Page 14 - The Edge - Fall 2018

SUMMER CONFERENCE WRAP-UP

BY DON HARRIS

A Survivor of Benghazi Recalls
His Harrowing Experience
Kris “Tanto” Paronto
Building on the AASBO theme “Call of Duty,”
one of the survivors of the deadly Benghazi
attack in 2012, recalled in chilling detail how
he fought for his life, stressing repeatedly to his
AASBO audience: “Never give up.”
Kris “Tanto” Paronto, the keynote speaker
July 20 at AASBO’s Summer Conference
and Expo, actually peppered his tale with
some laughs, saying, “You can find humor in
anything.” Before getting into details of his
harrowing experience, Paronto, a former Army
Ranger and private security contractor, told
AASBO members that by sharing what he and
his buddies went through actually serves as a
therapy for him.
The deadly assault is portrayed in the 2017
move, “13 Hours.” Paronto’s book by the same
name describes the true account from the brave
men on the ground who fought back during the
Battle of Benghazi. The book presents, for the
first time ever, the true account of the events of
September 11, 2012, when terrorists attacked
the U.S. State Department Special Mission
Compound and a nearby CIA station called the
Annex in Benghazi, Libya.
Paronto said he didn’t want to get into the
politics of the Benghazi attack – just what took
place. “I was there,” he said.
He recalled telling jokes that night, even as
his life was in danger. “You can find joy and fun
in anything,” he said. But the mood in that CIA
compound never changed for Paronto and his have responsibilities. We’re doing our jobs. We were all in our
team. “Let’s get the job done. That’s what it was.” 40s, which helped because we had been tested. Every one of
Paronto and his group had been together for only 30 days. us trusted the others to do their job. I was a machine gunner.”
“You can find teamwork within 30 day if you put egos aside,” Their team was ready within five minutes after they were
he said. “Our goal was to keep people alive. You don’t have to alerted to the attack. “It was thumbs up,” he said. “We could
like each other. You just have to tolerate each other. We would see the fire fight three-quarters of a mile away. Panic breeds
not let our differences affect how our team would act.” panic. We knew it could be a suicide mission. ISIS is excellent
He recalled having gone through the United States at guerilla warfare. We’re going, regardless, even if it’s going
Army Ranger School, a 61-day combat leadership course to cost us our lives. If we start panicking, it’s just like throwing
oriented toward small-unit tactics.”Everybody thinks they’re gasoline on a fire.”
Jason Bourne,” he said, a reference to the fictional movie In stressful situations, there is a tendency to fall back, he
character who is a CIA assassin. said, adding: “It takes courage – every one of you have that.
You get acclimated to gunfire, he said. You assess the situation.”
The night of the attack: “There were booms, explosions,
machinegun fire, but there was no panic,” Paronto said. “We all Continued on page 16

14 THE EDGE | FALL 2018