Yonatan David Zagdanski enlisted in the US Army at age 24 in 1996. After completing Basic Training and Airborne School, he volunteered for Ranger Regimental selection and successfully completed the course. After spending three years with the 75th Ranger Regiment, he attended the US Army Officer Candidate School and graduated with honors. He was then assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division as a Platoon Commander. In 2003, he led a platoon of 36 soldiers from Kuwait to Baghdad, Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Upon his return from the theatre of operations, he was assigned as a Assistant Operations Officer for an exercise simulation Battalion. He then transferred to the Chaplain Corps and earned his Rabbinical Ordination from the David Shapell College of Jewish Studies, Jerusalem. He subsequently served as a US Army Chaplain in the US Reserves for 15 years, while living in Israel.
