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REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (Oct. 21, 2024) -- He might say that he is but a humble pecan farmer but make no mistake, Scott Hoffmann has dedicated his careers – both of them – to serving his country.
Hoffmann is a senior strategic plans analyst supporting the G5 Strategy, Plans and Communication Integration at the DEVCOM Aviation & Missile Center. It is a role that benefits from Hoffmann’s extensive knowledge of the Army, learned first-hand from 21 years in uniform.
Military service is a Hoffmann family tradition, so why would an Air Force brat, whose brother also served in the Air Force, decide to join the Army? Hoffman said, with a smile, that he wanted to do something different than his dad and his brother. But he also felt strongly that he wanted to give something back to the Army after an internship with the Corps of Engineers while studying at Southern Illinois University.
“I did everything a park ranger would do; except I couldn't write tickets. I started off as a GS-2 and thought I was in pretty tall cotton. Almost everyone I worked with in the early to mid-80s had been an Army draftee during the Vietnam War. When I got done with school, I felt like I owed the Army for putting me through college, so I went to a recruiter and joined in 1986.”
What initially started as a three-year plan became 21 years, starting with Officer Candidate School and then assignments from Korea to Germany to Thailand, and graduations from Airborne School and Ranger School.
“I found that I really enjoyed my time in the Army,” Hoffman said. “I liked it much more than I thought and a lot of it was the people. I had some phenomenal leaders, and I had some not so phenomenal leaders. It's shocking how much you learn from poor leadership.”
Hoffmann is a Desert Storm veteran, serving seven months in the Middle East. While Hoffman said that Desert Storm was “like getting in the big game,” for him, his service in Bosnia was the most memorable.
“It was the best collective group of dedicated Soldiers I ever worked with, many of whom went on to be general officers and command sergeant majors,” he said. “It was just a really good team.
The Army also led him to his wife, Michelle, in 1990.
“I met her at the Christmas ball at Fort Leonard Wood, she was the daughter of a battalion commander,” he said. “I was sick as a dog. And back in those days in the Army, it was mandatory that you will be there. So, I put on my dress blues, and I went to the Christmas ball. She was home visiting her parents and was also sick. We only chatted for about 30 minutes, but then a couple nights later, we ran into each other at the officers’ club.”
Hoffmann and Michelle, a teacher, would marry and start their family – “four kids born in four locations,” while he still served on active duty. Now a lieutenant colonel, he said that he knew it was time to think about the future. With three small kids at that time, Hoffmann had seen the toil that being away from families took on fellow Soldiers and he knew it was time to put down roots – literally, as the Hoffmann’s moved to Decatur to be close to the pecan farm they share with Michelle’s parents in Somerville.
But the Army was never far. Hoffmann began his second career, supporting multiple project offices and commands, putting his military experience in logistics and planning to work for the Missile Defense Agency, the Program Executive Office, Aviation and currently the DEVCOM Aviation & Missile Center. He also found a talent for writing, with articles published in Army Aviation Magazine.
While the pecan grove calls some days, Hoffmann said that he is not quite ready to retire – again – yet. He has a personal stake in the work being done at the Center. The Soldiers that the Center supports are never faceless to him but there is one whose face is beloved -- his oldest son, Jay, who followed in his dad’s bootsteps and is serving as a MH-47G crewman.
“I enjoy it, but I also feel the mission is important,” Hoffmann said. “There are good people here doing great work.”
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The DEVCOM Aviation & Missile Center, headquartered at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the Army’s research and development focal point for advanced technology in aviation and missile systems. It is part of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM), a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Futures Command. AvMC is responsible for delivering collaborative and innovative aviation and missile capabilities for responsive and cost-effective research, development and life cycle engineering solutions, as required by the Army’s strategic priorities and support to its Cross-Functional Teams.
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