The Multilingual Commander: Dino Pick on the Front Lines
From Assyrian Podcast by Assyrians Everywhere
April 7, 2026 · 35 min · Episode 217
About this episode
Retired U.S. Army Colonel Dino Pick discusses his military career and Assyrian identity.
Episode 217 - Dino Pick (Part 1) In this episode of the Assyrian Podcast, we sit down with Retired U.S. Army Colonel Dino (Danial) Pick, whose life sits at the intersection of military service, diplomacy, and Assyrian identity. From commanding tanks in Desert Storm to leading special operations in northern Iraq, Dino reflects on the tension of serving as an Assyrian-American during the 2003 invasion. He shares a powerful moment when, in the middle of active combat, he used a satellite phone to reconnect an Assyrian professor with his mother in the village of Alqosh. Raised in a close-knit Assyrian home in Seattle, Dino began school speaking only his native language and went on to master Arabic, Farsi, and Dari, eventually serving as a Foreign Area Officer and Commandant of the Defense Language Institute. Beyond his 29-year military career, Dino opens up about a deeply personal calling: honoring the legacy of his mother, a legendary Assyrian singer we’ll meet in part 2. This episode explores identity, sacrifice, and what it means to carry your heritage through every stage of life. Mr. Danial Pick serves as the Director of International Graduate Programs at the Naval Postgraduate…
People in this episode
Guest: Dino Pick
Topics covered
- military service
- diplomacy
- Assyrian identity
- heritage
Keywords
- Desert Storm
- special operations
- Assyrian culture
- language skills
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Bachelor of Arts, a Master of Military Art and Studies, a Master of Arts
Places: Iraq, Alqosh, Seattle, Monterey, CA, U.S., Middle East, the Indo-Pacific, Afghanistan, Amman
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