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Michael Hammers joined Walden Security as the Recruiter for Dallas. It marked his first civilian job in his career—after 23 years in the military, retiring as a Master Sergeant, and seven years in law enforcement.
Michael’s first stint in the military came right after high school. Growing up in southeast Oklahoma left little opportunity for career and adventure. So, Michael joined the Air Force to see the world. He served four years and was deployed to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia with Operation Southern Watch.
After the Air Force, Michael worked as a State Trooper in Mississippi for seven years. He was the first responder to car crashes, crime investigations, drug stops and human smuggling when patrolling hundreds of miles of interstates.
“Everyone has a perception of State Troopers as being serious,” said Michael. "My focus was to treat people with respect and as humans, not criminals. It earned me the nickname 'Officer Friendly'. My field training officer would even joke that people would thank me for giving them tickets."
Then, while he was a State Trooper, September 11th happened. Ten minutes down the road from his house was an Army National Guard base. He enlisted and served another four years in the Army, two years in the infantry and two years in the military police.
To end his military career, Michael returned to the Air Force. He served nine years with the military police and then six years as a recruiter.
During his time with the military police, Michael served on a special mission to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake—a rewarding moment in his military career. His team was assigned to protect the flight crew delivering supplies.
“Flying in, it looked like a war zone with fires everywhere," explained Michael. "We expected to be swarmed when we arrived because of the unstable situation. But the host security had everyone lined up, and the Haitians took their supplies patiently and in order—the look on their faces as they took them forever stands out to me."
Michael ended his military career as a decorated Air Force Recruiter and knew he wanted to continue recruiting. “Recruiting was the most transferable skill I had, and I love it,” said Michael. “After doing security my whole life, joining Walden Security made sense. I sort through as many applications as possible to find people who are the best fit for Walden Security.”