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Dan Cnossen (ka-na-sen) U.S. Navy SEAL Lt. Commander | 6-Time Paralympic Medalist | 2-Time Paralympian
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Lt. Cmdr. Dan Cnossen was serving as the platoon commander for SEAL Team One in Afghanistan in September 2009 when he stepped on an IED (improvised explosive device) and was wounded in the explosion. The accident caused Cnossen to lose both his legs just above the knee. Cnossen went through rehabilitation first at the Bethesda National Naval Medical Center and later at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he learned to walk with his new prosthetics...Cnossen was awarded both a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star with Valor from the Secretary of the Navy for his service in combat.
A true patriot, raised on the farmlands of Kansas, early on Dan knew he wanted to serve his country. Upon graduating high school, he was accepted at the U.S. Naval Academy and spent the next four years selection for SEAL training. One of only 16 members of his class given the opportunity to enter Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training as officers, Dan successfully completed in the fall of 2003.
Over the next six years, Dan was deployed multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan and rose in rank to become the officer-in-charge of an 18-man SEAL platoon. In 2009, Dan was deployed to Afghanistan, into an area of heavy combat. There, on a night mission in the mountains, he stepped on an IED, losing both legs in the blast. He would later be awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star with awarded a Purple Heart and Bronze Star with Valor.
For the next two years Dan fought for his life, enduring over 40 different surgeries, while readjusting to civilian life.It was during this time, as part of his rehab, that he was introduced to the sport of cross-country skiing and biathlon. Never one to shy from a challenge, he eventually earned a spot on the 2014 U.S. Paralympic Team.
In 2015, Dan returned to graduate school, earning two degrees from Harvard University. At the 2018 Paralympic Games Dan stole the show, remarkably winning one gold, four silver and one bronze medal over a period of eight days earning the honor of "Best Male Athlete of the Games."