Ron Howard has finished filming the story of Medal of Honor recipient John Chapman and the Air Force Combat Controllers who fought beside him. It stars Adam Driver as Chapman, opposite Anne Hathaway.
It is based on Dan Schilling’s book and he served on the production as executive producer, senior military advisor, and even bit actor. “I believe our project will take its place in the pantheon of the greatest military films.”
201
BASE jumps in 24 hours — the Guinness World Record, for children of fallen SOF warriors.
- Inventor/Entrepreneur
- Combat Controller
- NYT bestselling author
- Black Hawk Down veteran
- Speaker
- Guinness World Record holder
Who is Dan Schilling
New York Times Best Selling Author and Black Hawk Down Veteran.
More than three decades in special operations — Combat Controller, Special Tactics Officer, commander — beginning as an infantry paratrooper. In Mogadishu, during Operation Gothic Serpent, he is credited with saving the lives of a Ranger and a Team Six SEAL under heavy fire.
He conceived, founded, and commanded two special operations squadrons — one of which’s name and purpose remains classified — and finished his career as JSOC’s director for weapons of mass destruction across the U.S. interagency and intelligence community.
Now: New York Times Best Selling author, executive producer, professor, inventor, songwriter, adaptive ski instructor. He lives in Utah with his wife Julie, a retired NSA cyber warfare specialist.
2023
Air Commando Hall of Fame
2023
Freedom Foundation national medal
2022
Gathering of Eagles inductee
Combat Control is one tenth of one percent of the Air Force. In America’s longest war, this is what that fraction carried.
58%
of the Silver Stars
73%
of the Air Force Crosses
100%
of the Air Force’s Medals of Honor
0.1%
This is what that fraction earned on the battlefield
Dan's Books
For personalized copies of any of Dan’s books contact King’s English Bookshop at onlineorders@kingsenglish.com or 801-484-9100
NYT & #1 Amazon international bestseller
Alone at Dawn
Predawn, March 4, 2002. Below the 10,000-foot peak of a mountain in eastern Afghanistan, Combat Controller John Chapman and a handful of SEALs fight for the summit to recover a lost teammate. Chapman falls in the first assault. Believed dead, he is left behind.
He regains consciousness alone, the enemy closing on three sides. What he does next saves an incoming rescue squad and earns him the Medal of Honor — the first airman in nearly fifty years.
The Power of Awareness
Operator tradecraft, turned into a personal safety practice anyone can carry.
The Battle of Mogadishu
Firsthand accounts from the men of Task Force Ranger, in their own words.
What Dan is working on now
Tactical H2O
After more than three decades in special operations, Dan’s current project is back in the field: Tactical H2O, a company that makes hydration for the modern operator.
Its product, THR®, is a sealed, camouflaged pouch of water with electrolytes, minerals and B-vitamins. It works with one hand, makes no sound, and molds to body armor, a ruck or a flight suit.
Visit tacticalh2o.co
Press
All press →Deadline · Oct 2025
Driver & Hathaway to star in Ron Howard’s Alone at Dawn
The casting announcement that set the film in motion.
Deseret News · May 2023
No end states
A feature profile on the evolution from Combat Controller to bestselling author.
Outside · Apr 2023
Terror and triumph in Little Cottonwood Canyon
Eight days stranded at Alta — record snowfall, avalanches, and some very good skiing.
CBS Radio · Jun 2021
Eye on Veterans
How the tactics of elite operators can save your life.