Rising through the ranks

Before enlisting in the U.S. Air Force, Woody Hogle had never been on an airplane. Yet, his modest upbringing didn’t stop him from achieving big dreams.

Walter "Woody" Hogle is the first to admit he never actually considered what he'd do with a psychology degree. Upon entering Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y., in the mid-1960s, Hogle was doing what most 18-year-olds do when selecting an area of study - opting for something that simply sounded like a good idea.

"I was enthralled with the idea of psychology," admitted Hogle, now the senior vice president of International Business at Rockwell Collins. "But nobody ever really sat me down and asked what I was going to do with it after graduation.

"Had I continued in the discipline, I think I would have liked to become a psychologist," said Hogle, who earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1966. "But, I ran out of money and interest at about the same time - and Uncle Sam was calling."

In 1966, the Vietnam War - the longest military conflict in U.S. history - was rapidly escalating. At that time, almost every man between the ages of 18 and 26 thought about whether they'd be drafted to fill the needs of the armed forces. And, Hogle was no exception.

No longer a college student, he knew his chances of being selected to serve his country had dramatically increased. So, two weeks after marrying his college sweetheart, Janet Stow, the Pleasantville, N.Y., native enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and quickly decided to make it a career.

"There were only a few career paths open to those who hadn't attended the U.S. Air Force Academy or Air Force R.O.T.C., and the demand at the time I joined was for pilots and navigators," explained Hogle. "That was kind of exciting and I really enjoyed the idea of flying - although, prior to signing up, I'd never been on an airplane."

The youngest of three children, Hogle was raised in a modest home in a town of about 5,000 residents just 20 miles north of New York City. His father, Walter, was a craftsman, and his mother, Jessie, was a typical 1950s housewife.

"She was a loving, supportive woman who was very devoted to her family," Hogle said of his mother. "She was fiercely supportive of her children."

Like many young boys, Hogle placed his father on a pedestal. Yet, despite how much he admired the man who made a living installing floors, Hogle knew he wanted more from life than what was available in his hometown.

"My father didn't have a high school diploma, yet he had great respect for education and insisted that we all go on to college after high school," recalled Hogle. "He worked very hard, and he knew the path to success was not to follow in his footsteps. I don't ever remember having a conscious decision about whether I would attend college; that was a foregone conclusion."

What was somewhat unexpected, however, was Hogle's decision to join the U.S. Air Force after earning his college degree. The fact that he was a newlywed and the first in his family to volunteer for a military career also left various family members and friends a bit puzzled.

"I was just looking for a way to serve my country that seemed exciting and interesting, and it turned out to be a lot of fun," said Hogle. "We knew there was a war going on, but Jan and I were young and we thought we were invincible. To be honest, I loved every minute of it."

Before venturing off to basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, Hogle moved his young bride back in with her parents where she would stay until her husband received his first assignment - pilot training in Del Rio, Texas.

Astute leader - In April 2007, Hogle and his wife relocated for the fifth time back to the Washington, D.C., area, when he began leading our office near Capitol Hill. Nine months later, he accepted the newly created position of senior vice president, International Business and Washington Operations. Now, Hogle is focusing exclusively on our international business team.
Photo by Michael Stewart, Herndon, Va.

"Neither one of us had ever heard of Del Rio," recalled Hogle. "But Jan was a real trooper. She looked at everything [about the Air Force] as a great adventure. So, off we went to pilot training together, and about a year later we had our first child."

The next seven years saw the Hogles relocate to military bases in California, Ohio, Texas, and South Carolina. In 1973, Hogle was forced to leave his young family - which now consisted of two sons, Sean and Christopher - behind when he was sent to South Vietnam to fly rescue helicopter missions.

After returning from Southeast Asia in March 1973, Hogle and his family relocated to Montgomery, Ala., where he spent the next three years as a Squadron Officer School instructor. In addition to his teaching duties, Hogle returned to college, and in 1975 earned his masters degree in personnel counseling from Troy State University.

"Quite frankly, it was expected that Air Force officers would have an advanced degree, and this was the first assignment during my time in the service where I had the stability to take classes," said Hogle. "I actually had the time, the energy, and the money."

During the next three decades, Hogle's rise through the Air Force ranks continued. In addition to relocating 25 times in 35 years, he commanded four wings and served in numerous staff positions including personnel, public affairs, acquisition, resource programming and budget development.

Prior to his retirement in 2001, he had risen to the rank of three-star general and was commanding the 15th Air Force at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., in the San Francisco Bay area.

"Woody was one of the outstanding officers of his time," said Bill Overacker, a retired two-star Air Force general and current principal account manager at Rockwell Collins in Richardson, Texas. "He was very, very good at what he did."

In fact, it was Overacker who played a key role in recruiting Hogle to Rockwell Collins in January 2004 as vice president and general manager of Integrated Systems. Hogle had a strong interest in the aerospace and defense industry, and had spent his post Air Force retirement years working in various capacities at Raytheon and Affiliated Computer Services.

"Woody's an excellent guy, and I knew he'd be such an asset to Rockwell Collins," said Overacker. "His personality is very laid back, but he's a very, very astute leader. He looks at all sides of every issue, he doesn't jump to conclusions, and he's not afraid to make tough decisions."

In April 2007, Hogle and his wife relocated for the fifth time back to the Washington, D.C., area, when he began leading our office near Capitol Hill. Nine months later, he accepted the newly created position of senior vice president, International Business and Washington Operations. Now, Hogle is focusing exclusively on our international business team.

"It's been very exciting pulling this new organization together," said Hogle, who resides in Alexandria, Va. "We have about 1,500 people located outside of the United States. In addition, our international markets are growing faster than our U.S. markets, so we need to make sure employees in those locations have the training and processes to be successful."

Hogle admits he has greater appreciation than he once did for the little things in life. The relationships he has created over the years and the family he has raised - which also includes his daughter, Jessica, who was born in 1981 - are what he would one day like to be remembered for.

"At the end of the day, it's the influences you've had on your children and their children, and how you've lived your life that's most important," said Hogle. "All of the other stuff - even though some of it was very important - will eventually fade away."

As much as he enjoys his work, he also enjoys retreating with his wife of 42 years to the Smith Mountain Lake waterfront home they purchased several years ago.

"We bought the place hoping it would be a grandkid magnet," said Hogle, who has four grandchildren ranging in age from 3 to 9. "We enjoy swimming; we've got a boat there, and we recently purchased our first personal watercraft, so it's a lot of fun."

Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains of rural southwestern Virginia, the lake house is where the Hogles find time to relax, and the place where they are reminded of how quiet the world can actually be.

"We were sitting in our rocking chairs one evening and it was so incredibly quiet that we could actually hear the flapping wings of a bird that flew by," recalled Hogle. "You definitely can't hear the wings of a bird in Washington, D.C. - unless that bird is an airplane flying overhead."