The Pledge to America : One Man's Journey from Political Prisoner to U.S. Navy SEAL

Drago Dzieran

Drago Dzieran was born in Poland while under Communist rule and, after spending time in a Communist prison for his activism against the socialist oppression, immigrated to the United States in 1984. He became a US citizen in 1991 and enlisted in the Navy that same year. During his Navy career, he was a member of SEAL Team 2, SEAL Team 4, and a BUD/S instructor at Naval Special Warfare Center in Coronado, California. He performed over one hundred combat direct action missions as an NSW Lead Breacher while deployed to Iraq in 2003, 2004, and 2005, where he developed new breaching methods and a specialized breaching charge that minimized fragmentation and reduced potential injuries to non-combatants on target. This breaching charge allowed SEAL assault elements a smaller stand-off distance from the explosive breach and became widely used by SEALs throughout Iraq, saving many non-combatants’ lives. Dzieran was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device for Valor, the Navy Commendation Medal with “V” Device for Valor, and the Army Commendation Medal, along with other awards and decorations. Following his honorable retirement after twenty years in the Navy, Dzieran began a successful career as a software engineer. He founded the Navy SEALs Fund (www.navysealsfund.org), a 501c3 nonprofit with the mission of providing support for all generations of current, retired, and former UDT/SEAL teammates and their immediate dependents as well as Gold Star Families. He also founded ConnectZing (www.connectzing.com), a freedom-of-speech platform that gives a voice to all Americans without the worry of censorship or socialist fact checkers.