Don Mrosla attended the United States Air Force academy in the same class as his twin brother. While there, both Mrosla brothers became champions at boxing, but hung up their gloves their last year to prevent any potential boxing injury that would disqualify them from attending Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training. After completing pilot training, Don qualified in the C-130 Hercules, and continuously cycled to Vietnam. One of the missions he was qualified in was to drop a 15,000 pound bomb out of the C-130 tailgate in support of American helicopter operations, creating an "instant landing zone". On these missions, the aircraft was called the B-130. On one of his missions, he had two of his four engines shot out and barely made it back to a safe landing. Following retirement from the Air Force, Don flew for an airline in the South Pacific, then pursued a career at Southwest Airlines, which he continued until mandatory retirement.