LTC Daniel Hodne, the commander of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit, Fort Benning, Ga., has distinguished himself through his many accomplishments.

Education:
LTC Hodne earned his commission as an Infantry 2nd Lieutenant after graduating from the United States Military Academy in 1991. He holds a Master of Arts Degree from Louisiana State University. LTC Hodne’s professional military education includes the US Army Command and General Staff College and the Joint Combined Warfighting School.

Assignments:
LTC Hodne’s first operational assignment included service as a Bradley Platoon Leader, Support Platoon Leader, and Headquarters and Headquarters Company Executive Officer with 5-6 Infantry, 5th Infantry Division, Fort Polk, Louisiana (later designated as 3-41 Infantry, 2d Armored Division, Fort Hood, Texas).

After successful completion of the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course, Special Forces Qualification Course, and the Basic Military Language Course in Modern Standard Arabic, LTC Hodne served two tours with the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), including command of a Special Forces Operational Detachment (SFODA) and two Companies. His operational experience included many security cooperation plan deployments with Special Forces throughout the CENTCOM AOR and 2 combat tours in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM (SF Company Commander-OIF II, and SF Battalion S3-OIFIII).

In between tours with the 5th SFG(A), he coached, taught, and mentored SFODAs throughout US Army Special Forces Command as an Observer/Controller with the Special Operations Training Detachment, Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Polk. He also led a SOF Plans team for JRTC Plans and Exercise Maneuver Control.

LTC Hodne arrived to the US Army Marksmanship Unit after an assignment on the Joint Staff. He carried out Action Officer duties in the Joint Staff J7 Directorate and J37 Deputy Directorate for Special Operations and Counterterrorism. He also served as a Strategist on the personal staff of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Awards/Decorations:
Bronze Star Medal (1st Oak Leaf Cluster), Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (1st Oak Leaf Cluster), and Army Commendation Medal (2nd Oak Leaf Cluster), among others. In addition, he has earned the Special Forces Tab, Ranger Tab, Combat and Expert Infantryman Badges, Master Parachutist Badge, Air Assault Badge, and Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge. He has foreign parachutist badges from Australia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Kingdom.

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