SOF Background: Special Forces
Running for: US House of Representatives, North Carolina District 10
Bio: After graduating from West Point with a degree in Nuclear Engineering, Pat commissioned into the Infantry, completed Ranger School, and was sent to Fort Wainwright, Alaska, for his first assignment as Infantry Platoon Leader. Pat deployed to Afghanistan and took over a small air-access-only combat outpost in the heart of the Arghandab valley. At 23 years old and in charge of roughly 350 Americans, Afghans, and expatriates, and responsible for nearly $100 million worth of infrastructure and equipment, it was a unique and formative leadership experience for Pat. Pat and his men enjoyed extraordinary success and upon returning to the United States, Pat volunteered and was selected for the Special Forces, and moved to North Carolina to complete Special Forces training. After becoming a Green Beret, Pat returned to Afghanistan and led his Special Forces unit through increasingly difficult and challenging circumstances that corresponded with a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.
