The Fifth Column

Dan Hampton (US Air Force, Ret.) flew more than 150 combat missions during his twenty years as a Wild Weasel fighter pilot. For his service in the Iraq War, Kosovo conflict, first Gulf War, and elsewhere, Hampton received four Distinguished Flying Crosses with Valor, a Purple Heart, eight Air Medals with Valor, five Meritorious Service Medals, and numerous other citations. He is a graduate of the USAF and USN Fighter Weapons Schools and the USAF Special Operations School. A recipient of several awards for tactical innovation, Hampton pioneered air-combat tactics that are now standard and was named his squadron's Instructor Pilot of the Year six times. A graduate of Texas A&M University, he has published articles in the Journal of Electronic Defense, Air Force Magazine, and Airpower, as well as several classified tactical works for the USAF Fighter Weapons Review.