March 18

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Former Canadian Armed Forces Corporal Rob Furlong was born on Fogo Island, off the northeast coast of Newfoundland. At 10 years old, back home on the East Coast, he and his friends would spread rotten fish on a piece of wood, wait for the flies to show up, then try to shoot them out of the air with their pellet guns (there's not a whole lot to do in Fogo). Born a righty, Furlong even taught himself to fire a rifle left-handed. In 2002, while serving in the 3rd Battalion of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI), he participated in Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan's Shah-i-Kot Valley with a sniper team that included MCpl. Graham Ragsdale (Team Commander), MCpl. Tim McMeekin, MCpl. Arron Perry, Cpl. Dennis Eason. A few days earlier, Master Corporal Arron Perry' had broken Carlos Hathcock's record for the longest sniper kill in history, setting the new mark at 2,310 m (2,526 yd). Considering that the old record had stood for 35 years, you'd think that the new one would hang around for a while. (Guess again ... )

On this day

[more] What else happened today

1981 — World Cup level Norwegian biathlete and Olympic Champion Tora Berger was born in Ringerike, Norway. 2002 — Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda (started on March 2) ends after killing 500 Taliban and al Qaeda fighters with 11 allied troop fatalities. The battle also saw Canadian snipers Arron Perry' and Rob Furlong both break Carlos Hathcock's longstanding record for the longest sniper kill in history.

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