7 years, 10 months and 30 days
That is how much time Lacey resident, Rob Hopkins, spent overseas during his 24 years of service in the United States Army. In that period of time Rob became a husband, father of three and a college graduate. Now this Chief Warrant Officer (CW4) has another title, retired.
Rob was an Engineer for the US Army. He was responsible for building, designing and engineering locations in Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern countries. “All of my jobs while serving were really hard but beneficial for my personal growth,” says Rob.
What started out as a three year plan to take advantage of the US Department of Veterans Affairs’ GI bill due to self-admitted “terrible grades,” the time he served is now helping to pay for his two daughters to attend Washington State University and the University of Washington.
The woman who contributed to those grades was Rob’s wife, Andrea. “I met Rob at Woodinville High School in a US History class he needed to graduate. We sat in the back together and just about had bad grades because we didn’t pay attention at all.” That meeting has turned into a marriage of 22 years and counting.
How do you cope with at least 14 deployments when adding together training and overseas missions? “It was like another honeymoon every time he came home,” says Andrea. “It wasn’t always easy though. There were times when kids at school would say, ‘your dad is going to war? He’s going to die,’ and we would have to explain the situation to them. It broke my heart but kids can say the darnedest things.”
Bailey, the couple’s oldest child, remembers what it was like having her dad away in conflict zones. “My parents would tell us the situation, that he was going to war and it’s a dangerous place. I remember prayer being a big part of everything and having the image of a shield over my dad protecting him. That brought me a lot of comfort,” says the River Ridge High School graduate.
The Hopkins lived in Germany when their kids were young and Hawaii later in Rob’s career. Through it all they stuck together picking up the needs they saw for the family. Andrea recalls an incident early on when their oldest stepped up. “We had a flight once from Germany to Washington State. It was just the three kids and I. Two of them were still in car seats so there was a lot to carry. Bailey, who was five at the time, and I had to take everything off of one plane and get to the next one which was a 24-hour flight with layovers and she didn’t sleep a wink the entire time. We stayed awake and just watched the kids. She helped me. She was amazing. We touched down in Washington, looked at each other and cried.”
Parenting three kids wasn’t always easy but Rob made sure he was in contact as much as possible. “He always made it a priority to contact us even if he had to stand in line for 20 minutes just so he could talk for five minutes. Sometimes that was the type of place he went to. Even if he was away he was always here,” says Andrea.
During one of Rob’s multiple re-enlistments the decision was made easier by location. After spending so much time away from Washington State it was Joint Base Lewis-McChord or out. “Rob wanted to be around my parents and I was ready to settle down in this area,” says Andrea.
After 17 years of service, Rob began to consider his options. “In 2008, the military began allowing the GI Bill to be transferred to your kids,” says Rob. The decision was made to re-enlist for another four years while deployed in the Middle East.
Once he had served 24 years, it was time to hang up the uniform. That doesn’t mean the Army didn’t try their best to keep this soldier for longer. “They tried to get me to stay,” says Rob. “That would have sent us to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and a bump up to Chief Warrant Officer Five.” The posting would have extended his career to over 30 years when all was said and done. Ultimately, the couple decided that the move and extended time was just too much.
After spending time in war zones, helping parent from over 7,000 miles away over satellite phone at times and not always knowing where the military would ask him to go next, Rob takes no time in answering if it was all worth it. “Absolutely. It was really challenging and not once did I wish I wasn’t in the situation I was in. It was always 100% worth it.”
Andrea voiced similar feelings. “The military grew us up to rely on each other. You are taken away from family and put into situations that you never would have been in on your own. The military and God became the glue of our relationship. It changed our lives for the better.”
Beginning a job search can be stressful for anyone. Add 24 years since your last search and one can only imagine the anxiety. Andrea credits the Army for lessening the hassles. “The military gave him the confidence to go ahead and try for things that might have been out of his reach if he hadn’t had the training and education they gave him.”
The job, or mission as Rob likes to call it, is with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources as the Facilities Manager. “I am responsible for maintaining the building envelope of DNR’s facilities which includes managing leases, acquisition of properties, disposal of properties and maintenance,” explains Rob. The mission has a recurring theme from his life – a challenge. “We have every kind of facility from aircraft hangers to warehouse space and a ton of administration space. I like the challenge of trying to figure out how to maintain those facilities. We have every age and type of facility and each has their own difficulties with needing to be brought up to code before they can be used.”
Rob’s son, Kai, knows success is in his father’s future. “He wants to be successful in his civilian job so he is working a lot,” explains the River Ridge High School student. “It’s military discipline. If the job is too hard or difficult, he won’t say he can’t do it, he will just work harder.”
The roughest part for Rob during this transition has been the anxiety of not having a rank on his collar. No longer does he have a symbol that informs people of the hard work, time and education he has put into his career. Now, until informed otherwise, Rob feels like people are just seeing another average worker.
“How awesome is it that our biggest challenge now is if a tie goes with this shirt? That’s the biggest hiccup of our days,” says Andrea gratefully. The other difference is business trips. “When Rob would go away for a deployment there was always the chance that he might not come home. When he goes away on a day trip now it is relatively safer.”
When the family watches news reports from overseas there are reassuring feelings. “I have a sense of peace knowing that he is not going to be deployed,” says Bailey.
Rob has conflicting feelings. “Watching the news about Syria and not having to worry about being in the contingency is exciting but also sad because that’s not me anymore. The military does a lot of good with what they are told to go do in that area to help. Knowing I’m not contributing to that anymore is a sad part.”
With the ending of a major piece of his life and the beginning of an uncertain one, Rob looks at his time in a positive light. “It’s exciting to know that I successfully completed a military career. It only takes one failed mission. There is always something and it’s not over till it’s over. I completed it successfully, period. That’s the exciting piece to me.”
There are other positives too. “Having a full career means we have retirement,” says Andrea. “There is some comfort because that wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for the military. The medical insurance has been a true blessing. Oh, and having three kids for only $21!”
