Common sense views from an uncommon retired Marine Colonel!
Pickleball Battlefield
The day Shaka Zulu stormed the Pickleball net…
He didn’t just play — he charged.
One player became the “chest” — pinning opponents at the kitchen line with relentless volleys.
His partner became the “horns” — flanking with sharp sideline shots and lobs that stretched the defense thin.
Result? Total encirclement. Game over at 11-5.
That’s just one chapter from Pickleball Battlefield by retired Marine Colonel Daniel Hunter Wilson.
From Sun Tzu’s deception dinks to Chesty Puller’s never-quit comebacks… from the OODA Loop to full MCDP 1 Warfighting applied to doubles… this book turns history’s greatest warriors into your new Pickleball coaches.
And Rule #1? HAVE FUN.
Available now on Amazon → https://www.amazon.com/Pickleball-Battlefield-Mastering-Warrior-Legends/dp/B0F2N8TLDH
Pickleball will never be the same.
What if the greatest warriors in history stepped onto a Pickleball court with paddles instead of swords? A retired Marine Colonel just made it happen — and the results are pure genius.
Pickleball Battlefield: Mastering the Court with Warrior Legends by Colonel Daniel Hunter Wilson (Retired Marine) is not your average sports book.
This is the wildest, most entertaining, and surprisingly effective Pickleball playbook ever written.
Imagine Shaka Zulu storming the net with his “horns of the buffalo” formation. Sun Tzu using deception to fake a smash… then dropping a perfect dink. Genghis Khan riding imaginary horses across the court in lightning raids. Chesty Puller refusing to lose at 0-8 and turning the game into a Marine assault. Sitting Bull patiently waiting for the perfect ambush. Napoleon, Patton, Hannibal, Lawrence of Arabia, Stormin’ Norman, and even Lieutenant Dan (yes, the author himself) bringing their legendary tactics to the kitchen line.
And that’s just the start.
Colonel Wilson — combat veteran, former battalion commander in Fallujah, and one of the most decorated Marines of his generation — also breaks down MCDP 1 Warfighting, the OODA Loop, and the timeless duel between attrition vs. maneuver warfare… all applied directly to doubles and singles.
But here’s the best part: Rule #1 is HAVE FUN! This book is laugh-out-loud funny, packed with practical tips, and written by a man who has led Marines in combat and now leads Pickleball partners in Myrtle Beach with the same fire.
Whether you’re a weekend warrior, a tournament grinder, a Marine, a history buff, or just someone who loves a good story with a paddle in hand — Pickleball Battlefield will make you a better player… and have you grinning the entire time.
I grew up in Africa, the son of missionary parents who devoted their entire adult lives to helping African tribespeople in desperate need. Read all about it in my recently published Memoir, OUT OF AFRICA AND INTO THE CORPS. I spent eight years in the southern Sudan, four years in South Africa & South West Africa, and two years in Kenya. It was perfect preparation for a career in the Marines.
I led Marines for 39 years on active duty, first as an enlisted Marine from Private to the rank of Staff Sergeant, and then as a "Mustang" infantry officer for 31 years: Second Lieutenant to full bird Colonel. I was the senior Colonel in the Marines when I retired on Leap Year Day in 2020 of some 555 Colonels with almost a full ten years time-in-grade as a full bird Colonel.
A week after being notified that I would be considered by the selection board for Brigadier General in July 2016, I was falsely accused of sexual assault, and wrongfully convicted of one charge at a court martial fourteen months later in September 2017. I spent nearly 3 years in 3 different military prisons, before being exonerated "WITH PREJUDICE" in a unanimous decision by the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals for "factual and legal insufficiency." Upon my release from prison, I was forced to retire and my leadership reneged on our agreement of "no punishment" by weaponizing the retirement process to have me retired in the pay of a Lieutenant Colonel and with an "Other than Honorable" characterization of my service, which equated to "severe punishment." It was the military lawyers' way of getting their revenge for losing the most important case of their careers.
In retirement, I have written and published the true story of my case in my first book, UNDAUNTED GLADIATOR.
These are the eight books that I've currently written and published. I am working on three more books presently:
UNDAUNTED GLADIATOR
A 110 PERCENT MENTALITY
THE BATTLE OF FALLUJAH - PART II...Operation Phantom Fury
DAN 2.0 by DAN W.
THE SWAMP F0X UNLEASHED
OUT OF AFRICA AND INTO THE CORPS
PICKLEBALL BATTLEFIELD
THE BLONDE BOMBSHELL
All eight books are available on AMAZON in the following formats: Hard Cover, Paperback, Ebook/Kindle, and as audiobooks that I personally narrate.
I aspire to fix the inequities in the military legal system someday. I aspire to have HONOR restored to my military career and that JUSTICE be done in my case. I aspire to inspire in others a desire to acquire a Higher Power of their own understanding. I give all credit to any successes I've had in life to my Higher Power, whom I choose to call "GOD." "I can do all things through God who strengthens me." I dedicated UNDAUNTED GLADIATOR to God, because He imbued in me the attitude to not just survive in prison, but to thrive in prison. On account of God, I went from “Victim” to “VICTOR!” All glory be to God Almighty!
Semper Fi and Semper God!
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A 110 PERCENT MENTALITY-THE COLONEL'S CORNER 