Crafted by Valor

Destigmatizing Veteran Mental Health

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Matt Hastings retired from the Army as a Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CW4) Blackhawk helicopter  Instructor Pilot, Master Aviator, and Chief Pilot for the 1st Combat Aviation Brigade in the 1st Infantry Division, Ft. Riley Kansas.

Matt began service in a rare selection to Warrant Officer from the civilian population and attendance to flight school at Ft. Rucker, Alabama. He served in Korea, Ft. Campbell, KY, Germany, Sweden, and Ft. Riley, KS.

Hastings career placed him in service for three combat tours in Iraq and ultimately resulting in the following awards and decorations: 

  • Iraq Campaign Medal – Five Campaign Stars
  • Legion of Merit
  • Bronze Star Medal
  • Meritorious Service Medal (2nd Award)
  • Air Medal w/ Valor Device
  • Air Medal (6th Award)
  • Valorous Unit Award (2nd Award)
  • National Defense Service Medal
  • Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
  • Korea Defense Service Medal
  • Army Overseas Service Ribbon (5th Award)
  • Combat Action Badge
  • Master Aviator Badge

Hastings holds a B.S. in Psychology and an Masters in Organizational Leadership. His future plans include pursuing his relentless advocacy for veterans and service members. 

Category: Uncategorized

  • Birthday Combat Mission Continued

    Our teams were pulling in big names on the lists. It seemed liked we caught the Al Qaeda in Iraq number 2 at least a dozen times. We were there when we got Al Baghdadi (not that anyone remembers or cares who that is), I have video of him charging one of our aircraft that…

  • Birthday Combat Mission

    Birthday Mission I’m thrilled to have just celebrated my 56th spin around the sun this November. It isn’t a banner year, one that deserves a large party, but understanding the things I have withstood and predicaments I have dug myself out of, standing here at 56 is a major accomplishment. I am not one to pat…

  • Safety Thoughts Ramble on

    As a young Army aviator, I scared myself plenty. Self-inflicted scrapes that nearly ended badly. I’d gnawed seat cushions down with nervous energy. But I always wanted to try again; better, faster, lower. I was always selected to lead. I briefed crowds for the “biggest air assault in 101st history” until the next one. During…

  • My Beliefs Concerning Safety From Self to Others

    SELF Beliefs Growing up in Lander, Wyoming, was a wonderful experience. Of course, at the time, I had no idea just how damn lucky I was. Wyoming is immense in terms of land, it’s the eighth largest state in the Union, but it comes in dead last in population. If you’re from Wyoming and explaining…

  • More on Trust

    ………….escaping a quick a violent death in the sands outside of the Udairi airfield. I also had those feelings, eerie feelings that seemed to predict a future outcomes. I described them as the warm fuzzy or the cold prickly. Before each mission as I was climbing into the cockpit, I either had the warm fuzzy…

  • My Thoughts on Trust

    My Thoughts on Trust

    Throughout most of my life, trust was something everyone had from the very first meeting.It wasn’t something that had to be earned it was something to be lost. And I’m certain I was lucky to be raised with that attitude. It wasn’t a rule or lesson anyone formally taught me. It was just something I felt,…

  • Power and Control for Certain

    Power and Control for Certain

    Fast forward about two years. I was back in Germany as a new CW3. Our unit had been ripped to shreds, soldiers receiving orders to transfer left and right. The President was realigning forces across the globe and our Germany based unit was due to close down. Meanwhile, we had a backlog of brand-new flight…

  • Power and Control (Cont.)

    Power and Control (Cont.)

    My company SP was a newly minted CW4, a rank usually held at the battalion level. But our battalion already had someone in that role. In my opinion, this guy was far too weak to be in charge at the battalion level. I bulldozed him constantly. I’m sure he was scared, and honestly, I think…

  • Power and Control

    Power and Control

    My Thoughts on Power and Control  There’s no doubt I grew up in an environment that taught me I had control over outcomes. My initiative, my drive, my decisions, they all had consequences. And because of that, I believed I could influence how things turned out. Good or bad, it was on me. When something…

  • Kuwait Flight Operations

    Kuwait Flight Operations

    After the long, miserable days and hours of work at the sweltering port in Kuwait City getting our helicopters off cargo ships and ready to fly, unfolding rotor blades, swapping out stabilators, running back and forth between the port and Udairi Airfield, it was finally time to knock out our dust landing training. Udairi was…