Dan first felt called to serve our country after 9/11. Dan grew up going to Charlotte-Mecklenburg public schools and earned his Eagle Scout at Carmel Presbyterian Church. Dan felt he had been given a lot and wanted to give something back, so he joined the Marines after 9/11. He led 65 Marines in the 2007 Iraq surge. While in Iraq, Dan found another calling. His fellow service members helped him find his Christian faith that guides him today, and Dan was baptized in water from the Euphrates river. He went on to be honorably discharged as a Captain.