Thomas Hammond has dedicated his life to serving the nation and those who defend it, first as a service member, then as a civilian. Now, he joins a place of honor alongside others like him.

Hammond was honored for his 52 years of dedicated sacrifice and selfless service Sept. 6 when he was inducted into the U.S. Army Operational Tester’s Hall of Fame during a ceremony at West Fort Hood.

Since the hall’s inception in October 1994, 33 Soldiers and Department of the Army civilians have been inducted to recognize their commitment to providing war fighters the best equipment as quickly as possible through rigorous testing, Col. Joseph Martin, commander, U.S. Army Operational Test Command at Fort Hood, said.

Hammond now joins other OTC greats like former III Corps and Fort Hood commander retired Gen. Robert Shoemaker and retired Lt. Gen. Robert Williams, who organized the Army’s first aviator training program, in the OTC Hall Of Fame.

Hammond said the induction into the hall of fame was a great honor. He thanked his wife and three daughters for keeping the home fires burning while he was frequently away.

In his remarks, the hall of fame’s newest inductee also recounted his 52 years of service, beginning with basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., when he was 18.

“I wrote a letter to my mother,” he said, recalling that he told her how he was enjoying training. “She wrote a letter to my company commander asking him to take care of me.”

Hammond’s company commander passed the letter to the drill sergeant.

His leadership took the message to heart and he found himself policing the company parking lot every day.

Hammond shared some milestones from his career – airborne school at Fort Bragg, his promotion to command sergeant major in 1973 and his retirement from the Army in 1977.

That retirement was short lived.

After serving 28 years in the Army and retiring as a command sergeant major, Hammond began a second career as a civilian test officer for the Airborne and Special Operations Directorate, USAOTC at Fort Bragg, N.C. There, he used his expertise as an infantryman and airborne trooper to ensure those troops who followed him had the best possible equipment.

“You could not ask for a better man for the job than one who spent years jumping out of airplanes,” Martin said.

During his time at OTC, Hammond planned, executed and reported on more than 46 operational tests involving airborne operations and the equipment used during the operations. One of the most important, Martin said, involved the C-17 Bushmaster III.

The Bushmaster III is a cargo plane used to drop personnel, equipment and aid to areas of operation. Hammond was integral to the plane’s adoption within the military.

“Without Mr. Hammond’s steadfast leadership and dedication to this test, our military might still be searching for a suitable cargo plane today,” Martin said.

For his part, Hammond gave credit to his directorate commander for the C-17 project’s success.

“The commander was really supportive of this,” he said.

Hammond’s dedication didn’t stop with Soldiers, though, the OTC commander said.

“His coworkers always turned to him when they needed help,” Martin said.

Hammond’s service did not stop at retirement. He volunteers at the hospital on Fort Bragg, shuttling wounded warriors to and from appointments.

“I think we all would agree that Tom has set a sterling example of an ambassador and role model for service and continued involvement beyond one’s professional career in retirement,” Martin said. “Tom, you are what the operational tester’s hall of fame is all about.”