Hogan follows hero's example

“Home is wherever I slept last,” Charles Hogan III said, jokingly describing his home. Hogan’s joke gave a glimpse into his upbringing as the child of a member of the United States armed forces. The light-hearted response gave an even more insightful look into Hogan’s attitude toward his nomadic lifestyle, which led to him finding his home in Aggieland.

Hogan’s father, Charles Hogan II, moved his family across the U.S. and the world following his career in the Air Force, like his father, Charles Hogan, did before him. “I never lived anywhere more than three years before College Station,” Hogan said.

Hogan’s frequent relocating was normal for a military family. According to the Department of Defense’s website, children in military families moves six to nine times between kindergarten and high school.

From a young age, Hogan said he knew he wanted to follow the same career path as his dad and become an intelligence office in the Air Force. Like his father, he also joined the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets. “I’m kind of a clone of my dad in a lot of ways,” Hogan said.

The good

Addie Davis, a senior at Texas A&M and Hogan’s girlfriend, said that her first impression of him was favorable because of his future plans.

“When I first met him I was kind of impressed because I overheard him talking to another guy about the Air Force and I thought it was neat that he already had a plan for after college,” Davis said.

Moving frequently throughout his childhood gave Hogan ample opportunities to fine tune his social skills. “I’m not super social naturally, but when you move every couple of years you kind of get forced to make friends,” Hogan said. “I was able to be friends with a wide variety of people.”

Davis said that Hogan’s treatment of other people never varies based on differences in culture or beliefs. “Charles is very kind and he goes out of his way to make friends,” Davis said. “He will talk to anyone or anything.” When Davis first met Hogan, she said she immediately noticed his funny and friendly nature. She said his humor usually consists of ‘dad jokes’ and puns.

“He will make you laugh no matter what,” Davis said. “Whether it’s actually funny or just an awful joke, you will laugh.”

According to the Department of Defense’s website, Hogan is one of over 700,000 military children who live all over the world because of a parent in the military. For Hogan, being raised in various cultures proved beneficial.

Watching his dad work in a job he loved helped him realize his own military career goals. Hogan decided when he was young that he wanted to pursue a career as an intelligence officer for the Air Force.

“Him being in the military definitely affected me wanting to be in the military, seeing how much he seemed to really enjoy and really believed in what he did,” Hogan said.

Hogan said some of the most memorable places he lived include Tokyo, Colorado, Maryland and Korea. He graduated from a Department of Defense education school in Korea in 2013. Shortly after, he enrolled at Texas A&M as a fish in the Corps of Cadets Gator 2 outfit.

The smaller DOD school in Korea allowed Hogan to participate in a variety of sports and extracurricular activities. In Hogan’s competitive Maryland high school of 1,400 students, Hogan said he played well in a couple of sports, including football and lacrosse. Then he transferred to the DOD high school in Korea with only 300 students enrolled.

“I went from being pretty good at a couple of things to being really good at everything just in comparison to everyone else,” Hogan said.

The small student population allowed Hogan to participate in multiple activities. He served as the captain of the football team and acted a lead role in the school play.

Davis said that Hogan’s unique experiences living in different cultures helped shape him into an open-minded and independent individual. “Being able to travel the world and experience new things helps him have a different view,” Davis said.

Hogan’s friend and Texas A&M former student, Luke Dube, said that Hogan’s military upbringing contributed to his open-minded attitude.

“I think that his military background has given him a lot of experiences of various cultures, and it has allowed him to ‘see the other side’ on many issues,” Dube said.

Moving so often caused Hogan to leave behind his friends, comfort zones and fear of change. “I’m more used to change than constants,” Hogan said. “It doesn’t bother me very much if there’s just a very large shift in my life because it’s just what I’m used to.”

Despite his easy-going personality, Davis said she thought he seemed a little cocky when they first met. She later realized that Hogan was in no way arrogant, but confident. Several factors contributed to build Hogan’s self-confidence, including starting over in new towns and living overseas during high school.

Attending college on his own also increased his independence. During his freshman and sophomore years, his parents lived thousands of miles away in Ohio. They moved to Germany after his sophomore year.

“That was stressful at times just because you have random stuff and it’s nice to have your parents around,” Hogan said. “Later on, I kind of liked it because I liked having the space. I kind of got to the point where I liked being a little bit farther away from them.”

The gritty

The Corps tested Hogan’s grit his freshman year. He said that not being fully ready when he joined made it a difficult transition.

“The purpose when you first show up is kind of life a shock to the system,” Hogan said. There were even times that year and later when Hogan said he thought he would not be able to do the things he wanted to in life.

“There were multiple times in college when I didn’t think I’d be able to serve in the Air Force,” Hogan said. However, he fought through it because he said he viewed the Corps as an opportunity to challenge himself and prepare for his career in the military.

“I’ve always thought it was important to do things that are difficult because they train you for things later in life,” Hogan said.

That training proved important when Hogan reported to Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas, in July 2017 to begin his military training. He already received his first assignment to Beale Air Force Base in California. He continues to train until his report date, when he embarks on his next adventure in California.

The Aggie

Every move dropped Hogan in the middle of new people with new perspectives and beliefs. “It’s kind of hard to stay really comfortable with any one particular mindset when you’re constantly seeing people who think differently from you,” Hogan said. “You naturally start to challenge your own beliefs.”

Of all the places he lived, Hogan acknowledged one place as home. “Texas A&M kind of became my home,” Hogan said. “It’s the longest I spent anywhere and it probably had the biggest impact on me as a person.”

During his four years in Aggieland, he commissioned into the Air Force, met his girlfriend, dunked his Aggie Ring in 14 seconds, formed countless more friendships, and graduated in May 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. Hogan’s friendly attitude, perseverance and achievements show how he utilized the benefits of his upbringing to pursue and achieve his goals.