 Al-Qaeda suspects who were holding an 11-year-old Iraqi boy hostage. Using their night vision capabilities, they were able to shoot the suspects without harming the boy. After that encounter, a firefight erupted between the Army rangers and Al-Qaeda insurgents, with 10 Al-Qaida insurgents killed, including the head of an assassination cell, and no Army ranger losses. The story, detailed in a USA Today article , dramatically demonstrates the advantage night vision capabilities provide to US troops on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan

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SEATTLE — A former Army Ranger convicted of leading a 2006 Tacoma bank robbery in a terrifying military-style heist has pleaded guilty to attempting to hire a hit man to kill a federal prosecutor.Luke E. Sommer also pleaded guilty Monday to attacking a robbery co-defendant behind bars because he thought the man had ratted him out.Sommer, 22, of Peachland, British Columbia, pleaded guilty in federal court to assault with a deadly weapon and solicitation of a crime of violence. Under terms of his plea agreement, he will face 20 years in prison in addition to the 24-year sentence he received in the August 2006 robbery of a Bank of America branch.Court documents say Sommer offered an undercover FBI agent as much as $20,000 to kill a federal prosecutor in March, shortly after Sommer was sentenced on the bank robbery charges.Sommer also pleaded guilty to attacking a co-defendant with a prison-made knife in January 2009 at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac. The victim suffered a minor stab wound.Related reading• Prosecutors: Ex-Ranger assaulted heist partner • Former Lewis Ranger sentenced in bank robbery

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RICHMOND, Va. — Open the door to Fisher House on any Wednesday morning and prepare to have your willpower brought to its knees.The sweet aromas of chocolate, cinnamon and who-knows-what-else grab your senses and drag you down the hall, around the corner and straight into the spacious kitchen. There, you will find several moms making all sorts of cookies, cakes and cobblers.“This house is a home away from home, so to have them come in and bake gives it that home atmosphere,” said Wayne Walker, manager of Fisher House at McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center

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Military moms in Virginia bake sweet treats

Staff Sgt. Michael E. Norton of the 75th Ranger Regiment was awarded a Silver Star Tuesday during a ceremony at the Ranger Memorial on Fort Benning.

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Ambush Response Earns GI Silver Star

One of 2nd Lt. Peter Sprenger’s goals in life is to lead soldiers in the 75th Ranger Regiment. He eventually wants to command a battalion and even a brigade.His goals are not unusual for a young officer candidate who has already led men in combat, but Sprenger, 26, was not supposed to make it this far. On Nov. 19, when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant, he beat the odds — and the naysayers.He was blinded by a car bomb blast in Iraq on Dec

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2nd lt. overcomes severe combat wounds