Kris Paronto
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Kristian Joaquin "Tanto" Paronto (born 2 March 1971) is an American author, businessman, and former Army Ranger and
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...
security contractor. He is known for his actions while part of the CIA annex security team during the 2012 terrorist attack on the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, J. Chris Stevens and the CIA compound in Benghazi. He is featured in the book '' 13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened in Benghazi'' and is credited as a co-author, and is author of the
self-help book A self-help book is one that is written with the intention to instruct its readers on solving personal problems. The books take their name from ''Self-Help'', an 1859 best-seller by Samuel Smiles, but are also known and classified under "self-i ...
s ''The Patriot's Creed: Inspiration and Advice for Living a Heroic Life'' and '' The Ranger Way: Living the Code On and Off the Battlefield.'' Paronto was portrayed by actor
Pablo Schreiber Pablo Tell Schreiber (born April 26, 1978) is an American actor. He is best known for his stage work and for portraying Nick Sobotka on ''The Wire'' (2003, 2008), William Lewis on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2013–2014), Mad Swe ...
in the film '' 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.''


Early life and education

Paronto was born in Alamosa,
Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
. His parents were educators and his mother taught his first-grade class. His father James Paronto was a football coach and athletic director. Paronto played football, baseball and basketball. A football scholarship helped pay for his college degrees which include an associates, bachelor's and master's degrees.


Military career

Paronto served four years as an Army Ranger followed by four years in the Army National Guard. He reached the enlisted rank of sergeant before receiving a commission in 2003.


Benghazi attack

Paronto was a CIA Global Response Staff (GRS) contractor guarding the Benghazi, Libya CIA annex, during the
2012 Benghazi attack Members of the Islamic militant group Ansar al-Sharia carried out a coordinated attack against two United States government facilities in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012. At 9:40 p.m. local time, members of Ansar al-Sharia attacked ...
. CIA contractors Tyrone S. Woods and Glen Doherty were killed in the attack along with the U.S. Ambassador to Libya J. Christopher Stevens and U.S. Foreign Service Information Management Specialist Sean Smith. After Benghazi, Paronto served as a security contractor in Yemen before leaving the CIA.


Writing and Speaking career

Following his exit from the CIA, Paronto became an author and public speaker. After the U.S. captured Ahmed Abu Khatallah for his role in the Benghazi attack and brought him to the U.S., Paronto was critical of the decision made by the
Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. Obama, a Democrat from Illinois, took office following his victory over Republican nomine ...
to have him tried before a jury in Federal court. In protest of that decision, Paronto refused to testify at his trial. Along with Mitchell Zuckoff and other members of the Annex Security Team stationed in Benghazi, Paronto co-wrote the book ''13 Hours:'' ''The Inside Account of What Really Happened In Benghazi''. The book was the basis for the Michael Bay-directed film '' 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi''. In 2017, Paronto released his second book, '' The Ranger Way: Living the Code On and Off the Battlefield'', a self-help book and survival guide based on Paronto's military experiences.


Other media

Paronto hosted the pilot episode of ''War Heroes'', a documentary series about American military personnel, produced by Fox Trail Productions. In November 2019, Paronto launched ''Battleline Podcast'' with Ian Scotto which has continued since.


Charitable work

Paronto is co-founder of the 14th Hour Foundation, a non-profit organization "committed to raising and dispersing funds to help the lives and futures of Veterans, Military Contractor Personnel, and First Responders who have served and sacrificed to protect the American Homeland." Paronto is the owner and lead instructor of Battleline Tactical.


Bibliography

*''The Patriot's Creed: Inspiration and Advice for Living a Heroic Life'' *'' The Ranger Way: Living the Code On and Off the Battlefield'', , , 2017 * '' 13 Hours: The Inside Account of What Really Happened In Benghazi'', , 2014


References


Biography on KrisTanParonto.net
(archived)


External links


Kris "Tanto" Paronto website
(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Paronto, Kris United States Army Rangers Living people American writers United States Army soldiers United States Army officers 1971 births University of Nebraska Omaha alumni Utah Tech University alumni People from Alamosa, Colorado Military personnel from Colorado