Graham Ragsdale (born 28 June 1969) is a former soldier of the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

. He commanded the

sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...

team from the 3rd Battalion

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI, generally referred to as the Patricia's) is one of the three Regular Force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army of the Canadian Armed Forces. Formed in 1914, it is named for Princess Patrici ...

attached to the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

187th Infantry Regiment,

101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...

during

Operation Anaconda Operation Anaconda was a military operation that took place in early March 2002 as part of the War in Afghanistan. CIA paramilitary officers, working with their allies, attempted to destroy al-Qaeda and Taliban forces. The operation took place ...

in the Shah-i-kot Valley, Paktia Province,

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

in March 2002. The sniper team recorded more than 20 kills, including the long distance record combat kill of set by Corporal

Rob Furlong Rob Furlong (born 11 November 1976) is a Canadian former military sniper who, from March 2002 until November 2009, held the world record for the longest confirmed sniper kill in combat, at . Friscolanti, Michael"We were abandoned", Maclean's, Ro ...

. Master Corporal Ragsdale, with selfless disregard for his own personal safety, operated his sniper team through

extreme weather Extreme weather or extreme climate events includes unexpected, unusual, severe, or unseasonal weather; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution—the range that has been seen in the past. Often, extreme events are based on a locat ...

conditions at high altitude while under direct and indirect enemy fire aiding the success of the mission by identifying and neutralizing enemy targets and saving allied lives. He was awarded the United States

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

with

"V" device A "V" device is a metal capital letter "V" with serifs which, when worn on certain decorations awarded by the United States Armed Forces, distinguishes an award for heroism or valor in combat instead of for meritorious service or achievement. ...

for his actions in combat and was

Mentioned in Despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

by the Canadian Forces for valiant conduct and meritorious service.

Military career

Graham Ragsdale was born on 28 June 1969 in

Owen Sound, Ontario Owen Sound ( 2021 Census population 21,612) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat of Grey County, it is located at the mouths of the Pottawatomi and Sydenham Rivers on an inlet of Georgian Bay. The primary tourist attractio ...

, Canada. He joined the

in 1988 after graduating from

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

and, upon completion of selection and parachute training, he was posted as a paratrooper to 2

Commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

of the now disbanded

Canadian Airborne Regiment The Canadian Airborne Regiment (french: links=, Régiment aéroporté canadien) was a Canadian Forces formation created on April 8, 1968. It was not an administrative regiment in the commonly accepted British Commonwealth sense, but rather a tactic ...

Special Service Force The Special Service Force was a designation used by two army units: a World War II Canadian-American formation, and a Canadian Army formation from 1977 to 1995. Motto - OSONS (We Dare) World War II: 1st Special Service Force In 1942 a highly ...

(SSF), where he gained the reconnaissance, military freefall, sniper, and mountain operations qualifications. In 1991, after his initial three year service contract, he chose to release from the regular force and joined the

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Patrol Group while pursuing a promising amateur boxing career with Olympic hopes. He rejoined the regular force in 1996 and was posted to the newly formed 3rd Battalion

, where he gained the mortarman, section commander, jump master, machine gunner, unarmed combat instructor, and freefall parachute instructor qualifications. He also completed the British Army pathfinder cadre and sniper badge tests. In 2000 he completed a tour of duty in the

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with

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's Stabilization Force, and was then given the command role of unit master sniper in charge of the sniper group that in 2002 was deployed to

as part of the US

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...

and Canadian Operation Apollo. In contrast to the accolades of American soldiers who witnessed the snipers in action in the Shah-i-kot, a controversial decision made by the PPCLI (

)chain-of-command removed Master Corporal Ragsdale as the sniper group leader amidst a

Canadian Forces National Investigation Service The Canadian Forces National Investigation Service (CFNIS) is the investigative arm of the Canadian Forces Military Police. The CFNIS is an independent military police unit that provides an independent investigative capability for the purpose of ...

(CFNIS) investigation of Master Corporal

Arron Perry Arron Perry is a former master corporal in the Canadian Forces who in March 2002 broke the 34-year-old record for the Longest recorded sniper kills, longest recorded sniper kill in combat, completing a kill at a range of during the War in Afghani ...

. Six months after the tour, a despondent Ragsdale chose to release from the military. Ragsdale was employed from 2005-2015 as a private military contractor with

Aegis Defence Services Aegis Defence Services is a British private military and private security company with overseas offices in Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Somalia and Mozambique. It is part of the Aegis Group of companies, ...

and Tundra Group operating throughout Afghanistan and the Maghreb region of North Africa as a designated defensive marksman (DDM) and security manager. He currently resides in Alberta, Canada instructing marksmanship and field craft.

Medals and decorations

Sacrifice Medal The Sacrifice Medal (french: Médaille du sacrifice) is a decoration that was created in 2008 as a replacement for the Wound Stripe. It is awarded by the Canadian monarch, usually by the Governor General of Canada, to members of the Canadian Force ...

(replacing the previously awarded Wound Stripe) –

South-West Asia Service Medal The South-West Asia Service Medal (french: Médaille du service en Asie du Sud-Ouest) is a campaign medal created in 2002 by the Canadian monarch- in-Council to recognize members of the Canadian Forces who had directly participated in efforts to c ...

* Special Service Medal – Rangers and Alert *

Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal The Canadian Peacekeeping Service Medal (french: Médaille canadienne du maintien de la paix) is a campaign medal created October 21, 1999 to recognize the contributions of all Canadian Peacekeeping, Peacekeepers towards the ultimate goal of peace, ...

* NATO SFOR Medal – Former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

with

(United States) *

Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation The Commander-in-Chief Unit Commendation (French: is a Canadian award given to military units for "an extraordinary deed or activity of a rare high standard in extremely hazardous circumstances". Not only Canadian military units are eligible; Com ...

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 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ragsdale, Graham Living people Canadian military snipers Kincardine, Ontario Canadian Army soldiers Canadian military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) 1969 births