Former US prisoner of war Private Jessica Lynch has been honorably discharged from the military.
The discharge last Friday leaves the way open for Ms Lynch to seal a lucrative publishing deal to tell her story and her authorised biography could be on bookstore shelves within months.
Ms Lynch, who was retrieved from an Iraqi hospital by American commandos, was given a hero's welcome when she returned to her hometown of Palestine, West Virginia, on July 22nd.
But the full details of her story have yet to be told since she said she suffered a loss of memory after her capture.
Ms Lynch was precluding from selling her story while on active duty but publishers said she could now sign a deal within days.
The former supply clerk (20) was captured by Iraqi forces on March 23rd near the city of Nassiriya. Eleven other US soldiers were killed and nine wounded in the incident. She was rescued by US commandos on April 1st from a hospital where she had received care from Iraqi medical personnel.
One earlier media report quoted unnamed US officials saying she fought fiercely before being captured. But US Army investigators later concluded that she was injured when her Humvee crashed into another vehicle in the convoy after being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.
Their report said a tired company commander misread his assigned route and that the unit took a wrong turn and became separated from a convoy.