Born in an East European country under communist rule, Thomas Dzieran spent two years in a communist gulag as a political prisoner. He immigrated to the United States in 1984, became a US citizen in 1991 and joined the US Navy that same year. He served as a member of SEAL Team 2 and SEAL Team 4, a SEAL instructor, as a Naval Special Warfare Lead Breacher, and while deployed to Iraq he performed over 100 direct action missions. He was awarded the Bronze Star with “V”, Navy Commendation Medal with “V”, Army Commendation Medal among others.