Dan Hampton | |
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![]() Hampton in front of an F-16 | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Air Force |
Years of service | 1986–2006 |
Rank | Lieutenant colonel |
Wars | |
Awards | |
Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Hampton[citation needed] |
Other work | Author, businessman, public speaker |
Daniel James Hampton Jr. is a retired United States Air Force lieutenant colonel who served in the U.S. Air Force from 1986 to 2006. He flew 151 combat missions in the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon and logged 726 career combat hours. Lt. Col (Ret.) Hampton is best known as a "Wild Weasel", or surface to air missile (SAM) site killer, recording 21 hard kills on SAM sites. Hampton fought in multiple wars, including the Gulf War, Kosovo War, and Iraq War. He also flew combat air patrols during the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. Hampton was wounded in the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing and again as a private military contractor in Baghdad.
Hampton is the author of The Mercenary, New York Times bestsellers Viper Pilot: A Memoir of Air Combat, Lords of the Sky, The Hunter Killers. The Flight, Chasing The Demon, and Operation Vengeance. Additionally, he was the CEO of MVI International, a private military company based out of Colorado.[1][2]