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Living the
Code On and Off the Battlefield
Kris Tanto Paronto
Center Street
May 23, 2017 / ISBN 9781478948186
Nonfiction / Biography / US Army / Special Forces / Military/Non-fiction/
Inspirational
Reviewed
by Elise Cooper
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In
a recently published book, The Ranger Way, Kris “Tanto”
Paronto provides readers with extensive insight into what was
going through his mind as he fought for his life and the lives
of those around him on September 11th, 2012, in Benghazi, and
also breaks down those experiences into the lessons learned.
Kris’ resume is very impressive. A former Army Ranger
from 2nd Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment and a private security
contractor he has been deployed throughout South America, Central
America, the Middle East and North Africa. Many might know him
as a member of the CIA Annex Security Team that responded to
the terrorist attack in Benghazi. Previously he worked with
the US Government's Global Response Staff, the US State Department
High Threat Protection Program, and the Blackwater Security
Consulting firm in high-threat environments around the world.
The book describes an important tool to thrive, take responsibility.
This mentality should be relatable for any person, except if
your name is Hillary Clinton. Kris describes her as “arrogant.
I want to be a thorn in her side. She sees herself as above
the law. Yet, she leaked classified information, used open servers,
and left people to die in Benghazi. She can rationalize away
anything and puts herself before anyone else. I believe 90%
of the national security people truly believe she would have
made a terrible President.”
Kris also blames the national media A quote from the book emphasizes
how they spin the facts to favor the Obama Administration, “If
you want to take CNN’s word over a Marine’s, go
right ahead. I’ll take the Marine’s word one hundred
percent of the time.” This was in response to a question
asked about the stand down order given by Bob, the CIA Benghazi
Chief.
Another life lesson, do not be afraid to ask a question. Kris
believes good leaders “would be happy with questions.
Bob should have realized he was out of his element and asked
questions of us, the experts. He pretended he knew what he was
doing and it cost lives. I truly believe if we were sent out
almost initially those at the compound would still be alive,
instead of telling us we could not leave.”
He realizes he is fighting a new battle. An important principle:
have a battle strategy that strives to reach a goal by defining
the mission’s importance. “We have a new combat
area where we must speak out against politicians, TV, and news
media personalities. Those of us in Benghazi were part of the
Special Ops community and needed to be creative thinkers. We
went through a process of anger, where we watched everything
spin out of control, to realizing we must develop a strategy
to fix and counter the false narrative. We are done just sitting
on the sidelines. Military personnel have integrity, honor,
and are patriotic. Maybe the national security agencies should
recruit from the military because our love for country is stronger
than our political views.”
In reading this book Americans learn that Kris is definitely
not a politically correct kind of guy. He persevered through
the Benghazi tragedy and wants others to learn how they can
succeed in life. Having integrity, courage, and faith in G-d
has allowed him to overcome life's hardships and he hopes his
own life lessons can be helpful to others. |
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