Dan began working at the Bellevue Gun Club as a firearms instructor after retiring from a 25 year career in law enforcement. His career began with the US Border Patrol in south Texas, before transitioning to the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS) where he spent the last 21 years.
As a Federal Air Marshal, Dan volunteered to become an instructor for firearms and tactics as well as legal and fitness, spending 12 years doing so. The FAM service places a high priority on gun handling and accuracy in order to be proficient in the crowded confines of an aircraft. As an instructor, Dan was tasked with creating and presenting lesson plans that reinforced accuracy, speed, and judgment, with the goal in mind of helping rank and file Air Marshals to become recognized as elite pistol shooters in law enforcement.
Prior to the FAM service, Dan was a US Border Patrol Agent in Del Rio, Texas. The job of the Patrol Agent included patrolling all areas of the border, with Mexico, that were between the ports of entry. Duties included looking for people crossing the border illegally and routinely interdicting drug smuggling operations as well as discovering people engaged in human trafficking.
Dan was born and raised in Washington, growing up on Vashon Island, enlisting in the US Air Force, and then graduating from WSU. Incidentally, he is proud to say that he managed to graduate from a high school that had three round buildings with NO walls between classrooms! (Adults thought this was a good Idea, Geez) Truly an amazing feat.