Tim Hunt

Tim Hunt recently retired after 20 years as an officer. During his time in the Army, he didn’t see combat per se. The vast majority of those who serve do not. They simply do their jobs. 

Hunt’s work involved everything from finance to medical operations. He had multiple duty stations. During his 20, he raised a family. Several times, he was away from them for long stretches.

When he was stationed in Baghdad in 2003, he didn’t see his wife and kids for 365 days, except for one 14-day R&R. 

During that period, his wife handled the day-to-day decision making, the joys and the pains, the cooking, cleaning and organizing. She was the coach and the cheerleader. She was the batting instructor and the dance recital chauffer. She saw the baby teeth fall and kissed the scraped knees better.

On the other side of the world, Hunt was thinking of them. But he was also in the highly volatile center of Baghdad, the Green Zone. He helicoptered in and out of the city frequently, setting up combat support hospitals. 

Action and war were going on; he dealt with that. He also dealt with not being with his family.

Hunt says it was all okay, though. They were a military family. His kids were raised all over, in places like Washington, D.C., Virginia, Texas, Georgia, California and Maryland. 

Hunt finally announced his retirement from the service to his family. His 16-year-old daughter was surprised. She said, “If you retire, what will I be? I have always been a soldier’s daughter.”

Hunt adds, “To this day she is proud to say she is an Army brat, as is my son.”

He now applies the expertise and experience gained in his years of service to the role of director of operations and service delivery for Optum Serve.