Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
7:52 | During his first enlistment with the Army, Steve Hamlet was sent to Honduras. While there, Hurricane Mitch, one of the largest class 4 hurricanes in history, swept through Honduras and destroyed entire neighborhoods and killed over 10,000 people. He gives insight on the truly horrific images of witnessing people float down the river and describes his role in rescue and aid for civilians during this tragic event.
Keywords : Army Hurricane Mitch Hurricane chaplain assistant Honduras Search and Rescue death destruction Chinook
Steve Hamlet gives an account of his experience during basic training. He recalls his most difficult experiences and discusses how he felt those were necessary for his growth as a soldier. After basic, he went on to Advanced Individual Training where he eventually became a Chaplain's assistant.
While flying from Tallil, an Iraq Air Force base, they were caught in a massive sand storm. With nothing between Tallil and Babylon, no way to see the tandem bird, and at risk of flying into Iraq power lines, they were forced to land and wait out the storm.
While unloading equipment from one of the milvan containers in Balad, Iraq, there was suddenly some indirect fire. Steve Hamlet discusses the experience and describes it as being “unnerving” and “shocking” when experiencing it for the first time. He also touches on the role of embedded reporters and the significant amount of falsified information found in their reports.
After his time in the Air Force, Steve hamlet decided to go back to Army. Almost immediately after, he was sent to Iraq. He was with Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 171 Aviation Battalion where he flew all of the missions from Baghdad and south. A typical mission could be anything from escorting generals to shipping equipment.
While in Saddam's palace, Steve Hamlet gives an account of an amusing encounter with a native. He also gives insight on the policy behind bringing war trophies or souvenirs back from overseas.
Described as his “claim to fame,” Steve Hamlet gives an account of a yearlong mission while in Kosovo, in which he tracked a supposed leader of several undisclosed groups. He was primarily responsible for stopping what would have been a disastrous attack on an undisclosed city in another country by this very same individual.
After deciding to ETS (End Term of Service) with the infantry division, Steve Hamlet soon joined the non-deployable space operations in the Air Force Reserves. He gives insight on his experiences and his role in operations. He also gives an account of one of the more tragic experiences in which one of the space shuttles exploded on its way back to earth.
After his time in Honduras, Steve Hamlet spent time deployed all over Eastern Europe where he was a non-commissioned officer in charge of military intelligence detachment operations throughout different parts of Eastern Europe. He was primarily responsible for source operations, where he established working relationships.
