March or Die - A Marine Sniper's Identity Reset | Dagan Van Oosten Tells All episode artwork

EPISODE · May 6, 2026 · 1H

March or Die - A Marine Sniper's Identity Reset | Dagan Van Oosten Tells All

from LifeAudio

What happens when the uniform comes off and the identity you built underneath it goes with it? Marine Scout Sniper Dagan Van Oosten sat down with Jeremy Stalnecker, his platoon commander from the 2003 push into Iraq, and opened up about the moment a counselor asked him a question that hit "like a bolt of lightning" "If you died tomorrow, what would your tombstone say?" In this episode of The March or Die Show, Dagan walks through his journey as a Marine sniper in 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, three-plus years instructing at Quantico Sniper School, 14 years in federal contracting, training the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team, and the painful realization that the institution he'd given everything to was never going to love him back the way he loved it. He gets honest about the marriage he almost wrecked chasing the mission, the brother-in-law (Justice Bartelt) the family lost in Afghanistan, the fear of leaving the uniform behind, and what it took to reset his identity around three words: husband, father, friend. Whether you're an active-duty service member, a first responder, a veteran in transition, or anyone whose job has become their identity, this conversation will give you a roadmap for the chapter after the chapter you can't imagine ending. Connect with Dagan Van Oosten:Nomadic Research: https://nomadicresearch.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/@daganvanoosten  Hit Subscribe, share this episode with your community, and drop a comment on what landed hardest for you. Want more reinforcement? Subscribe to our newsletter, The Forward Edge, to go beyond the podcast and dig deeper into these topics and more: https://marchordie.substack.com! Join us daily for encouragement and biblical truth with the Mighty Oaks Daily Devotional, you can sign up for reminders: https://mightyoaksprograms.org/daily-devotional or text JOIN to (832) 333-8794 Follow March or Die:https://instagram.com/MarchOrDie https://Facebook.com/MarchOrDieShow https://TikTok.com/March_or_Die  Follow Jeremy:https://instagram.com/jeremystalnecker https://jeremystalnecker.com  Follow Sean:https://instagram.com/seantopgunkennard https://youtube.com/@SeanTopGunKennard  Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

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March or Die - A Marine Sniper's Identity Reset | Dagan Van Oosten Tells All

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This episode was published on May 6, 2026.

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What happens when the uniform comes off and the identity you built underneath it goes with it? Marine Scout Sniper Dagan Van Oosten sat down with Jeremy Stalnecker, his platoon commander from the 2003 push into Iraq, and opened up about the moment a...

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