Dan Shipley

Major, U.S. Marine Corps

After graduation, Dan reported to Quantico, Virginia, for Officer Candidate School, earning his commission as a second lieutenant in 1992. Upon completion of The Basic School in Quantico, Dan reported for aviation indoctrination at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola, Florida, and then completed primary flight training at NAS Corpus Christi, Texas. He then transferred to NAS Meridian, Mississippi for intermediate and advanced flight training in the T-2 and TA-4 aircraft, earning his wings of gold in September 1995.

Dan transferred to Strike Fighter Squadron 125 (VFA 125) at NAS Lemoore, California, for training in the F/A-18 Hornet. In November of 1996, he reported to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 332 (VMFA 332) at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Beaufort, South Carolina. He attended the Marine Division Tactics Course and the Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course (WTI) in 1999. Shortly thereafter, his squadron deployed to Taszar Air Base, Hungary to fly combat operations over the skies of Kosovo and Serbia in support of Operation Allied Force. In January of 2000 he deployed to MCAS Iwakuni, Japan for a six-month Western Pacific deployment in support of the U.S. presence near North Korea. He served as the ground training officer, airframes officer, powerline officer, and the pilot training officer.

In July 2000, Dan transferred to Marine Corps Base Quantico where he was a student at the Marine Corps University's Amphibious Warfare School. After graduation in May of 2001, he reported to Marine Air Group 11 (MAG 11) at MCAS Miramar, California where he worked in the WTI cell of the Operations Department. In September of that same year, Dan reported to the "Death Rattlers" of VMFA 323. In November 2002, he deployed to the Persian Gulf for seven months aboard USS Constellation (CV 64), flying combat operations over the skies of Iraq in support of Operations Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom. He served as the maintenance officer and assistant operations officer.