Shawn L. Daniel

Colonel, USA, Ret.
President, Darby’s
Warrior Support

Colonel (Retired) Shawn Daniel graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering and earned the distinction of serving as the First Captain for the Corp of Cadets during his senior year. Commissioned as an Infantry Officer, he reported to the 82d Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina for his first assignment.

As a Captain, Shawn commanded a Mechanized Infantry Company in the 2d Infantry Division at Camp Casey Korea before reporting to 3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. He took command of C Company, 3/75 Ranger in March 2001, and he led C Company in a parachute assault into Afghanistan on 19 October 2001 to spearhead US and NATO efforts in the southern portion of the country in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Shawn would deploy again with C Company in June 2002.

Following Command and General Staff College studies, Shawn reported to 187th Infantry Regiment, "Rakkasans," at Fort Campbell, Kentucky where he served as a Squadron and Brigade S3 during a deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He returned to the 75th Ranger Regiment in 2007 to assume duties as the Regimental Strategic Plans and Requirements office and as the Regimental Executive Office. During his tenure at the Ranger Regimental Headquarters, Shawn deployed several times to Afghanistan to include serving as the Operations Officer for the Special Operations Joint Task Force again in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Shawn took command of 3d Battalion, 509th Infantry (Airborne) at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson, Alaska in June 2010. Shawn again deployed to Afghanistan - this time as part of the International Security Force Assistance mission. Following redeployment, he attended the US Army War College Fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Shawn's final assignment was at the US Special Operations Command Headquarters at MacDill AFB, Tampa as the Director of the Afghanistan Division in the Operations Directorate. During his tenure, Shawn was selected to serve as the Operations Officer for the NATO Special Operations Component Command - Afghanistan / Special Operations Joint Task Force - Afghanistan in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel and the Resolute Support Mission. He retired from the Army in September 2017.

Shawn's awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal (3 oak leaf clusters), the Meritorious Service Medal (4 oak leaf clusters), the Ranger Tab, the Combat Infantryman Badge, Master Parachutist Badge with gold combat star, and the Air Assault Badge. In July 2022, Shawn was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Shawn is married to the former Miss Dena Wortsmith of Little Rock, Arkansas. They have two children - Katie Grace (22), a nurse at Vanderbilt Hospital, and Jake (20), a sophomore Sigma Chi / Civil Engineering major at the University of Arkansas.