Jack Coughlin is a retired Gunnery Sergeant

Gunnery Sergeant

Gunnery Sergeant is the seventh enlisted rank in the United States Marine Corps, just above Staff Sergeant and below Master Sergeant and First Sergeant, and is a staff non-commissioned officer...

 of the United States Marine Corps

United States Marine Corps

The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

 (USMC) and is the author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 of the autobiographical

Autobiography

An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...

 book Shooter.

Early years

Jack Coughlin was born and raised in Waltham, Massachusetts

Waltham, Massachusetts

Waltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, was an early center for the labor movement, and major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, the city was a prototype for 19th century industrial city planning,...

. He had four older sisters. His father had been a painting contractor until he decided to change his career to one that included history

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

 and literature

Literature

Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...

.

At a young age, Jack was temporarily blinded in his right eye (his shooting eye) when a sharp rock hit his eye when he was passing by a rock fight with two older boys. The eye eventually healed and his sight in the eye was 20/10.

Jack was very passionate about playing baseball throughout his childhood and adolescence. As he proceeded to college, his dreams of playing Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 were shattered after he hurt his pitching shoulder. Soon after this incident, at the age of 19, Jack decided to enlist in the Marine Corps after consulting with his best friend.

Military career

Coughlin enlisted in the Marines in 1985 and completed his recruit training

United States Marine Corps Recruit Training

United States Marine Corps Recruit Training, commonly known as "boot camp", is a program of initial training that each recruit must successfully complete in order to join the United States Marine Corps...

 at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island

Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island

Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island is an military installation located within Port Royal, South Carolina, approximately south of Beaufort, the community that is typically associated with the installation. MCRD Parris Island is used for the training of enlisted Marines...

. His first experiences with operating firearms, including shooting a rifle, occurred in the Marine Corps recruit training. He later attended Scout Sniper

Scout Sniper

Scout Sniper is a secondary MOS designator of U.S. Marine Corps infantrymen and reconnaissance Marines that have successfully graduated from a USMC Scout Sniper School. Scout Snipers provide close reconnaissance and surveillance to the infantry battalion...

 school. Coughlin was also stationed at the Subic Bay naval base

U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay

U.S. Naval Base Subic Bay was a major ship-repair, supply, and rest and recreation facility of the United States Navy located in Zambales, Philippines. It was the largest U.S...

 in the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 with Alpha Company, Marine Barracks Starboard Security Platoon, and later the Jungle Operations Branch. Eventually, he was assigned to the 3rd Battalion 4th Marines

3rd Battalion 4th Marines

3rd Battalion, 4th Marines is an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Nicknamed "Thundering Third" it is known within the battalion as "Darkside" and the radio callsigns of the command and staff reflect this moniker. They are based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center...

, part of the 7th Marine Regiment of the 1st Marine Division.

Coughlin was deployed with this unit to Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 in 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom, the 2003 invasion of Iraq

2003 invasion of Iraq

The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...

 with Basra

Basra

Basra is the capital of Basra Governorate, in southern Iraq near Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of two million as of 2009...

. He initially spent some time with British troops

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 in Basra, then fought with his unit north to the city of Baghdad

Baghdad

Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...

. Coughlin and his unit were present at the famous Firdos Square statue destruction

Firdos Square statue destruction

The destruction of the Firdos Square statue was an event in the 2003 Invasion of Iraq and marked the symbolic end of the Battle of Baghdad. It is an instance of iconoclasm.-Meaning:...

 of Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein

Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...

. Coughlin originated the concept of the Mobile Sniper Strike Team, which he employed in Iraq to great effect. While in Iraq, he received his second Bronze Star

Bronze Star Medal

The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...

 with valor device

Valor device

The Valor device is an award of the United States military which is a bronze attachment to certain medals to indicate that it was received for valor...

. When he returned from Iraq, he retired from the Marine Corps.

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