Former Navy SEAL Capt. Daron Miller found a new definition of strength when he shifted his focus from elite performance to a career as a U.S. Army chaplain, using his background to support soldiers.
At 19, Miller was searching for something difficult to accomplish and a way to define his identity. While browsing a book about Navy SEALs, he found his challenge.
“I decided to join the Navy and become a SEAL before I even paid for the book,” Miller said in an Army release.
The book mentioned that candidates in the final phase of Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, or BUD/S, were required to run 14 miles.
“I literally grabbed a Marlboro stopwatch that came out of a carton of my mom’s cigarettes, and all I knew was that it was seven miles down to the gas station and back,” Miller said in the release. “So, I just put on my tennis shoes, didn’t bring water, I had the stopwatch to time myself, and I just ran 14 miles.”
In October 1993, Miller began Navy boot camp and later reported to SEAL Team 3 after completing BUD/S training.
“In dive phase,” Miller said, “I got an award called ‘First Time, Every Time.’ That means in every graded evolution that we did, all the drown-proofing and diving, I passed my very first time.”
Despite those accolades, Miller recalls still feeling unfulfilled. He remembers asking himself, “How is it I’ve done all this, but inside I feel just as unfulfilled as I did before I ever joined the Navy?”
Miller’s life changed during a six-hour drive back from training in California with another SEAL. The man began talking about his Christian faith and his time as a missionary in Russia before joining the Navy.
Faith had not been significant in Miller’s life growing up in Kansas. But that conversation would eventually lead him to explore a faith that shaped his career and sense of purpose.
Miller remained in the Navy until 2006. He later attended Lancaster Bible College and Capital Seminary, intending to minister to veterans in a hospital setting.
A fellow student serving as a chaplain candidate connected Miller with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. Miller eventually commissioned as an Army chaplain assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battalion, 28th Infantry Division.
Miller’s SEAL background gave him a point of connection with soldiers who might otherwise be hesitant to open up to a chaplain.
“When a soldier’s in front of me and they see, ‘Oh wow, he’s got a combat diver badge and all of that stuff,’” Miller said, “‘This isn’t just a pastor who stepped in off the street and put on camis. Here’s someone that shared some of the things that I’ve done.’”
Miller said that some of the strongest soldiers he has encountered are often the more private ones, whose character and perseverance never receive public recognition through badges or awards.
Maj. David Boyles, a Pennsylvania Army National Guard chaplain who has worked alongside Miller for several years, said Miller is quiet, reserved and humble, contrary to expectations for someone with his military background.
Miller also serves as a civilian chaplain at a senior living community.
“His willingness to step into an environment where growth and change in the people you care for are not likely … is a testament to his servant’s heart and a desire to care for people regardless of any noticeable outcome,” Boyles said.
Compared with his 19-year-old self, Miller now measures strength differently. SEALs are often viewed as outward models of strength, but Miller learned that outward strength does not always reflect what someone carries internally.
He now uses his experiences to understand others’ struggles and serve them through ministry. His military service is no longer something he uses to prove himself; it is something he uses to serve others.
“All of that equipped me for the ministry with a rucksack that was full of everything that I needed,” Miller said. “It wasn’t about me. All of that was for every soldier here.”
