Combat Story (Ep 15): Dan "Two Dogs" Hampton - F-16 Fighter Pilot | DFC x 4 | Author

LTC (Ret.) Dan “Two Dogs” Hampton was a career fighter pilot who flew F-16s in multiple wars from the first Gulf War to Kosovo to Operation Iraqi Freedom over a 20 year career. He’s a fighter pilot to the core with over 6,000 flight hours who earned four DFCs and eight Air Medals with Valor across 151 combat missions. He's also a graduate of the elite U.S. Air Force Fighter Weapons School.

Dan’s experience hunting SAMs and flying 500 knots below 300’ give a surreal perspective of life inside the cockpit. He describes his experience from a young, unafraid 25 year old LT flying in Iraq in 1991 when he first “saw the elephant” to the mature flight lead putting his own life on the line decades later, again in Iraq but against a more advanced enemy.

He easily balances the near death adrenaline rushes that come at Mach speed with the light-hearted post-flight activities we all expect in the elite fighter pilot community.

Since retiring from service, Dan has written a bestselling memoir (Viper Pilot) and multiple novels and other non-fiction books, including national bestsellers Lords of the Sky and The Mercenary. His most recent book, Operation Vengeance, came out in late 2020.

A frequent guest analyst on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC discussing foreign affairs, military, aviation, and intelligence issues, he has published in Aviation History, the Journal of Electronic Defense, Air Force Magazine, Vietnam magazine, and Airpower magazine, and written several classified tactical works for the USAF Weapons Review.

You can find Dan on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/DanHamptonAuthor/ and find his books on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Dan-Hampton/e/B008DI423W?ref_=dbs_p_ebk_r00_abau_000000.

A note from Ryan (Combat Story host): Thank you very much to all those who subscribed to our previous interviews and took the time to leave positive comments. It's great to hear how these stories resonated with you the way they did with me.

If you know a veteran with an interesting combat story (or you have one yourself), go to www.combatstory.com/shareyourstory and let me know. Thanks!

Show Notes

0:00 - Intro
1:00 - Dan’s bio.
2:14 - Aviation inspiration? Why become a fighter pilot?
3:36 - Why the Air Force and not the Marines like your father and grandfather?
4:53 - “It never crossed my mind to fail.”
6:04 - ‘Seeing the Elephant.’ A reference to Hannibal crossing the mountain passes into new lands with war elephants where people had never seen these beasts. Seeing an elephant meant you’d come face to face with combat.
7:41 - Air Force Instructor Pilots and the ‘FAR Line’ (Fighter, Attack, Reconnaissance).
9:54 - First combat experience in the first Gulf War.
11:28 - Stationed in Turkey for the Gulf War, which was good because, of course, there was an Officer’s Club and you could drink.
12:52 - The F-16 role as a SAM hunter (SA-8, SA-6, by Srđan Popović).
19:54 - Post-first combat flight and antics that take place at an O Club.
24:56 - Description of an incredible post-9/11 mission in Iraq under an overcast cloud deck into enemy territory.
35:31 - Call Sign “Two Dogs.” This one is not PG-rated.
37:41 - Dan’s good luck charm/talisman that he carried on his missions is PRICELESS.
41:04 - Would you do it again?
42:12 - If you could fly any aircraft, what would it be? The Chance Vought F4U Corsair.

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