Instead the former British Army Officer, now an MBA at Cranfield School of Management, became the first person to complete the Great Himalaya Trail - solo.
He trekked 1500km in 65 days across Nepal alone, braving some of the world's highest mountain peaks. He raised over £8,500 for charity in the process.
"It just caught my eye," says Doc. "One day in the office I said 'I'm leaving on this day, going to business school and will do the trail in the middle. When I got back from Afghanistan in October 2012, I put pen to paper."
After his first tour of the war-torn country, he was offered the chance to spend 18 months as a project engineer in Pokhara, Nepal with the British Army and The Gurkha Welfare Trust.
The latter is a charity and Doc helped construct 22 schools and a medical center across rural parts of the country during his post.
It was there that he first heard about the trail and began his path to completing a world first. And it was there that Doc saw a life for himself outside of the military.
"It was an amazing opportunity and it gave me an idea of the real world, outside the Army," he says. "Sometimes in the military you get so focused on tasks that you don't appreciate what is around you.
"I was at a point in my career that, if I didn't leave then, I'd be there until I retired and got my pension. But I didn’t see myself staying there for another twelve years.
"I was concerned that if I came straight to a job it would take a long time to find what I love to do in business.
"To help myself understand, I thought an MBA would be a good idea."
It is no easy feat making such a transition. For those with a traditional business background, gaining an MBA can be a formality. For others like Doc, it is a tool to brave a new type of conflict.
When the future Cranfield MBA first joined Sandhurst, the British Army's officer training base, he was fulfilling a childhood dream.
"As a child I found the Army exciting," Doc says. "I had friends and family in the military and it just grabbed my interest.
"From the age of 15 all I ever wanted to do was fly in the RAF, but my eyesight was too bad. After a trial with the Territorial Army I decided to go full-time."
His career has been nothing if not challenging. As a Troop Commander, he led 35 soldiers on operations in Afghanistan and provided support for infantry on patrol.
He had to maintain moral and standards whilst being directly responsible for the welfare of his soldiers in arduous conditions.
But those military challenges can be applied in business as well as on the battlefield. "Taking a problem and pulling it apart to solve it is what you do regularly in the military, as in business," Doc says.
"The Army also gives you the self confidence to take something, grab it with both hands and, even if you don’t understand it fully, commit to making it work."
He received a scholarship to attend Cranfield, a high MBA Ranking business school, and began an MBA in the UK last year.
Successful MBA applicants with military backgrounds can get up to £12,500 through the Defence Scholarship.
His Great Himalaya Trail adventure - technically a world record, although un-registered - has also helped him slide into the b-school world. "I wanted to bridge the gap to do a once in a life-tme event that I could look back on and say: 'that time was well spent'," he says.
"It helped me not just to adjust, but to slide smoothly from one career to something else."
But what will that career be? Doc isn't sure. As any MBA will know, switching industries or sectors is hard enough. But entering an MBA program - difficult enough on its own - from such a different field is even more so.
"It is difficult when you set your heart on joining the military form a young age," he adds. "When you have spent the majority of your life focusing on a similar career, switching is quite challenging."
But Doc loves challenges.
The versatility of business is what excites him and he likes the idea of companies constantly striving to improve themselves; much like the military does. He doesn't know which sector to enter and for the time being is keeping his options open.
But he is also confident that Cranfield's career department and coaching opportunities, as well as access to large organizations, will help him identify the perfect MBA Job.
It could prove to be his biggest battle yet.
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