SOF Background: US Navy SEAL

Running for: US House of Representatives, Texas District 2

Bio: Rep. Dan Crenshaw is a proud 6th-generation Texan. From an early age, Dan knew he wanted to serve his country with the most elite fighting force in history: the U.S. Navy SEALs. In 2006, Dan graduated from Tufts University, where he earned his Naval officer commission through Navy ROTC. Following graduation, he immediately reported to SEAL training in Coronado, CA. After graduating from SEAL training, Dan deployed to Fallujah, Iraq to join SEAL Team Three, his first of five deployments overseas.

On Dan’s third deployment in 2012, his life changed forever. After six months of combat operations, he was hit by an IED blast during a mission in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was evacuated and awoke from his medically induced coma learning that his right eye had been destroyed in the blast and his left eye was badly damaged. Dan was completely blind and the doctors did not believe he would ever see again. After several difficult surgeries and months of fighting a tough diagnosis, Dan eventually regained sight in his left eye, a miracle according to the head surgeon. Dan refused to quit and went on to deploy twice more, first back to the Middle East in 2014 and then South Korea in 2016. Dan was medically retired in September of 2016 as a Lieutenant Commander after serving ten years in the SEAL Teams. He left service with two Bronze Stars (one with Valor), the Purple Heart, and the Navy Commendation Medal with Valor, among others. Soon after, Dan completed his Master’s in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

In November 2018, Dan was elected to represent the people of Texas’s Second Congressional District. In Congress, he serves on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has the broadest jurisdiction of any legislative committee in Congress. On this Committee, Dan serves on the Subcommittee on Health, as well as the Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, & Critical Materials, and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. Dan also serves on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. On this Committee, he serves on the Central Intelligence Agency Subcommittee and National Intelligence Enterprise Subcommittee.

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