Graduated top of his class at Fort Benning Airborne School. Opted for U.S. Army Special Languages School where he specialized in Han Chinese and Southeast Asian dialects. Returned for refresher courses in numerous Middle Eastern languages. Upon graduation he received the Congressional Medal of Honor and 2 Bronze Stars for single-handedly rescuing 34 POWs from a heavily guarded enemy compound. Led RDF (Rapid Deployment Force) troops into various "hot spots" in Central America and Middle East