Service member spotlight: one big team Published Aug. 1, 2013 By Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J -- Petty Officer 1st Class David Hamilton, U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Strike Team response member, is the joint base's featured service member of the week. Hamilton hails from Bennington, Vt. Q: Why did you join the military? A: My first job as a teenager was at the state Veterans Home. I was lucky enough to interact with the residents there fairly regularly. I learned a lot about what each branch does, and how the military works as a whole throughout my employment there. Q: What is your job and what is its impact on the mission? A: As a newly reported member, I am learning the pre-requisite duties of a response technician. As a certified member, I will be deployed within the Strike Team's area of responsibility to assist with oil and hazardous chemical response, incident command response/management, and weapons of mass destruction response. Q: Do you have any past or current family members in the military? A: Both of my grandfathers served in the Navy. One served shipboard in Korea working in communications and the other was an avionics instructor based out of Honolulu. Q: Who most inspires you? A: I have had a lot of great senior enlisted leadership, particularly my previous engineering petty officers, who have inspired me to do the right thing, even if it isn't the easiest path. Q: What is one thing you'd like your fellow service members to take away or understand about the military? A: I think we should all understand that we are part of a big team. On the days where we can't see direct results from our work we are always contributing to a larger mission.