Top Character Strengths

HUMILITY - KINDNESS - LEADERSHIP

Joel Phillip Hocker was born on 21 November 1986 in Sierra Vista, Arizona.

He joined the Civil Air Patrol Cochise Composite Squadron 107 in February 2001 at the age of 14. By summer of 2005, then C/Lt Col Hocker attended Mission Aircrew School at NESA, a school rarely attended by cadets. He found that he had free time in the evenings and decided to complete all of the requirements for Ground Branch Director. At the end of the one-week school, Joel received his Mission Observer Wings and his Master Ground Team Badge, a rare feat, especially for a cadet and in that short period of time. C/Lt Col Hocker was believed to be the second cadet in Arizona Wing history to earn the Master Ground Team Badge.

In 2006, at the Arizona Wing Summer Encampment, C/Lt Col Hocker commanded the Standardization and Evaluation Team, which conducted all inspections and event grading during the activity. The following summer, C/Lt Col Hocker was the Cadet Commander of the 2007 Arizona Wing Summer Encampment (Cadet Training Group 3) held at Papago National Guard Base in Phoenix, Arizona.

When Joel went to take his Spaatz Examination, the newly instituted online testing was still having its technical errors worked out. On multiple occasions the test locked him out or deleted his answers and of course could not be re-opened on the same day due to the mandatory waiting periods between re-tests. This was understandably frustrating for Joel and would have prompted many cadets to give up. As in all things, Joel persevered and continued to retest through the months of delays and technical issues. These difficulties resulted in Joel taking the Spaatz exam three times, spread over an unparalleled five different dates. His persistent and aggressive pursuit was rewarded and he was promoted to Cadet Colonel after receiving his Spaatz Award (#1,671) in November of 2007. Later that month, after his 21st birthday, Joel became a Senior Member Captain in TCS 105.

In 2010, Joel applied for the US Army Warrant Officer Flight Program and was accepted, being offered an Apache Pilot slot because of the training he received in the Civil Air Patrol. He completed the Aviation Basic Officer Leadership Course in June of 2011 and SERE in July of 2011. On July 30, 2011 he married his long-time girlfriend, Marisela San Miguel, a former Civil Air Patrol Mitchell Cadet. Immediately following the wedding, he began US Army Helicopter Flight Training at Fort Rucker, Alabama on Monday August 1, 2011. He completed the initial academics and flew a training sortie in a TH-57 (a Bell 206 built for training US Army Helicopter Pilots) for the first time on Thursday, 1 September 2011. On Friday 2 September 2011 Joel flew to Dallas, Texas, to pick up the car he had recently purchased for his new bride. He was driving back to Fort Rucker, Alabama, through Mississippi in the early morning of 3 September 2011 when he was killed in an automobile accident. He was 24 years old.

Warrant Officer Joel Phillip Hocker, United States Army, was buried with full military honors at Fort Huachuca Cemetery in Sierra Vista, Arizona, on Friday 16 September 2011. His funeral was attended by 200 of Joel’s family and friends, a testament to Joel’s wide influence and the place that he held in the hearts of so many. A eulogy was delivered by Joel’s wife, his mother, and by Lieutenant Franklin. Attendees included the Arizona Wing Commander Col John M. Eggen, CAP and Col Robert D. Anderson, USAF (Ret) (Spaatz #22) the very first Spaatz Cadet in the Arizona Wing.

Joel managed to live a lot of life in his 24 short years. He excelled as a Cadet and rose to become a legend in the cadet ranks of the Arizona Wing. He found and married his sweetheart, Marisela. Among his many other life pursuits in and out of uniform, Joel was accepted into the Warrant Officer Aviator program and was well on his way to becoming an Army Aviator. The United States will never have the benefit of the lifetime of service Joel would have rendered to it. Those who knew him best know that he would have risen to be a great pilot, as he continued to be a wonderful son, husband and friend. Warrant Officer 1 Joel P. Hocker, United States Army (Spaatz#1671) is gone, but his legacy lives on, and each of us can learn to live life to the very limit, to persevere and to triumph in all of our endeavors, as he did. We love you Joel.

-Submitted by Heather, Surviving Mother