Don’s military career spanned over twenty years. Basic training and aircraft crew chief school was just the start. More rank meant more responsibility: progressing from crew chief to flight chief, flight line expeditor to senior weapons systems controller (flight line manager). Professional education included NCO and senior NCO academies and attendance at the Air Force institute of Technology to earn his rating of project manager. Real world education resulted from Vietnam, Korea, the Cold War, and Desert Storm service. During one overseas mission he was held hostage. The latter part of his career included duties as the lead sniper on the base special operations team and managing a South American drug interdiction aircraft program. Don retired as a Master Sergeant with many awards and decorations.

Don spent over a decade in competition shooting, in the practical disciplines of the handgun, rifle, shotgun and submachine gun. International practical shooting confederation, combat and action shooting matches were designed and participated in. He has won over a hundred and twenty civilian and military awards. Don is one of only a few that possesses both U.S. Air Force competition-in-shooting badges for handgun and rifle.

His shooting education is one of the most in-depth and versatile in the world. A longtime boyhood interest in firearms lead to military training which included the Air Force combat arms instructor course. Don has attended and excelled at courses such as: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Heckler & Koch, American Small Arms Academy, Colt, Remington, National Rifle Association, International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms instructors, Thunder Ranch, Gunsite to name a few. His instructor credentials include FBI, NRA, USAF, ASAA, California post and CCW. He is a qualified Florida and Utah and Arizona CCW instructor and criminal justice college program Instructor, with over twenty-five years of instructional experience, and has provided training to thousands of students, including “training the trainer” programs. He is a recognized speaker and writer. Don has trained thousands of civilian, law enforcement, and military students, and to date has saved over a dozen lives. His instructor credentials are too numerous to list here. Don has been trained by and has trained the elite of the planet, including Green Berets, Navy Seals, U.S. Marines, Israelie special operations,GSG-9,and many law enforcement agencies federal and local.

One of Don’s passions, between teaching defensive and tactical small arms classes is big and dangerous game hunting. A serious hunter’s evolution usually starts with small game leading to big game and plains game, ultimately to dangerous game species and he also followed this path. He has hunted most of the United States, the arctic circle, Australia, New Zealand and the African continent. His experience has lead him to docent duties and he has been elected as a member of the Board of a natural history museum. Don is a member of Safari Club International and is an official SCI measurer

Think of Don's career like an iceberg which only shows 10% of itself above the waters surface. Don's entire bio would take volumes, his resume has a combination of education and experience matched by none, and is looking forward to training with you!

The photo above is some of Don's competitive shooting awards