Largo, Florida (CNN) Ret. Sgt. Tom Block is sitting in the classroom, looking restless. He and 23 other highly specialized, highly coveted candidates are all vying for a job where they will be exposed to some of the most horrifying images humanity can produce. 
 
 Each candidate is a veteran of America's recent wars. Many were part of the elite special ops forces. They conducted daring, covert missions to take out America's most dangerous enemies. 
 
 Many were wounded in battles across Afghanistan and Iraq. And now that their military career has come to a close, they are looking for a second chance to find purpose in their lives back at home -- and the answer could be the HERO Child-Rescue Corps, saving at risk kids. 
 
 J. Christian, CEO of the National Association to Protect Children (Protect) , says: "A lot of the individuals who come into the HERO Corps are truly individuals who have lost their mission on the battlefield." 
 
 Christian, an Army Ranger who fractured his spine during a mission in Afghanistan, says many of the veterans who come into HERO are hoping to regain that something they lost when they left the service. 
 
 Block is hoping to get a second chance to "go after bad guys again." 
 
 "In one second their entire life changed. When that happens, I know from personal experience, you start to wonder, what can I now do? And once you find this opportunity, you know it's truly your opportunity to step back into that role." 
 
 The HERO -- Human Exploitation Rescue Operative -- program is designed for wounded, injured and ill veterans to receive training in sophisticated computer forensics, to join federal agents fighting against online child sexual exploitation. 
 
 Developed by Protect, in conjunction with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), the veterans receive 11 weeks of intensive training and 10 months of on-the-ground experience. 
 
 They work alongside law enforcement teams executing warrants and serving as computer forensic analysts as part of a year-long unpaid internship. That means scanning computers and external hard drives on-site to determine whether the suspect possesses child pornography and, critically, whether the suspect is also producing child pornography. 
 
 During that year-long internship, HERO Corps trainees will sift through thousands of disturbing images of adults sexually assaulting children. 
 
 "You see groups of children being abused at levels the average American cannot fathom. If you imagine an infant getting gagged and bound and tortured, it's not a rare occurrence to come across," says Christian. 
 
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 According to Christian, the U.S. is the largest producer of child pornography in the world. He also points to research showing the U.S. is home to the most commercial child porn websites 
 
 The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says its Victim Identification Program, which aids law enforcement in efforts to locate and rescue child victims, has reviewed more than 158 million images and videos , since 1998. 
 
 In 2008, an ICAC Task Force network identified over 300,000 unique computers engaged in trafficking child pornography . A study by the University of New Hampshire found that 55 percent of those who possess or trade child pornography, are hands-on offenders. 
 
 Block says: "It's horrible. But that's my motivation, that's my drive. To get after these guys. Get them off the internet and hopefully I can get to them before they get to another child." 
 
 Now in its third year, HERO Corps hopes to place its 100th veteran this year. Once embedded in a law enforcement agency, just one HERO can stop or prevent the exploitation of as many as 50 children per year, by providing law enforcement with the digital evidence they need to identify and locate endangered children. 
 
 Cpl. Justin Gaertner (left) and Sgt. Gabe Martinez (right) were both injured in action, both are amputees in wheelchairs and both are joining HERO Corps. 
 
 While the mission may be similar -- finding and capturing bad guys -- the method will be much different. 
 
 As a HERO trainee, Block will be in a support role, mostly analyzing computer files. It's a far cry from his last, as a soldier in the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, serving in Afghanistan. 
 
 Block says: "I wanted to be a Ranger my entire life because it's the greatest job you could ever hold. I mean they literally paid you to carry a gun, jump out of an airplane and just be awesome in general." 
 
 But defending your country doesn't come without its share of danger. Sgt. Block's life changed on October 6, 2013, when he and fellow Rangers embarked on a direct-action raid to root out insurgent bombing attacks. 
 
 Block spotted a couple in a courtyard and ordered the two to put their hands in the air. That's when one of the insurgents detonated an explosive strapped to her body. 
 
 He says: "From what I'm told the explosion leveled some of the house. The only thing that separated me [from the suicide bomber] was the guy I was holding onto. And all of his bones ended up in my American flag that was wrapped around my plates and melted. And I think I got a chunk of him in my cheek, because I have shrapnel lodged in there." 
 
 In 2014, Block was named the Army Times' "Soldier of the Year" for courage displayed on the battlefield and his ability to inspire and motivate other soldiers during his rehabilitation. 
 
 But like so many who return home, Block struggled to find a purpose and mission once his military career came to a close. 
 
 That's what brought him to his classroom in Florida, and the HERO Corps which offers a new path to doing what he does best. 
 
 "It's an opportunity for me to go after bad guys again. The complete scope of the crime is a lot more than people probably think," he says. 
 
 And while doctors managed to save the vision in Block's left eye, look at his right eye and you will see something unusual -- a prosthetic bearing the Captain America shield. Sgt. Block is turning his setback into a statement. 
 
 Block says: "He doesn't like bullies. And neither do I." 
 
 Having vision in only one eye, makes staring at a computer screen all day challenging. But Block imagines one day pointing out the shield, to comfort a frightened child who he and a team of law enforcement officers have just rescued from an abusive situation. 
 
 "I'll be honest, looking in the mirror can be tough sometimes," says Block. "But you keep your faith, you keep your confidence, and you go out there and try to make somebody else's life better. It's what you do after-the-fact, and I think I'm trying to do a pretty damn good job." ||||| Bucks County�s congressman has notified the Philadelphia U.S. Attorney�s Office about a YouTube video of a Bucks County war veteran confronting a Philadelphia man he claims was falsely posing as a member of an elite military special forces unit. 
 
 
 
 In a letter to U.S. Attorney Zane Memeger on Monday, Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick , R-8, Middletown, says the video, which has generated more than 1.5 million views since after it was filmed at the Oxford Valley Mall on Black Friday, could �possibly� contain evidence of a federal crime. 
 
 
 
 Under the Stolen Valor Act of 2013, which Fitzpatrick co-sponsored, it�s illegal for an individual to fraudulently portray him or herself as a recipient of any of several specified military decorations or medals with the intent to obtain money, property or other �tangible benefit.� 
 
 
 
 The video does not show the man attempting to obtain any benefit. And falsely claiming to be a member of the military alone is not illegal. 
 
 
 
 Northampton resident Ryan Berk, 26, who was a sergeant in the U.S. Army�s 101st Airborne Division in Afghanistan in 2010-11, confronted the alleged Ranger after seeing him while shopping with his girlfriend and her son Friday. 
 
 
 
 �No one is going to question a guy in uniform, unless they already wear the uniform,� said Berk, who earned a Purple Heart after he was wounded by shrapnel in 2010 while fighting in Afghanistan. 
 
 
 
 The newspaper is withholding the name of the alleged Army Ranger because he has not been charged with a crime as of Monday. 
 
 
 
 A woman who answered the door at the man�s house Saturday night said that he had a military background but declined to provide details. She also said the family had no comment. The woman said she hadn�t seen the 3-minute video. 
 
 
 
 Berk, who is studying criminal justice at Temple University, said he spotted the man in the Army fatigues while he was shopping in a shoe store. But when he got a closer look, Berk said he noticed �little things� that were off about the man�s appearance � the shoelaces on his boots weren�t right, an American flag patch was in the wrong spot on his sleeve, and he was missing a combat patch. 
 
 
 
 These are things that most civilians wouldn�t pick up on, but that no military veteran would get wrong, Berk said. 
 
 
 
 Berk said he didn�t confront the man in the store, but did pull aside the manager and suggested he ask to see military ID if the man asked for a military discount. Berk doesn�t know if the man asked for a discount. 
 
 
 
 What inspired him to confront the man, Berk said, was a 20-minute conversation he overheard during which the alleged soldier told a small boy about his military experiences. 
 
 
 
 �It was fueling my fire. I was getting aggravated,� he said. �I knew 100 percent he was fake but I didn�t want to put him on 100 percent blast immediately.� 
 
 
 
 After the man left the store, Berk turned on his phone camera and called him over, claiming his son admired guys in the Army. Berk did not identify himself as an Army veteran until almost at the end of his video recording. 
 
 
 
 After the man introduced himself, he claimed to be a staff sergeant with the 75th U.S. Army Rangers Regiment, 2nd Battalion. He also claimed to have recently returned to the area from Fort Lewis in Washington State, which is where the regiment is stationed. 
 
 
 
 �I�m what�s called a TAC-1,� he claimed. �All I do is I go out on missions.� 
 
 
 
 Immediately, Berk started peppering him with questions that he said anyone with Army service should be able to easily answer. 
 
 
 
 �Where is your combat patch at?� Berk asked 
 
 
 
 �I gave it to a little kid over there,� he replied. 
 
 
 
 Why is the American flag patch so low on his shoulder, Berk asked. 
 
 
 
 �You got me on that one, bud,� the man replied. 
 
 
 
 When Berk asked about where he received his three Combat Infantrymen Badges, the man first answered that he got all three in Afghanistan. When Berk responded that he would need to be in three different campaigns, the man said that one badge is for service in Iraq and the others for different tours of Afghanistan. 
 
 
 
 �You know, no matter how many you do, you can only get one,� Berk answered. 
 
 
 
 The man replied that his campaign took him �out of mission lines from Afghanistan.� 
 
 
 
 Military websites, including the U.S. Army Human Resources Command website, confirm what Berk said about the correct position of the American Flag patch and that only one CIB would be awarded for service in Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom) and Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn). 
 
 
 
 The National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning Georgia tracks Army servicemen with three CIBs and only 324 are listed. The alleged Army Ranger is not on the list. Army regulation authorizes only up to three awards of the CIB. There are four periods for which an award of the badge can be made: World War II, Korea, Vietnam and other Cold War era actions through March 1995 and the War on Terror 2001-present, according to the U.S. Army. 
 
 
 
 When Berk called the man a phony, accusing him of impersonating a soldier, the man offered to take him to meet his sergeant major, whom he said was also in the mall. He also denied lying about his military service. 
 
 
 
 �If I was a phony, I wouldn�t be wearing this uniform,� the man said. 
 
 
 
 But Berk said he has no doubts that the man was not a Ranger. 
 
 
 
 �He�s impersonating in the uniform people died for,� Berk added. �He was wearing awards that I earned and he didn�t.� 
 
 
 
 Jo Ciavaglia: 215-949-4181; 
 
 email: jciavaglia@calkins.com; Twitter: @jociavaglia
– A group of elite warriors pulled off the battlefield by injury or illness has a new mission here in the US: helping law enforcement take down people who possess and produce child pornography. The HERO Corps (Human Exploitation Rescue Operative) trains veterans in computer forensics, CNN reports. Participants then work as computer forensic analysts, scanning the computers and external hard drives of child pornography suspects. "It's an opportunity for me to go after bad guys again," says former Army Ranger Sgt. Tom Block, who is among a recent class of 24 veterans who will undertake 11 weeks of training followed by 10 months of on-the-ground experience as part of a yearlong unpaid internship. Conceived in 2009 by nonprofit Protect (National Association to Protect Children), the HERO program partners with Homeland Security and the US Special Operations Command. Participants "are truly individuals who have lost their mission on the battlefield," Protect CEO J. Christian tells CNN. For them, the HERO Corps is an "opportunity step back into that role," says Christian, a former Army Ranger who fractured his spine during a mission in Afghanistan. The stats are troubling: Christian says the US leads the world in producing child pornography. In 2008, a study found, more than 300,000 individual computers were being used to traffic child pornography. And a study by the University of New Hampshire found that more than half of people who possess or trade child pornography are "hands-on offenders." That's why veterans like Block want to be HEROs. "Hopefully I can get to them before they get to another child," he says. Injured by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan in 2013, Block wears a prosthetic eye that bears the shield of Captain America. "He doesn't like bullies," Block says of the super hero. "And neither do I."