Meet the devil of Ramadi

Up until recently, one could have argued about the most deadly (some would prefer the term 'effective') United States serviceman.  Chances are the title would have gone to Staff Sergeant Adelbert Waldron who had 109 confirmed kills in Viet Nam as an Army sniper in the 9th Infantry Division.  Or maybe it was USMC sniper Chuck Mawhinney, who had 103 confirmed kills, but had 216 probables and once killed 16 members of a North Vietnamese Army platoon he encountered--all with head shots from his trusty M14 rifle.

Not to diminish the accomplishments of either men, but personally, I'm going with US Navy SEAL sniper Chuck Kyle.  He has been credited with 255 kills, of which 160 were confirmed.  Mr. Kyle once killed a man holding an RPG from 2,100 yards away.  His four tours of duty in Iraq, coupled with being credited with 40 kills in the second battle for Fallujah alone, earned him the nick name "the devil of Ramadi" from the insurgents.  It also earned him a $20,000 price on his head.  He was shot twice and was hit six times by IED explosions.  When asked if he ever had any second thoughts or regrets, he replied as follows:

'It was my duty to shoot the enemy, and I don’t regret it. My regrets are for the people I couldn’t save: Marines, soldiers, buddies. I’m not naive, and I don’t romanticize war. The worst moments of my life have come as a SEAL. But I can stand before God with a clear conscience about doing my job,' he told Texas Monthly.

Well said, Mr. Kyle.  And thank you, and before you Sergeants Waldron and Mawhinney, for your service.