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Today we hear the Combat Story of Dr. Dan Pronk, a former Australian SAS doctor who completed four tours to Afghanistan. Do not be fooled by the doctor title, Dan was on the front lines conducting hundreds of operations with the elite SAS.
This is the first of two interviews with Dan.
Before the military, Dan was a triathlete and lived what he described as an average Australian upbringing. The military put him through medical school, but he wanted to be part of the elite SAS and fought for years for a chance to just get to selection, which he eventually did.
Since leaving the military, Dan has gone on to an executive role in medical management, as well as co-owning the multimillion dollar company TacMed Australia and founding several other entrepreneurial startups.
He’s written several books, including Average 70kg Dickhead: Motivational Lessons from an Ex-Army Special Forces Doctor, and Arterial Tourniquets: For Police Officers, Law Enforcement and other First-Responders. He just released a third book with two fellow former SAS operators called Resilience Shield.
Dan’s also a motorhead with a love of high performance cars, leading him to own a classic Ferrari and Lamborghini. He also created Delta Automotive that builds these limited edition classic sports cars.
Dan was referred to me by another SAS leader as “legend” in the community and I hope you enjoy this first of two Combat Story rounds with Dan as much as I did.
As a note, the connection is somewhat spotty at parts given the US to Australia connection but it’s well worth it!
Note: If you’re wondering what badass jacket Dan’s wearing and it looks familiar, it’s because it’s the Pathfinder jacket (www.killkaptur..., which comes from Mark Wales’ (our guest on Combat Story Episode 36 • Combat Story (Ep 36): ... ) company Kill Kapture. I have no financial stake in the company but just think the jacket is cool as hell. In fact, Mark hooked me up with one recently that’s got a pcNFT (physically connected NFT which connects the jacket to our interview) which is just awesome. You can check it out on our Instagram page (@combatstory) to see what we’re talking about.
#combatstory #SAS #specialoperations #danpronk #deltaforce #jsoc #australianSAS #pathfinderjacket #killkapture #markwales
Find Dan online:
Website Resilience Shield www.resilienceshield.com/
LinkedIN Dan Pronk / danpronk
Instagram @danpronk danpronk?hl=en
Book Average 70kg D**khead tinyurl.com/3m...
Book Arterial Tourniquets tinyurl.com/sz...
Book Resilience Shield tinyurl.com/rk...
TacMed tacmedaustrali...
Delta Automotive / deltaautomotive
Find Ryan online:
Follow on Instagram @combatstory / combatstory
Email ryan@combatstory.com
Learn more about Ryan www.combatstory.com/aboutus
Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle
Show Notes
0:00 - Interview begins
1:07 - Dan Pronk bio
2:13 - Interview begins
9:00 - Tough schooling and getting beaten with a cricket bat (for both Ryan and Dan)
10:25 - Dan’s family military history and father who was an Army helicopter pilot
13:50 - Dan’s rebellious stage, triathlons, and tough cars
19:30 - Running and that release
24:50 - “Maneuvering” myself into an elite group
29:15 - Extrinsic motivation of being a triathlete rather than being an intrinsically motivated soldier
32:30 - Shifting from college and triathlons to medical school and the military
38:15 - The “lightbulb moment” to join SAS
43:50 - Why is SAS sending doctor’s through Selection?
47:10 - Motivational moment of being doubted
49:05 - Darker and harder moments of Selection
55:45 - What’s it like being a Selection-certified doctor in SAS?
59:20 - First deployment with SAS as a Task Force asset
1:02:35 - First mission outside the wire as a doctor AND the gunner on a vehicle
1:06:35 - First time I got shot at “accurately”
1:10:35 - Another mission and being in contact with snipers on quad bikes and more vehicles going against the Taliban
1:12:55 - No indication of PTSD starting to seep in
1:15:10 - Another deployment to Afghanistan in 2011 (reference to the Drug Enforcement Agency aka DEA's Drug Flow Attack Strategy Team or FAST)
1:16:44 - Difficult mission and a “turning point” for Dan. “We’re playing for keeps now”
1:26:45 - Dan’s background in the Emergency Room and working trauma