Go-to guy.  Steadiest co-pilot.  Class act.

Bob Hall means a lot to those at West Fort Hood's Operational Test Command and on Sept. 24, he was inducted into the Operational Testers' Hall of Fame.

Hall retired in late June as technical director of the U.S. Army Operational Test Command and was the 29th inductee since the command began the honor in October 1994.

"It is difficult for me to stand up here now because I miss this place and I miss the people," Hall said during the induction ceremony.

According to the plaque place in the hall of fame in his honor, "Hall has had more influence on the processes, procedures and methodologies of operational testing than anyone in the past has had and probably anyone in the future will have."

Hall said the award was an unexpected event and that he was deeply humbled because it was professionally rewarding and personally satisfying.

"I am honored beyond belief," he added.

Hall was gracious and said it was his good fortune to have been part of superb teams during his career at Operational Test Command and Army Test and Evaluation Command.

"All of you at OTC made the seemingly impossible possible," he said.

If it hadn't been for Hall, Col. (promotable) Curtis Potts' transition into the world of testing "would have been one of the most unpleasant experiences of my professional life," Potts said.

The colonel knew he was in for a wild ride when one of the first things Hall told him was:  "It used to take years to conduct operational tests--now we only have months."

It was all good, though, Potts said, because he had Hall, "the steadiest co-pilot I've ever known."

Hall made the Army a better place for soldiers, Potts said.

Hall called all soldiers the command's "ultimate customers" and those who participated in operational tests "were the ultimate key members of our team."