The National Rifle Association announced in May that retired Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North is set to become the organization's next president.
“Oliver North is a legendary warrior for American freedom, a gifted communicator and skilled leader," NRA Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre said in a statment announcing the news. "In these times, I can think of no one better suited to serve as our president.”
Here are five things to know about the incoming NRA president.
1. North had to prove his mettle at Annapolis.
While North was a midshipman the U.S. Naval Academy, he suffered serious back and leg injuries from an auto accident in which a classmate had been killed. The injuries caused him to miss a year of classes.
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North later boxed another classmate, future Secretary of the Navy and U.S. Sen. Jim Webb in a middleweight intramural contest. He won that championship match and presented films of the bout to Marine Medical Corps officials to prove that he’d recovered from his injuries.
The staff agreed, North graduated from Annapolis, and was awarded his commission as a second lieutenant.
2. North distinguished himself on the battlefield.
North was sent to Vietnam to serve as a platoon commander. While there, he earned the Silver Star, the Bronze Star with Combat V, and two Purple Hearts.
He was awarded his Silver Star for action while leading his men in Operation Virginia Ridge near the Demilitarized Zone, where his Marines “came under a heavy volume of machine gun and automatic weapons fire supported by rocket-propelled grenades, directional mines, and mortars,” according to his citation. “Second Lieutenant North, with complete disregard for his own safety, assumed the foremost assault position and seemingly oblivious to the intense machine gun fire impacting around him, led his men against the hostile position.”
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3. He served on the National Security Council.
North served as the deputy director for political-military affairs on the National Security Council from 1981 to 1986 and during his tenure there he was raised in rank to lieutenant colonel.
While at the NSC, the missions North managed included the hunt for the terrorists responsible for the 1983 truck bombings of barracks in Lebanon that killed 299 American and French military personnel.
He also oversaw the midair interception of an EgyptAir jetliner carrying the terrorists responsible for hijacking the the Achille Lauro, and took part in the planning of the American invasion of Granada and the bombing of Libya.
North also was involved with Iran-Contra scandal while serving as an NSC deputy director and working with then-NSA director John Poindexter, which placed him in the spotlight of a congressional inquiry.
4. He's got a history in television.
North acted on the small screen, playing himself in the popular CBS series “JAG” in a 1995 episode titled “Desert Son,” and one in 1996 titled “Hemlock.”
In each episode, he played the family friend of Meg Austin, performed by series star Tracey Needham.
North’s television work continued as a Fox News contributor and host of a Fox News series called "War Stories.”
5. He's a cigar aficionado.
North is also a lover of fine cigars, and Cigar Aficionado ran a lengthy interview of the Vietnam War hero in 2002, in which he discussed Osama bin Laden and the 9/11 terrorist attack, the war on terrorism, and then-President George W. Bush.
During the interview, North said he believed that bin Laden was not only surprised by America’s response to 9/11, but thought that he was “shell-shocked, if he's still alive.”
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