About Us
Our Mission
To provide physically and emotionally injured post-9/11 Special Operations combat veterans with all-inclusive Arkansas hunting, fishing and outdoor opportunities in an environment that comforts, encourages and fosters rehabilitation, recovery and transition.
Our Team
The team consists of leaders from the 75th Ranger Regiment.
Men with extensive leadership assignments and deployment histories.
Men who understand the sacrifice and nature’s healing power.
Shawn Daniel
Executive Director
Dennis L. Smith
Vice President
Nicholas T. Neuert
Director of Operations
Dalton L. Fish
Operations Manager
The supporting staff also includes dedicated professionals committed to excellence in their roles ensuring every experience with DWS meets unmatched standards.
Heather Burns
Chef
Jackie Bordelon
Administrative Manager
Jessica L. Neuert
Social Media Manager
Dorothy Sayger
Lodge Maintenance
Michael Schellenbach
Photographer / Content Creator
Shawn Daniel
Executive Director
Shawn L. Daniel, Colonel (Retired), U.S. Army, serves as the Executive Director of Darby's Warrior Support. He's a veteran of more than 25 years in uniform, and multiple combat deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. As the Commander of C Company, 3d Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Shawn participated in the combat parachute assault into Afghanistan on 19 October 2001. He would go on to serve in numerous roles overseas as an Operations Officer and as a Battalion Commander. In 2017, Shawn retired from active duty from the U.S. Special Operations Command Headquarters. After a four year stint in the private sector, he assumed full-time duties as the Executive Director of Darby's Warrior Support. Shawn is a 1993 graduate of the United States Military Academy and a 2014 graduate of the National Security Fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School. He was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame in 2022 and the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame in 2024. Married to the former Ms. Dena Wortsmith Daniel, the two are proud parents of two wildly successful kiddos, excited about the addition of a fantastic son-in-law to the family, and now claim Little Rock, Arkansas as home.
Dennis L. Smith
Vice President
Dennis L. Smith, Command Sergeant Major (Retired), U.S. Army, is the co-founder and the Vice President of Darby's Warrior Support. He's a veteran of more than 26 years in uniform and multiple combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan including a combat parachute assault into Iraq in 2003. His career included serving as a Battalion Command Sergeant Major in the Ranger Special Troops Battalion, 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment and finally as the Command Sergeant Major for the Airborne Ranger Training Brigade. Dennis is a Purple Heart recipient and was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame in 2019. He currently serves as a government contractor and continues to support the pursuit of U.S. national security objectives. Dennis and his wife Debbie, a 17-year civil servant veteran of the 75th Ranger Regiment, now call Phenix City, Alabama home.
Nicholas T. Neuert
Director of Operations
Nickolas T. Neuert, Sergeant First Class (Retired), U.S. Army, serves as the Director of Operations of Darby's Warrior Support. While serving in the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, he deployed eight times in support of the Global War on Terrorism, which included six to Afghanistan and two to Iraq. In 2018, Nick retired from active duty while serving in the Ranger Special Troops Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment overseeing the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program. In the spring of 2019, he assumed full-time responsibility for the operations of Darby's Warrior Support. Nick holds a Master of Business Administration and a Master's in Ecology focusing on Wetlands Restoration from Auburn University. In 2007 he married his best friend Jessica Neuert, and they have three amazing children. Avid travelers and outdoor enthusiasts dedicated to exploring the American wilderness, the Neuert family now proudly calls Cabot, Arkansas home.
Dalton L. Fish
Operations Manager
Dalton L. Fish is a veteran of 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment where he served as a Rifle Team Leader and Military Working Dog Handler. His service included combat deployments to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, and he is also a Purple Heart recipient. Dalton is a graduate of Ranger School, Sniper School, and Dog Handler School. Upon completion of his military service, he moved back to Tennessee and completed his Bachelor's Degree in Wildlife Science at Tennessee Tech University. In pursuit of his goals to manage habitat for waterfowl, Dalton moved to Arkansas in 2024 and started working full time for Darby's Warrior Support as the Operations Manager. A native of Tennessee where he calls the hills and hollers home, Dalton has been an avid outdoorsman his whole life and pursues hunting as his absolute passion. Dalton is supported in life by his beautiful wife, Caroline Fish. They have been blessed with two little girls they truly adore.
Heather Burns
Chef
Chef Heather Burns is a native of Sherwood, Oregon and developed her love of cooking at an early age with her mother. Chef Heather went on to graduate from Le Cordon Bleu French culinary arts and pastry program located in Portland Oregon. She has 20+ years of experience as a private chef - working in restaurants and resorts from Hawaii to Alaska. After relocating to Arkansas, Chef Heather joined the DWS Team in 2025, and her passion for cooking and love of veterans is evident in every dish she prepares. Heather and her husband, Chad (also a Chef), reside in Judsonia, Arkansas with their two sons.
Jackie Bordelon
Administrative Manager
Jackie Bordelon, a native of Searcy, Arkansas, owned and operated her own business with her sister for 18 years - earning her accounting degree in 1993. After the sale of their business, she worked as a cost accountant for Moore Forest Products for another 14 years. She joined the DWS Team in 2017 as the Administrative Manager, and she has always been available for wise counsel on big decisions within the organization. Jackie was married to Patrick Bordelon for 36 years before his death in 2005. They have 2 talented and hard-working children and 3 beautiful granddaughters.
Jessica L. Neuert
Social Media Manager
Jessica L. Neuert has served as the Social Media and Graphic Design Representative for Darby's Warrior Support since 2019, helping share the mission and impact of DWS through its digital platforms and creative content. As a military spouse, Jessica supported her family through numerous deployments while her husband was on active duty, her firsthand connection to the military community brings a personal understanding of the service and sacrifices shared by military families. Jessica lives in Cabot, Arkansas, with her husband and three children. She is an avid reader and enjoys spending time fishing and hiking the outdoors with her family and dogs.
Dorothy Sayger
Lodge Maintenance
Dorothy Sayger has been self-employed as an independent residential and commercial cleaning technician for over 25 years. Dorothy's chosen profession has afforded her the flexibility to remain responsive to various needs of our family over the years. She joined the DWS team in June 2025, and DWS guests benefit from her professionalism and commitment to excellence. Dorothy and her husband of 39 years call Biscoe, Arkansas home, and they have a wonderful daughter, son-in-law, and two fabulous grandsons who bring them great joy.
Michael Schellenbach
Photographer / Content Creator
Michael E. Schellenbach, Master Gunnery Sergeant (Retired), U.S. Marine Corps, serves as the content creator / photographer for Darby’s Warrior Support. Serving 21 years in uniform as a Combat Cameraman, Michael completed nine of those years in overseas billets including Kosovo, Pakistan, Israel, Japan, Bahrain, and Iraq. Michael’s last assignment was as the Senior Enlisted Advisor for Combat Camera within the Communication Strategy and Operations Occupational Field. Throughout Michael’s career, he made time to continue to pursue his love of the outdoors and art. Michael established Schellenbach Photography & Design and slowly grew his business. Following his retirement from the Marine Corps, Michael was able to fully invest his time into his passion of photography. He honed his craft by working in various types of photography ultimately finding that he could combine his love of photography and the outdoors when he was introduced to the AKC/UKC retriever hunt test circuit. Married to the former Ms. Eva White, they now claim Mulberry, Arkansas as home.
Who Is Darby?
William Orlando Darby was an Arkansas native. He is known for the organization of the first Ranger Battalion during World War II. Darby started his military career at West Point in 1929 after graduating from Fort Smith High School. In 1933 Darby graduated from West Point, commissioned as a second lieutenant and was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery, 1st Cavalry Division.
Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Darby was reassigned as an aide-de-camp and deployed to Northern Ireland in early 1942. Darby was then selected to organize and train a new commando unit, and the activation of the first United States Army Ranger Battalion took place in July of 1942. Following the invasion of North Africa and many successful night attacks, the First, Third and Fourth Ranger battalions invaded Sicily in 1943.
Darby was then reassigned to lead the 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Division in February of 1944. Shortly after reorganizing war-depleted regiment, Darby was redeployed back to the United States where he served as a section chief in the General Staff’s War Plans Division at the Pentagon. Darby served 11 months in the Pentagon and then returned overseas for a tour in the European theater in 1945. Darby led an advance on Lake Garda in Italy in April 1945. During the process of planning for the coming day’s battles, a German shell exploded near Darby’s location where a piece of shrapnel claimed his life. A few days later, German forces in Italy surrendered.
William O. Darby was a brave warrior and is considered the father of the modern-day Ranger. Since the Founders of Darby’s Warrior Support came from the 75th Ranger Regiment and Darby is a native of Arkansas, we felt it was appropriate to include his name in that of the organization’s.
