Unflinching ─ The Making of a Canadian Sniper

From retired elite sniper Jody Mitic comes a raw and powerful chronicle of military life, endurance, and overcoming adversity.

Afghanistan, 2007. I was a Master Corporal, part of an elite sniper team sent on a mission to flush out Taliban in an Afghan village. I had just turned thirty, after three tours of duty overseas. I’d been shot at by mortars, eyed the enemy through my scope, survived through stealth and stamina. I’d been preparing to be a casualty of war for my entire adult life. But nothing prepared me for what happened next.

A twenty-year veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, Jody Mitic served as a Master Corporal and Sniper Team Leader on three active tours of duty over the course of seven years. Known for his deadly marksmanship, his fearlessness in the face of danger, and his “never quit” attitude, he was a key player on the front in Afghanistan. As a sniper, he secured strongholds from rooftops, engaged in perilous ground combat, and joined classified night operatives to sniff out the enemy.

In this raw, no-holds-barred memoir, Jody reveals he was born to be a soldier. An aimless teen in search of belonging, he found brotherhood and discipline in army life. In sniper school, he learned the mindset of a hunter-killer and developed the hyper-sensory precision of a human predator.

On the warfront, Jody experienced first-hand the valour and the chaos, the battle scars and the pain of war—including the tragic losses of fellow soldiers wounded or killed in action. And one day in 2007, when he was on a mission in a small Afghan village, he stepped on a landmine and the course of his life was forever changed. After losing both of his legs below the knees, Jody was forced to confront the loss of the only identity he had ever known—that of a soldier.

Determined to be of service to his family and to his country, Jody refused to let injury defeat him. Less than two years after the explosion, he was not only walking again, he was running on the blockbuster reality TV showAmazing Race. And in 2014, Jody reinvented himself yet again, winning a seat as a city councillor for Ottawa.

Unflinching is a powerful chronicle of the honour and sacrifice of an ordinary Canadian fighting for his country, and a gritty portrait of military life. It’s also an inspirational memoir about living your dreams, even in the face of overwhelming adversity, and having the courage to soldier on.