Amongst the team, Dylan was a big character guy. While he wasn’t the biggest in physical size, he always carried that big belly laugh, contagious positive attitude, and was always smiling.  Even as a new guy, always getting the worst jobs, he kept the spirits of his teammates up with that quirkiness he had.

Dylan loved sports… well, watching them that is. He was always in tremendous physical condition and he trained relentlessly and looked like he would be quite an athlete; however, hand to eye coordination was not his strong suit. In one instance, Dylan was playing outfield for our squadron softball team. There was a lazy pop fly to him, and instead of using his glove to catch the ball, he tried to use his chest. Everyone got a good laugh out of that, even Dylan, but you never saw him in the outfield again. Even though Dylan was not the best at sports, he always showed up to play. To him it was more than just a game, it was about spending time with his brothers and teammates.  A couple of days before a mission, after a Thanksgiving dinner in Afghanistan, Dylan played a football game with the Special Forces unit he was attached with. Dylan somehow managed to jam his finger in an easy pick-up football game, again just another performance of his superb athletic ability. Dylan held his head up high, and trucked on through the game, and his next mission. This just further reinforced the dedication he had with being a good teammate, and the importance of team camaraderie.

As young guys on the teams, Dylan’s teammates remember him making a great impression on them. He was a phenomenal shot, and all around good at his job. The character trait that really stood out, was humility. Amid being great at his job, he would never brag.  Instead of telling others how well he performed his job, he showed them; as well as helped the new guys develop their skills.

In Dylan’s first deployment he ended up in an area that turned into quite a hotspot.  For his first mission on the deployment, the Taliban had recently overthrown Ghazni City and Dylan’s team went in on a crisis response mission.  For several days, they were involved in multiple close range, 30m or less, engagements. Fights went on for days on end and Dylan’s team says he continued to crush it and clear white space, and never quit until the area was secured and his team was out safe.  Dylan was a tough dude. His truck took an RPG and after getting his physical cleared, was right back at it.