Graham Ragsdale

Graham Ragsdale

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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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.

Biography

Graham Ragsdale was born in Ontario, Canada and joined the Canadian Forces out of 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 lost the hearing in his left ear during a day long mortar attack on Operation Anaconda and following that tour he was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and he was honourably released into the care of Veterans Affairs Canada. Master Corporal Ragsdale is now an aspiring writer and lives in Alberta, Canada.

Medals and Decorations

*South West Asia Medal - Afghanistan
*Special Service Medal - Alert
*Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal
*NATO SFOR Medal - Former Yugoslavia
*U.S. Army Bronze Star with "V"
*Mention in Dispatches Oak Leaf
*Commander-in-Chief Unit Citation
*Wound Stripe
*McMillan Trophy

Badges

* Parachute wings Canadian Forces
* Parachute wings British Army
* Sniper badge Canadian Forces
* Sniper badge British Army
* Pathfinder flash British Army
* Parachute wings senior United States Army
* Parachute wings HALO United States Army
* Air Assault wings United States Army
*Combat Action Badge United States Army

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


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