CW2 Daniel Carlton
U.S. Army
El Cajon, California
My name is Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2), retired, Daniel Carlton from El Cajon, CA. As of November 2014, I was honorably retired from the US Army after over 15 years of service to our country. I have been married to my wife Juanita for 10 years and have five children together, Danny 10, Elvis 8, Estela 6, Scarlett 4, and George, who, is 19 months old. With my departure from the service, I am looking forward to spending time with my family and continue to serve the country as a civilian and am proud to work for Lockheed Martin in San Luis Obispo, CA and be a positive representative of the veteran community.
My military career spanned over 15 years with assignments that brought me across the globe. My military service began in August of 1999 when I enlisted as a motor transport operator (Military Occupational Specialty -MOS 88M). I attended basic training and advanced individual training and arrived to my first duty station in Baumholder, Germany and served with the First Armored Division in 2000. While serving in Europe I was deployed to Kosovo. After over two years of European service, I returned stateside was assigned to the First Corps Support Command (COSCOM) at Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. While serving with 1st COSCOM, I was deployed to Kuwait and then to Iraq to support Operation IRAQI FREEDOM in 2003 as the operations sergeant for the 126th Transportation Company. It was after that deployment that I decided to try out for the Army’s Special Forces, a unit more commonly known as “The Green Berets.”
In 2004 I attended the Army’s Special Forces Assessment and Selection course, which resulted in me being selected to attend the Special Forces Qualification Course. After nearly two years of rigorous training, I was awarded the MOS of 18C, Special Forces Engineer Sergeant, and assigned to the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), as a Green Beret.
While serving with the 7th Special Forces, I deployed numerous times to various Central and South American countries as well as multiple... ...combat tours in Afghanistan. I was selected to attend the Special Forces Warrant Officers Course in 2010 and received my appointment as a Special Forces Warrant Officer. During my time as a Warrant Officer, I have served as an assistant Special Forces Operational Detachment-Alpha (ODA) detachment commander as well as an ODA commander in Afghanistan.
During my time in Special Forces I was wounded in action twice in Afghanistan. My most recent injury occurred on November 29, 2012, which resulted in the amputation of my left leg above the knee and causing my right leg to be categorized as loss of use. I sustained several other injuries as well. Several of my awards and decorations are: the Legion of Merit, 2 x Purple Hearts, and 3 x Bronze Stars, Special Forces Tab and Ranger Tab.
Since my injury, I have been involved in various adaptive sports programs and have reconnected with my interest for hunting and the outdoors. Additionally, during my recovery I successfully completed my Bachelors degree in Strategic Studies and Defense Analysis in September of 2015. I hope to continue my education this spring and work towards earning my Masters Degree in International Relations.