Blue Horizons Fellows got to meet and learn from author Dan Schilling. Dan Schilling is a New York Times bestselling author, decorated combat controller, and serial entrepreneur with over 30 years in special operations. His distinguished military career includes heroic actions during Operation Gothic Serpent (Black Hawk Down), command of special operations squadrons (one classified), and expertise in various specialized skills, culminating as the Joint Special Operations Command's WMD interagency director. Beyond military service, Schilling is a prolific writer, inventor, and adventurer, holding a Guinness World Record for BASE jumping, while also contributing to society through his safety training institute and adaptive sports instruction. His accomplishments have been recognized with inductions into the Air Commando Hall of Fame and the Gathering of Eagles, alongside a national medal for public service. He wrote Alone at Dawn, which chronicles the harrowing true story of Air Force Combat Controller John Chapman and his heroic last stand during the Battle of Takur Ghar in Afghanistan. In March 2002, Chapman and a SEAL team were inserted into a treacherous mountaintop position, encountering heavy enemy resistance. Presumed dead after being struck down early in the fight, Chapman, alone and severely wounded, regained consciousness, and single-handedly engaged Al-Qaeda fighters, protecting his arriving rescue team. Schilling, a close friend and fellow Combat Controller, meticulously pieced together the events of that day, drawing on eyewitness accounts, classified documents, and advanced technology, to reveal Chapman's extraordinary courage and sacrifice, which ultimately earned him the Medal of Honor.