Captain O’Grady is a former United States Air Force fighter pilot. On June 2, 1995, he was shot down over Bosnia by an SA-6 mobile SAM launcher and forced to eject from his F-16C into hostile territory. After nearly a week of evading the Serbs he was eventually rescued by Marines. Previously he took part in the Banja Luka incident where he fired upon six enemy aircraft.

The 2001 film Behind Enemy Lines is loosely based upon his experiences