Editor’s note: CAP employees have unique backgrounds and experiences, shaping us as an organization and reflecting the diverse communities we serve. Dan Pauly joined CAP in October 2016 as a communications engineer after many years of traveling the world as he served his country.
From the sprawling outdoors of Lake Tahoe to combat zones across the globe, Dan Pauly has led a remarkable life of adventure – and he’s captured it with photos.
Growing up in Lake Tahoe, Pauly’s family embraced an outdoor lifestyle. His mom had a love of horses, starting a horse-riding group for women called the “Saddle Bags” and immersing herself with horses. His father preferred to hit the trail on his motorcycle. Pauly rode – motorcycles more than horses – but also found joy in other outdoor activities like backpacking, skiing and white-water rafting.
Their adventures would take them in different directions, so Pauly and his mother would reconnect, sharing stories and photographs from their trips.
“My mom wasn’t very chatty, so photos were a way we could communicate, and share where we went and what we saw,” said Pauly.
After high school, he found outdoor jobs, working as a white-water guide, performing forest thinning and even hitting the slopes to conduct customer surveys. It was a lifestyle filled with the beauty of nature and the rush of adrenaline … and overwhelming instability.
“It was fun, but I got tired of being poor and living on people’s couches,” said Pauly. “I wanted more.”
He enlisted in the U.S. Army when he was 21. Pauly went to Ft. Leonard Wood in Missouri for basic training — his first experience with ice storms – before arriving at Ft. Eustis in Virginia, where he worked on helicopters.
“I crewed Black Hawks, spending time at Ft. Drum and Ft. Hood before getting orders for Germany,” said Pauly.
Over the next several years, Dan served as a crew chief for Black Hawks, attached to an Apache unit, supporting missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and across Europe. He quickly rose to the rank of sergeant, leading soldiers and maintaining aircraft under the most extreme conditions.
His life was an adrenaline rush, and his outlet was to capture the experience in photos. While at a forward arming and refueling point (FARP) between Karbala and Baghdad, Pauly sat on the hood of a Humvee watching and waiting, capturing moments with photos.
On his second trip to Iraq, he was injured, spent three months in a German hospital and nearly lost his leg. As his next enlistment approached, Pauly knew he was done.
“I got to do a lot of cool stuff and really enjoyed the people, but it was time,” said Pauly.
After leaving the Army, he took his skills into the private sector, supporting advanced surveillance and communications systems in conflict zones—including a high-tech aerial surveillance program in Afghanistan and later, joint operations with British and Romanian forces. He worked with Africom in Kenya and Somalia battling Al-Shabaab.
“It was some of the most intense, high-level work I’d ever done,” he said. “But years of violence and deployments took a toll.”
He made a very deliberate pivot in his life and career. A return to service, but this time the mission was bringing water to the desert. At CAP, Dan is a communications engineer, supporting the electronics and communications systems that keep the aqueduct running. From cameras and fiber optics to microwave communications and radar systems, his role is vital to ensure reliable water deliveries for millions of Arizonans.
“I love that CAP is a mission-driven place,” he said. “You feel like what you do matters. It’s a quieter service, but just as important.”
For Pauly, it’s not just a job with a purpose, his “office” also has incredible scenery and breathtaking views, all captured in photos.
“I have seen some of the most beautiful places and photography allows me to share it with others,” he said.
Outside of work, Pauly’s life is also full of movement and meaning. He’s an avid adventurer, often off-roading or camping with his wife, Jennifer—a nurse pursuing her doctorate—and their two daughters.
His photos, once a way to stay connected with his mother during deployments, now serve as visual reminders of the places he’s been, experiences he’s had, and the beauty he finds in the world.
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