The Multilingual Commander: Dino Pick on the Front Lines

Episode 217 - Dino Pick (Part 1) In this episode of the Assyrian Podcast, we sit down with Retired U.S. Army Colonel Dino (Danial) Pick, whose life sits at the intersection of military service, diplomacy, and Assyrian identity.

From commanding tanks in Desert Storm to leading special operations in northern Iraq, Dino reflects on the tension of serving as an Assyrian-American during the 2003 invasion. He shares a powerful moment when, in the middle of active combat, he used a satellite phone to reconnect an Assyrian professor with his mother in the village of Alqosh.

Raised in a close-knit Assyrian home in Seattle, Dino began school speaking only his native language and went on to master Arabic, Farsi, and Dari, eventually serving as a Foreign Area Officer and Commandant of the Defense Language Institute.

Beyond his 29-year military career, Dino opens up about a deeply personal calling: honoring the legacy of his mother, a legendary Assyrian singer we’ll meet in part 2. This episode explores identity, sacrifice, and what it means to carry your heritage through every stage of life.

Mr. Danial Pick serves as the Director of International Graduate Programs at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.  Mr. Pick previously served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict (ASD (SOLIC)).  In this capacity he assisted the ASD (SOLIC) in the execution of Department-wide counterterrorism and irregular warfare policy, operational oversight, and execution of service secretary-like responsibilities over U.S. SOCOM.   

Previously he served as the first Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations Policy and Programs, a position called for in bipartisan legislation as a means of strengthening civilian oversight of U.S. Special Operations Forces.  In this capacity he was responsible for advising the ASD (SOLIC) and the Secretary of Defense by formulating, recommending, integrating and implementing policies and strategies on matters pertaining to the organization, training and equipping of special operations forces including oversight of the $13.4B MFP-11 Special Operations budget.   

Mr. Pick graduated in 1987 from the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Near Eastern Languages and Civilization.  He also holds a Master of Military Art and Studies from the Marine Corps University, and a Master of Arts in Near Eastern studies from Princeton University.  He was a National Security Affairs Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

Mr. Pick served for 29 years in the US Army as a military intelligence and Middle East foreign area officer.  He served with the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) working with partners and allies throughout the Indo-Pacific region.  His combat deployments included service with 3/66 Armor Battalion in Desert Storm in 1990-91, the 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and service in Afghanistan in 2009.  Mr. Pick helped develop the counterterrorism capabilities of the Iraqi and Jordanian Armed Forces while serving at the U.S. Embassy in Amman, Jordan, from 2003-2006, before serving as a Policy Officer in the Office of the Secretary of Defense from 2006-2008 building the partner capacity of the Iraqi Security Forces.  Mr. Pick commanded the Defense Language Institute from 2010-2014 providing foreign language capability to special operations forces and the intelligence community.

Mr. Pick has served as a municipal government leader in the Cities of Monterey and Del Rey Oaks, California.  He currently serves as an elected official on the Monterey Peninsula Airport Board. 

 He speaks Assyrian, Arabic, Farsi, and Dari. He is married to Karen Pick. They have two children, Dalton (24) and Lauren (21).  Mr. Pick is a member of the Global SOF Foundation, the OSS Society, Chair of the Big Sur Marathon Foundation Board, and a member of the Rotary Club of Monterey.