David Danielson:  

Life 1987 was the end of an era and the beginning of an age of exploration. After Mark Thornsley and I hiked through the Denali wilderness in Alaska I knew I had a bad case of wanderlust. I returned back to Scandinavia with my good friend Kenny Brook. We cycled from Oslo, Norway to Copenhagen, Denmark by way of the Swedish Archipelago...two crazy young men bicycling through the land of the Vikings. After several other adventures down Baja I tried taming myself by returning to school. I moved up to Santa Barbara to prepare to enter into UCSB. 1991 came around and I found myself making a decision that changed the course of my life. I entered the NAVY in JULY. My specialty was as a Search and Rescue Swimmer and Helicopter Crewchief/Naval Aircrewman. I Trained in Pensacola, FL then returned to San Diego for 2 years of Active Duty before transferring to the Naval Reserves. Back in the civilian world I returned to school and trained in the Emergency Medical Technician field. I became a Paramedic, moved up to San Luis Obispo where I began working for Pismo Beach Fire Department. In 2001 I was hired by Los Angeles City Fire Department as a firefighter/paramedic. I continued to work in the Naval Reserves with a helicopter squadron based in Point Mugu, Ventura. The command would soon be tasked with supporting Special Operations in Iraq in 2003 and 2005. While serving in Iraq I built up the command flight medic program, providing casualty evacuation for special forces units. On Se...Expand for more