Soldier risks all to disarm explosives

>>> we have something very special to she you here tonight. especially if you yourself don't know someone serving in uniform overseas as part of this country's all- volunteer force . jim spent several weeks in the battlefield getting to know some extraordinary but otherwise perfectly ordinary americans who are serving in afghanistan. he has seen stunning acts of kurjs and bravery that for them are just another day in the life . tonight, the first of jim 's series on americans far from home and their frontline stories.

>> this is staff sergeant adam juantrap unbluged.

>> how do i miss with the knife twice?

>> playing black ops video games or troying to sing along with rock band . anything that keeps his mind off the next mission, but in explosive ordinance disposal , down time is short. the latest crisis, an unexploded rocket found near a clinic, and then he turns into tron, as he's known, a rock star in the life or death world of eod. on any given day, tron, a deem leader at just 22, defuses and destroys tons of ordinance, multiple ieds, and jugs of homemade explosives.

>> have you seen this guy work before?

>> this guy, he's a hero.

>> who likes to imrovise. coming across the live rocket, his instincts kicked in.

>> i'll pick up the rocket and put it where it needs to go.

>> carrying it himself. did i see you carry a live rocket across a river with a strong current?

>> yeah.

>> why?

>> to get it out of the way.

>> if he exudes confidence now, his childhood left him scarred and insecure, the youngest of four brothers, he lived in a trailer in maryland. his father, an alcoholic preacher. his brother abused drugs. he was headed to jail.

>> i knew growing up that i wanted to run away , get away, do something, travel.

>>> and the military was his ticket where he was judged for the first time on his merit, and he's never looked wack.

>> going from being all alone to looking at that guy, that was something that changed me.

>> tron admits to being a free spirit and an adrenaline junky, but he always goes by the book, trying first it defuse the ieds first with his robot before engaging himself. how does he deal with all the daily pressure?

>> probably describe myself as a -- as an on/off switch. but i sure know where i've been

>> when he's off he's really off, but when he's on he's saved countless lives.

>> and proving to himself his life is worth it.

>> that's the kind of stories we'll be bringing to you from the battlefield. jim continues the in depth reporting tomorrow night with a woman who does extraordinary things in the air knowing a lot of people on the ground are counting on her. tomorrow night here as we continue our series, " far from home ." for