Dan Hampton’s role model growing up was his grandfather, a military man. Hampton always looked up to him for his service in the Air Force — to the point where, as a student at Hartford High, the decision to follow in grandfather’s footsteps had been all but decided.
Now, for the second consecutive year, Hampton is doing his part to give back.
Hampton, along with his mother, Cindy, participated in the Air Force’s Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) 24-Hour Challenge last week at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas. The challenge, a team effort to have someone moving throughout the course of 24 hours, is the TACP’s major annual fundraising event to help soldiers’ families in times of need.
Last year, Hampton’s first 24-hour challenge while stationed in Germany, the TACP raised $131,000 across 33 teams on four continents. This year, nearly $104,000 has been raised through personal donations. According to Cindy Hampton, nearly $2,000 has been raised through donations from the Hamptons’ friends and family in the Upper Valley.
“The challenge is something I like doing,” the Hartland native said last week one day before the challenge began. “There have been guys in my career field who have been injured or died during combat. We’re able to help the families through fundraising, and it goes a long way. It’s not a lot … but I know it’s going somewhere it should.”
The challenge began Wednesday afternoon, with both Cindy and her son joined by nearly 100 military members and their families and friends. The goal of the challenge is to have someone in motion at all times over the course of 24 hours, with prizes handed out to those who accumulated the most mileage. Cindy, who said she ran and walked, finished the day completing 54 miles, while Dan, despite some hydration issues, completed 33½ miles. Cindy was given a medal for going the farthest.
“I’m very proud of him,” Cindy said of her son. “I understand that it could be my son dead sometime. It’s not a great world that we live in; things could happen very quickly. … This was a good thing. (TACP) is a good organization. It’s very important.”
Hampton has been part of military service for more than nine years, joining the Air Force as a junior at Hartford through the military’s delayed enlistment program. He has been deployed three times, the first time in December 2008, an experience he called “eye-opening.”
“It’s strange to see all that stuff on TV and then see what it was really like,” Hampton said. “I had what I thought it was going to be like. It’s completely different.”
Now, Hampton works on military bases as a Joint Terminal Attack Controller — essentially, a liaison between the Army and the Air Force. It gives him a chance to experience the better parts of two very different branches of the armed forces, and Hampton said it’s still as rewarding as it was when he first joined.
“I like being able to go to work and being there for the guys,” he said.
Few events throughout the year illustrate that point like the 24-Hour Challenge. For Hampton, it’s the least he can do for the families of fallen soldiers and those in need. He knows more than anybody, after three deployments, just how important supporting your fellow soldiers can be.
“The big thing for me is it’s for the families, if anything were to happen,” Hampton said. “It makes me want to give it my all, to help my family or my friends’ family if something were to happen.”
Hampton ran 33 miles last year, his first and the TACP’s fourth annual 24-Hour Challenge. Hampton said each year the event becomes more organized; the first couple of years the particulars were not as widely advertised as they are now. But as word has spread to the TACP’s members, the event has become much more centralized. Teams are organized months in advance; fundraising efforts are for both the individual and the team. Fort Bliss has raised $4,100 as a team, and more than half of that has come from Dan Hampton’s personal work.
“Last year was the best we’ve ever done,” he said.
Hampton’s brother, David, a former 1,000-point scorer at Lebanon High, is also in the military and now a cadet at Norwich University. Dan Hampton still has plenty of connections to the Upper Valley, despite his all his travels.
“A lot of (my donations) come from up there,” he said. “My mom puts it out to friends and family. It’s great that they show the love.”
To donate, visit fundly.com/2016-24-hour-challenge. The website closes for donations on Friday.
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or at 603-727-3306.