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| - Kyle was born in Odessa, Texas, the son of Deby Lynn (née Mercer) and Wayne Kenneth Kyle, a Sunday school teacher and a deacon.[3][10] Kyle's father bought his son his first rifle at eight years old, a bolt-action .30-06 Springfield rifle, and later a shotgun, with which they hunted pheasant, quail, and deer.[3] Kyle attended high school in Midlothian, Texas.[11] After school, Kyle became a professional bronco rodeo rider and worked on a ranch, but his professional rodeo career ended abruptly when he severely injured his arm.
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| - Kyle was born in Odessa, Texas, the son of Deby Lynn (née Mercer) and Wayne Kenneth Kyle, a Sunday school teacher and a deacon.[3][10] Kyle's father bought his son his first rifle at eight years old, a bolt-action .30-06 Springfield rifle, and later a shotgun, with which they hunted pheasant, quail, and deer.[3] Kyle attended high school in Midlothian, Texas.[11] After school, Kyle became a professional bronco rodeo rider and worked on a ranch, but his professional rodeo career ended abruptly when he severely injured his arm. After his arm healed, Kyle went to a military recruiting office, interested in joining the U.S. Marine Corps with a special interest in special operations. Kyle signed up, but was rejected because of the pins in his arm. Kyle met with a U.S. Army recruiter next, who told him about the Special Forces and the Rangers.[citation needed] Assigned to SEAL Team 3, sniper element, platoon "Charlie" (later "Cadillac"),[7] within the Naval Special Warfare Command, and with four tours of duty, Kyle served in many major battles of the Iraq War.[3] His first long-range kill shot was taken during the initial invasion when he shot a woman approaching a group of Marines while carrying a hand grenade. An article by CNN reported that the woman was cradling a toddler in her other hand.[12] As ordered, he opened fire, killing the woman before she could attack.[13] He later stated, "the woman was already dead. I was just making sure she didn't take any Marines with her."[7] Because of his track record as a marksman during his deployment to Ramadi, the insurgents named him Shaitan Ar-Ramadi (English: 'The Devil of Ramadi'), and put a $21,000 bounty on his head that was later increased to $80,000. They posted signs highlighting the cross on his arm as a means of identifying him.[3][13] In 2008, outside Sadr City, Kyle reportedly made his longest successful shot after spotting an insurgent who was about to fire a grenade at the U.S. Army convoy. Kyle stated that he fired one shot from his McMillan Tac-338 sniper rifle from about 2,100 yards (1,920 m) away, killing the insurgent.[7] During four tours of duty in the Iraq War, Kyle was shot twice and survived six separate IED explosions.[13] He accumulated 160 confirmed kills out of 255 probable kills. These numbers are based on individual shooter logs, filled out at the end of a mission, and reported to higher command. Kyle stated that he did not know his official kill record, and only counted the lives he felt he could have saved. U.S. Special Operations Command treats sniper kill counts as "unofficial". Confirmed kills must have a witness.[3][14][15] His other weapons included the Mk 11 7.62×51mm NATO semi-automatic sniper rifle, the Mk 12 5.56×45mm NATO Designated Marksman Rifle, the SIG Sauer P220 pistol, an M4 carbine and a .300 Winchester Magnum-chambered sniper rifle.[16] He became known by the moniker "Legend" among the general infantry and Marines whom he was tasked to protect. This title initially originated in jest among fellow SEALs following his taking of a sabbatical to train other snipers in Fallujah.[17]
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