It's rare to find a single person who has "done it all" in Army aviation - an outstanding individual who has served with distinction in every Army aviation assignment from crew chief to Department of the Army staffer.
     A master aviator, flight examiner, safety school graduate, operations officer, Vietnam veteran with 1,199 combat hours, bi-linguist, personnel specialist, fixed and rotary wing instrument qualified pilot, unit trainer, and pentagon action officer - CW4 Robert L. Hamilton truly has done it all.
     First crewing an H-13 in Europe from 1954 to 1957, Hamilton attended flight school in 1958, served as an operations officer at Fort Benning, Ga., then returned to Fort Rucker, Ala., where he instructed in the Flight Examiner's Course in 1964.
He served his first tour in Vietnam with the 1st Cavalry Division in 1966 and 1967, and was then assigned to the Warrant Officer Aviation Branch in Washington, D.C.
     Hamilton’s duties included the assignment, training and career counseling of aviation warrant officers; and his advice in this field was keenly sought by senior officers in the Office of Personnel Operations and other Army agencies.
He served a second Vietnam tour in 1971 and 1972, where his duties concerned aviation safety at the Headquarters of the U.S. Army Vietnam.
     Assigned to the Office of the Director of Army Aviation in 1972, his duties included supervision and systems management for the research developments, and acquisition of life support equipment and the 2B24 synthetic flight training system.
Hamilton also assisted the director in providing written material and briefings to Congress, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Army Secretariat and the Army Staff.
     Hamilton is an extraordinary individual with a solid career of accomplishment.
A 5,000-hour pilot who holds the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Legion of Merit and the Air Medal with 28 Oak Leaf Clusters, he has always been singled out by his superiors and his peers as a leader. 

Edited by Bullinger, 13 Jan – FEB 07 Issue

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