Dave - UR, Delightfully Unconventional

Ocracoke Island, NC before Hurricane Irene, 2011

     My name is Dave. I'm a 32-year-old Disabled Combat Veteran and undergraduate researcher at Daytona State College, thanks to the Post 9/11 GI Bill. I am a native of Ocracoke Island, NC, and now live in Ormond-by-the-Sea, FL.
     I joined the US Army in 2002, and attended Airborne School in 2003, graduating as a very proud young Paratrooper. I then served at Ft. Bliss, TX as a Patriot Missile Operator/Maintainer, until I decided to reclassify as a Blackhawk Maintainer/Crew Chief in 2005.  I subsequently moved to Ft. Bragg, NC, and was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division.
     While there, I deployed in support of Joint Task Force Katrina - 2005, Operation BAT - 2006, and Operation Enduring Freedom VIII - 2007. While in Afghanistan, I re-enlisted for another 6 year contract and reclassification to Cavalry Scout.  Four months after coming home, I was shooting on private property at a friend's house, and someone in attendance negligently discharged a pistol, sending a round through my hand. I was hospitalized and underwent four reconstructive surgeries, postponing Scout training until the end of 2008.

Drug plane crashed near Norman's Cay, 2006

     In 2009, I was transferred out of the 82nd Airborne Division, to help stand up 1/38th Cavalry Squadron (R&S), in the 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, 18th Airborne Corps, Ft. Bragg.  In 2010, I attended and graduated the Army Sniper Course, before deploying in support of Operation Enduring Freedom X/XI - 2010/2011. While there, I decided that I would not re-enlist again, and I departed the Army in 2013 with an Honorable Discharge. 

B Trp. Snipers in Kandahar Province, Afg., 2010

     Afterwards, I moved to Daytona Beach, and worked as a bar back and bouncer. I then opened Griffin Gun Works in South Daytona, and ran my gun shop for the next year. We worked hard and ran the business, but were forced to close in the summer of 2014.  A subsequent investigation revealed that our CFO had been embezzling funds the whole time. We are still pursuing legal action. 
     New Years Day, 2015, was extremely uncomfortable. What little savings I had after the gun shop closed was almost gone, and my daughter Bonnie had been born only a couple months earlier. I was an unemployed gunsmith with an infant daughter. I worked Bike Week to keep my family afloat, but my body told me afterwards that I couldn't make a living of it.  I reached out to my closest Sniper mentor, and sought advice. He told me to get my butt into college as soon as possible, if for no other reason than to ensure that my family was taken care of. 

Well behaved Combat Vets at Willie's Chopper Show, 2014

      In May of last year, I rushed myself through the admissions process at Daytona State College, to enroll for the summer semester.  That's right. I started college when others were trying to vacation, and I loved it. I was hooked.  I made President's List in my first semester, and I promised myself then, that I would see this journey all the way through to a Ph.D. in Marine Mammology. Then came the fall semester, and things really kicked into high gear...

So what happened next?

Well, I suppose you'll have to come back next week and find out!