Drug Agent's Near-Death in Afghanistan Highlights Risks for U.S.
- Shot in head during 2011 bazaar raid, DEA officer back on duty
- U.S. fight to curb Afghan opium output yielding mixed results
Photographer: Staff Sgt. Sean K. Harp/U.S. Army via DVIDS
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Joe Piersante’s story of survival began on a clear afternoon in October 2011 when his elite team of U.S. drug enforcement agents was raiding an Afghan bazaar.
That’s when the gunfire started, with bullets zinging so close he felt their heat on his neck. He remembers dashing for the rescue chopper. Then the world went black.