Kris "Tanto" Paronto and Ian Scotto

Kris Paronto - “Tanto” as he is affectionately known in security contracting circles - is a former Army Ranger from 2nd Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment and private security contractor who has deployed throughout South America, Central America, the Middle East and North Africa. He also worked with the US Government’s Global Response Staff conducting low profile security in high threat environments throughout the world.

Kris was part of the CIA annex security team that responded to the terrorist attack on the US Special Mission in Benghazi, Libya, September 11th, 2012, helping to save over 20 lives while fighting off terrorists from the CIA Annex for over 13 hours. Kris’s story along with his brothers in arms from that night is told in the book 13 Hours, written by Mitchell Zuckoff.

Ian Scotto is the host/executive producer of Battleline Podcast with former CIA contractor and Army Ranger, Kris "Tanto" Paronto, a show that touches on faith, inspiration, and American culture. He is also the voice and a writer of various podcasts on the Narrative.FM platform including In the Wild, a top ranked show overall on Apple Podcasts. Working in the media industry for 15 years, Ian got his start at WRHU, the highest ranked college station by the Princeton Review, and home of The New York Islanders. From there, he went on to work at Sirius XM on various shows including Fangoria Radio with legendary rock icon, Dee Snider, The Wilkow Majority with conservative firebrand, Andrew Wilkow, and producing American Voices with Senator Bill Bradley, where he won a New York Festivals award for production. His voice has been heard on CNN, other major media outlets, and narrating various audiobooks and commercials. Outside of media, Ian is an AAPTE certified personal trainer who has helped various clients reach their individual fitness goals. Additionally, he is a self-described 80’s hair metal enthusiast.