December 3, 2004

Setting an example with conviction

Col. R. Hipwell awarded Purple Heart in Afghanistan

By Justin Petersen
Staff Writer

Colonel Robert Hipwell is slated to return home for the holidays, bearing perhaps the two greatest gifts—his life and a Purple Heart.

Having served the last three years leap-frogging from San Jose to Georgia to the Middle East into Kuwait, stationed in Iraq for one year and Afghanistan for another, Hipwell returns home Dec. 15, battered but not beaten.

Cindy and Robert Hipwell have been married 14 years. The last three, however, have been spent apart with 56-year-old Robert serving as an active duty soldier most recently in Afghanistan.

The 56-year-old soldier—who serves in the Armed Forces Reserves—just completed his orders in Afghanistan and awaits another assignment, presumably stateside. He also returns with the prestigious Purple Heart after sustaining a facial wound in action this fall.

Longtime Evergreen resident, former Evergreen Little League coach and proud father of eight, Hipwell returned to active duty in November of 2001, following Sept. 11. He left behind his wife of 14 years, Cindy, and two remaining dependents, daughter Samantha, now 11, and stepson Zachary Haines, now 19, who attends college in Southern California.

“His love for his family is number one, and his love for his country is number two,” said Cindy, who describes her husband as a quiet, unassuming person with great inner strength.

“He felt his country needed him to be part of this War on Terrorism, and he truly believes his actions now will keep his family safer in the future, which helps him keep going while away from home,” she continued.

Called to active duty
A reservist for 36 years, Hipwell’s emotions ran high when his military standing was advanced to active duty for the first time since 1972.

“Why would you live in a country and not be patriotic?” asked Hipwell via e-mail, reflecting on his years of military service. “Especially since we have the freedom here to choose, and we don’t persecute those who choose not to be.”

“I felt calmer knowing he was there after 9-11,” conveyed Cindy Hipwell, noting that Hipwell’s calming influence was definitely needed in Afghanistan during a confusing time. She described the U.S. Army as an extension of our police force; not only does the Army provide ground fighters, but also engineers to build a country up after the initial damage.

Hipwell’s education and experience conjoined to provide a clearly defined ideology within the family value system. Five of the Hipwell’s eight children have or will serve as active duty soldiers.

Currently David, 26, remains stationed in Al-Fallujah, Iraq, while Adam, 31, endures basic training and Tim, 34, awaits orders he’ll receive as a delayed re-entry into the Army. Previously, Tim did a three-year tour in Germany during Desert Storm.

Mathew, 28, served in the military for six years as a surgical technician and continues this work as a civilian in San Diego. Philip, 32, fought in Desert Storm and is now married with two kids.

“If there are not enough people in our country willing to serve voluntarily, we’re going to have to institute the draft again,” explained Hipwell.

“I hope that measure will not be taken, however, I strongly support that we have the right to demand our citizens to support our country in the face of invasion or terrorism,” he added. “There is a need to serve the greater good, where sacrifice is accepted as part of life.”

Service begins in Vietnam
First in line to enlist, the senior Hipwell served in Vietnam from 1969 – 1972, receiving field promotions into officer standing while there. By military standards, a field promotion fills an acute need in an accelerated timeframe, granting officer standing without the required Officer Training School (OTS) attendance.

Called upon more than 30 years later, Hipwell remains an officer, a colonel up for general.

“It’s hard to make it overseas as a reserve general based on the budgeting perspective,” said Cindy, who met her husband in the early ‘90s while taking a class, taught by the eclectic Professor Hipwell, to fulfill her MBA requirement.

“You are not active military, warranting the salary of an active military general [in the eyes of the government].”

To qualify for the government’s pension for career military personnel, active duty soldiers need 20 years, while reservists require 40. Hipwell is still considered a reservist despite seven years active duty—four years in Vietnam and the past three years in various locations. Hipwell must serve four more years, active or otherwise, to reach his 40 years.

In civilian life, Hipwell opted for the OTS equivalent, earning a bachelor’s degree in engineering, a master’s degree in finance and a doctorate in international business from International University. Hipwell’s broad education landed him a job with Lockheed Martin Corporation working on Milstar satellites.

Earning a Purple Heart
Three years removed from Sept. 11 and a million miles from corporate security and a classroom, Hipwell recently spent his days serving as mentor/advisor to Afghan military officials. The position appears inherently dangerous, considering perpetuated terrorist activity levied by Afghan warlords who perceive an eminent loss of power.

Col. Hipwell, center, and his team receive their medals for heroism in the Herat City mission. Hipwell was awarded the Bronze Star with Valor, a Purple Heart, an Air Medal (air landing a Black Hawk) and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

According to repeated satellite news reports, Afghanistan’s political and military climates throughout and following recent election periods have matched the ebb and flow historically associated with a society’s adjustment to a new regime. As a result, many protests have raged, with some violence, looting and discrimination inflicted by members from opposing sides.

It was one such event that left Hipwell and the men under his command in a potentially catastrophic dilemma.
On Sept. 12, 2004, nine buildings occupied by the United Nations in Herat City, Afghanistan, came under attack by groups of insurgents, perhaps employed by a former self-appointed governor, better known as ‘warlord,’ Ismael Khan.

The mobs subsequently set the buildings on fire, compromising the safety of 50 U.N. staff and aid workers.

Upon the arrival of a team led by Hipwell, the senior officer in charge on the ground in Herat City, demonstrators attacked the soldiers with small arms fire, including bricks, stones and Molotov Cocktails.

“We were hoping the presence of the helicopter gun ships would disperse the insurgents and calm things down,” recalled Hipwell. “We then realized it was a coordinated attack by the ousted leader’s men. They were not well-armed, but certainly violent enough.”

In the process, which included landing the helicopter on top of a police compound before moving in on foot to rescue the U.N. workers, Hipwell was struck in the face by a brick. Although the brick split his chin wide open, it did not deter him from accomplishing his objective.

According to his wife, Hipwell was most proud that his unit was, “able to rescue the workers from the burning U.N. compound without firing their weapons and causing injury to civilians, despite taking on injuries of their own.”
No one was seriously injured on either side during the altercation.

As the senior officer in charge, Hipwell received the Bronze Star with V device (for valor), an Air Medal (air landing a Black Hawk) and the Combat Infantryman Badge, in addition to the Purple Heart acquired as a result of one errant brick.

“What was going through my mind?” reflects a serious Hipwell, who has earned the respect and gratitude from numerous dignitaries within Afghanistan’s fledgling government. “I was thinking that the people in the building were going to die if we didn’t get them out and away from the crowd and the fire.”

Yet, according to daughter Samantha, the colonel whose courage and wisdom saved lives on the battle field—warranting both national and international recognition—is still ‘just my dad.’

“He makes me laugh when I want to cry,” summed up Samantha. “When he gets home, we’re going to go skiing because he hasn’t skied in three years, and he’s just dying to go. I couldn’t be more proud of him than I am now,” she added. “He is putting his own life in danger to help out our country, save other people’s lives and make their lives better.”

Cindy agrees. “His strength is my strength and vice versa … we keep each other going. He is definitely the wind beneath my wings.”