CHARLESTON, W.Va. –
To say that military service is the backbone of the Hammack family would be an understatement.
Brothers Lt. Col. Keith Hammack, Jr., and Sgt. Casey Hammack serve in the Army National Guard while sister Chief Master Sgt. Christina Rader serves in the Air National Guard. The three siblings are continuing a military legacy that also saw both grandfathers as well as their father and several uncles don the uniform. Their mother, Cathy Hammack, is no stranger to National Guard service. She is a civilian retired from the West Virginia National Guard Family Programs and currently serves as Auxiliary Area II director for the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States (EANGUS).
Keith’s wife, Abby, is a Captain in the Army Reserves, and Christina’s husband Kristopher retired from the West Virginia Air National Guard with the rank of master sergeant.
“We are a big military family,” Rader said.
November is Military Family Month, and the West Virginia National Guard celebrates and honors the legacy families throughout our organization, like the Hammacks, that embody the West Virginia values of tradition and patriotism.
Growing up in a military family offered the Hammack children opportunities most other kids never get. Rader said one of her favorite memories growing up was when her dad, Command Sgt. Maj. Keith Hammack, Sr., (ret.) let her get up close and personal with some military hardware.
“My dad often took me to see tanks, helicopters and Humvees,” she said. “We also learned to march in cadence, and we attended parades and met many other military families and built life-long friendships.”
Hammack, Sr., traveled the country and the world during his time in the WVNG. The stories he brought back to his children helped broaden their horizons and teach them more about the world beyond the West Virginia mountains.
“We heard that the world went beyond Charleston and West Virginia to many places like Missouri, Arkansas, Honduras and Iraq when my dad returned from his missions,” Hammack, Jr., said.
The Hammacks expected their children to do well in school and participate in extra-curricular activities. Rader said those expectations helped shape her and her brothers into well-rounded individuals and set them on a path to success.
“My parents set ambitious goals for grades and being involved in organized activities and sports, which helped develop our organizational aptitude, teamwork and fitness capacity,” Rader said. “Because of that foundation, we have all gained so much through our service both personally and professionally and developed for the better as productive adults and ambassadors to our community.”
Both Hammack and Rader said their father’s influence is the primary reason they joined the military. Serving alongside members of his family has only reaped rewards, Hammack, Jr., said, even when he, his father, brother and uncle Roy Hammack all deployed to Iraq in 2007 with the 111th Engineer Brigade.
“It is such an honor to serve with my family,” he said. “There have never been issues, only benefits, even when we were deployed to Iraq. I was the company commander with my father in the unit as a very senior NCO, along with my brother and my uncle. I was nervous when my brother had to go outside the wire almost daily for missions but deploying with my family was an experience I’ll never forget.”
Education benefits from their service, such as the G.I. Bill, have helped the Hammacks pay for their college education, and Hammack Jr., said he’s looking forward to passing those benefits to his children. They also have excelled in their military careers over the years. Hammack, Jr., is working toward promotion to colonel, while Rader was just promoted to chief master sergeant, the highest enlisted rank in the Air Force.
Both Hammack and Rader said Military Family Month is a special time to honor the sacrifices of military families, and they are grateful for other families like their own.
“When you have a family like mine that serves, you know first-hand the toll is take at times, but you also see how resilient you can be through it together,” Rader said. “The WVNG has many families like mine, in which many from one family continue a legacy to serve. I take my hat off to you and your family!”