TRYON – Army veterans Scott and Karolyn Hooper have entered military retirement as colonels and relocated to Lake Adger after commanding troops overseas in Europe and the Middle East.

Karolyn spent 23 years in the service, while Scott spent just over 26 years in active duty service. The couple retired in July 2016 as colonels, with Karolyn leaving after being commander of the NATO brigade and Scott being the director of exercises with U.S. Army Europe in Germany.

“Karolyn was inspired by her father, U.S. Army Infantry Lieutenant Colonel Darwin Miller,” Scott said, “and her father was a veteran in three wars including WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Her heart is as big as the state of Texas and she is one of the best in her field at taking care of our soldiers and their families, even if it sometimes meant ‘hard love,’ but she had the respect and professional expertise to back her decisions.”

Karolyn, from San Antonio, Texas, earned a four-year ROTC scholarship to the University of Colorado, graduated as a Distinguished Military Graduate and was commissioned as second lieutenant in the Signal Corps in May 1993.

A native of Whittier, Calif., Scott said he originally planned to be an Army aviator to fly helicopters, but said he was “enamored by West Point during the recruiting process” and he attended the preparatory school for 11 months from 1986 to 1987 as a cadet candidate before signing up at the U.S. Military Academy. He added he had no military experience and played football at West Point.

“West Point was a life-changing experience for me,” Scott said. “I became a baptized and confirmed Catholic during my senior year and fully embraced living an adult life characterized by the West Point motto ‘Duty, Honor, Country.’ I led a light infantry platoon during a three-week training exercise in the jungles of Panama in 1990, and I knew I belonged leading troops on the ground.”

Scott’s operational assignments ranged from being stationed at Fort Stewart in Georgia with the 24th Infantry Division, to serving four years at the Pentagon, and then commanding the 3rd Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg.

Karolyn and Scott met as staff officers serving in the Bastogne Brigade, the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division, Air Assault, when they were deployed to Iraq for a year. They said the hardest part about being a couple serving in the military was being apart on different combat tours.

“There was nothing worse for us both than knowing exactly what the other was going through and the conditions in which they were operating, but having no ability to protect the one we loved more than life itself,” Scott said.

Serving in the military came with rewarding experiences too, according to Karolyn, including an encounter with the men who served in Afghanistan in the “treacherous” mountains of the Hindu Kush while she served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for the 82nd Airborne Division with the Commanding General on Christmas Day 2009.

“I was struck by the resilience and fortitude of the young men who occupied those outposts,” Karolyn said. “How for a year, they lived with minimal comforts, always faced with an immediate threat, but positive attitudes and camaraderie truly demonstrated the heart, mind and soul of the American soldier. I could not be prouder of our young men and women in service to our nation.”

On July 22, 2003, Scott was instrumental in planning and executing the raid in conjunction with U.S. Special Operations forces that resulted in the deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein. During this “unforgettable” mission, Scott was the Battalion Operations Officer for 3-327 Infantry in the 101st Airborne Division. According to Scott, his Battalion Commander’s driver tackled him when he was caught in the crossfire of multiple ground and air forces converging in one location.

“In the midst of a six-hour firefight, I was tackled by my Battalion Commander’s driver, and with radios in each ear, sweat from the 120-degree sun pouring out of body and I was trying to keep calm amidst a bit of confusion associated with multiple air and ground units converging in one place,” Scott said. “His response, along with the bullets ricocheting around us, affirmed a love for the U.S. soldier that is ingrained in me.”

Scott and Karolyn retired this year after their service in the military and relocated to Lake Adger. They are now opening Hoop’s Antiques and entering service in the retail world in downtown Tryon with decorated careers and numerous awards during their more than 50 years combined in the Army.

“Karolyn and I retired from the Army absolutely loving the institution, the soldiers and their families that make it,” Scott said. “We love people, and that’s why we served so long. Our soldiers and their families are simply amazing. They come from all over the country with diverse backgrounds, but share a common bond that only a soldier can truly appreciate. These ‘old soldiers’ surely do.”