John Blankenship is a former Green Beret and Bronze Star recipient out of the 1st Special Forces Group. His training includes Airborne, Small Unit Tactics, Special Forces, Underwater Operations (Combat Diver), Advanced Urban Combat, and Mugpul Assault Sniper schools. Throughout his deployments to SE Asia and Afghanistan, he has trained over one-thousand military and paramilitary forces in multiple disciplines. 

John speaks Mandarin Chinese, holds a BBA in Finance, is a NAUI certified Master Diver, and is currently an Executive MBA student at the University of Georgia - Buckhead. 

In his spare time, John is an avid hiker and most recently hiked the Andes Mountains.