Flying High
CAP Public Affairs Officer Is Kentucky’s Lieutenant Governor
By Sheila Pursglove
As a little girl growing up in Detroit, Jenean Hampton dreamed of becoming an astronaut — and she has reached for the stars throughout her career, culminating in her December 2015 swearing-in as the 62nd lieutenant governor for the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Hampton, who serves alongside Gov. Matt Bevin, is also a second lieutenant in Civil Air Patrol. She joined CAP in December 2014 after Lt. Col. Ted Seaman, commander of the Kentucky Wing’s Bowling Green Senior Squadron, invited her to be the unit’s public affairs officer.
“Lt. Col. Seaman had heard me speak when I campaigned for the Kentucky House in 2014, and I leaped at the opportunity,” Hampton said. “CAP’s missions of providing emergency services and aerospace education, as well as its ties to the U.S. Air Force, all appealed to me. Shortly after completing Level 1 training, however, I was tapped to run for lieutenant governor and began extensive campaigning that limited opportunities to flex my public affairs muscles.”
Seaman said Hampton and her husband, Dr. Doyle Isaak, who both have an Air Force history that fits in with CAP, “put in as much time as they can” and are “an excellent addition” to the Bowling Green squadron.
“Dr. Isaak is working toward aerial imagery and mission observer, while Jenean is working toward a rating in public affairs in what little spare time she has,” Seaman said. “We are very proud of Jenean’s accomplishments and support her in every way we can. She is a great asset to our squadron.”
The first African-American elected to statewide office in Kentucky, Hampton plans to focus on three areas: promoting entrepreneurship to build a startup climate in the state; promoting education of all forms — formal, informal and vocational — to create a state full of lifelong learners; and using her personal story to inspire Kentuckians and show how anyone can rise above humble life circumstances through self-reliance and a strong work ethic.
Hampton’s own journey from poverty to prosperity started in inner-city Detroit, where she was one of four sisters in a low-income family. Her parents divorced when she was 7, and her mother, who did not have a high school diploma, cleaned houses to support her daughters. Hampton learned how to live on a tight budget, sew her own clothes and use the free resources of the local library.
Inspired by NASA’s space program, Hampton worked in banking and in the automotive industry to help pay for college, earning an industrial engineering degree from Wayne State University in 1985.
She joined the Air Force as a computer systems officer, writing computer code and testing software. “I wanted to do something more patriotic than build cars,” Hampton explains. “The Air Force also held a glimmer of hope of being a route to astronaut training.”
In her seven years in the Air Force, where she attained the rank of captain, Hampton enjoyed the mix of people from all over the country. “The experience demonstrated that when people unite behind a common mission, their personal differences become unimportant and irrelevant,” she said.
Deployed to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for seven months during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Hampton managed the software library for airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft. Although Scud missiles were lobbed into Riyadh air- space, her unit was stationed well behind combat lines. “The experience hammered home the importance of everyone doing his or her job — every task matters to accomplish the mission,” she said.
After returning to civilian life, Hampton spent 19 years in the corrugated packaging industry, rising through several promotions to become a plant manager. While working full- time she earned a master’s of business administration from the University of Rochester in New York.
She met her husband at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, where he was a flight surgeon and she was a soft- ware test analyst for AWACS. “Only a small percentage of Air Force members fly in any capacity, so I was thrilled that my duties included regular flights with AWACS crews,” she said.
The couple enjoys spending time with their adult children, twins Yvonne and Markus; 6-year-old granddaughter Arianna; and teenage nephews Jett and Justin.
Hampton is a member of the Bowling Green Women’s Club, Military Officers Association of America and the Kentucky Colonels Amateur Radio Club.
Inducted into the Kentucky Veterans Hall of Fame in July in recognition of her military service to the nation and community service during her post-military career, Hampton also is a member of American Legion Post 23, where the oldest members are World War II veterans in their 90s. “I enjoy the meetings for camaraderie with veterans and their spouses, and never tire of hearing stories about their time in service during various eras,” she said. “Every veteran has a story, whether or not they went to war.”
Originally published in April-June 2016 Civil Air Patrol Volunteer magazine.
