ALBERT H. “AL” HOKINS
POTENTATE
EL KALAH SHRINERS
2023-2024
Oldest of four siblings, born to Swedish immigrants. Became an American citizen before his mother did. Boys State Representative; Eagle Scout, Boy Scout camp staff member, three years; worked as newspaper delivery; florist delivery; office boy; and handyman to earn money to buy a bike.
Graduate:
US Military Academy, West Point (BS-Engineering)
Central Michigan Univ, Masters degree – Management & Supervision
Branch of Service: USAF, Retired Colonel
Years of service: 1961-1991
Wars/conflicts served in: Cuban Missile Crisis – 1962: Deputy Missile Combat Crew Commander; then Squadron Training Officer, Dyess AFB, Abilene, Texas
Vietnam – 1966-1967: B52d Navigator/Navigator Bombardier, 53 Combat missions, 322nd Bomb Squadron (Heavy)
[Medical retirement for cancer treatment, 1970-1974]
Hostage Rescue Mission, Desert One/Operation Eagle Claw, Iran – 1980
Falkland Islands War – 1982: Special Operations in support of the United Kingdom
Brief job descriptions:
Served with honor in many different positions with numerous awards:
Atlas F, ICBM (missile with nuclear payload) crew member; squadron staff;
B52 crewmember – served on nuclear alert, Glasgow AFB, Montana, also, based on Guam, delivered 2,228,000 lbs (1100+ tons) of conventional ordnance on Arc Light missions in South East Asia (Viet Nam and vicinity);
Strategic Air Command HQ, Omaha, Nebraska – staff officer and planner;
Tactical Air Forces operator, 9th AF, Shaw AFB, Sumter, South Carolina;
NATO staff officer in Turkey, 6th Allied Tactical Air Force, Izmir, Turkey;
Staff officer, Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Pentagon, four years;
46th Comm Group Commander & Deputy Chief of Staff Communications, HQ 8th Air Force (SAC) at Barksdale AFB, Louisiana;
2185th Comm Group Commander & Deputy Chief of Staff/Information Systems, HQ Air Force Reserve, Robins AFB, Georgia – Regular, active USAF officers required by law to serve on staff at Air Force Reserve HQ;
Air Division Chief of Staff at Ramstein Air Base, West Germany, for 9500 personnel from Norway to Turkey; involved liaison with NATO countries as well as deployment of troops for Operations Desert Storm/Desert Shield.
Following active duty:
Disabled Veterans Employment Rep, State of Texas; taught classes for transition skills for civilian life.
Drug investigator (retired), State of Texas – employee of the year 2000, for making the largest “bust” of counterfeit cancer treatment drugs, thus far.
Salt Lake City National Exchange Club President & Rocky Mountain Exchange District President.
Ruling Elder, Presbyterian Church, Texas and Utah.
Rider with the Sumter County, South Carolina Sheriff’s mounted posse while on active duty and rider with the Dallas County Texas Sheriff’s mounted posse after retirement. Mounted rider in Texas parades and rodeo opening ceremonies.
Raised Master Mason in North Star Lodge #46, Glasgow, Montana, 1968; Kyle Lodge #96, Hinsdale MT 2018; Bonneville Lodge #31, Bountiful UT, 2018.
York Rite Knight Templar, Glasgow, Montana (Life Member) 1968.
Sovereign Master, Allied Masonic Degrees, Utah.
Shriner: crossed the hot sands in Tangier Temple, Omaha, Nebraska, 1968;
Hella, Dallas Texas (Life), Drum and Bugle Corps 1970 (State Champions);
El Kalah Salt Lake City, UT, Clowns; Recorder 3 years.
Scottish Rite Utah, Reunion New Candidate Committee;
National Sojourners (Life Member), Salt Lake Chapter President; Regional Representative;
Order of Eastern Star – Past Worthy Patron; Associate Grand Patron.
Learned to ride a horse, drive a tractor and milk a cow on a dairy farm at the age of ten years. Has owned as many as seven riding horses. Built a horse barn on his own ten acres in South Carolina. Showed Tennessee Walking Horses. Owned the South Carolina State Champion Barrel racing quarter horse (She was a firecracker and loved a can of beer every now-and-then; would offer to shake her hoof to get a beer…).
Loves to travel. Has been in all fifty states and on all seven continents.
Has lived in 14 states, two foreign countries and two U.S. territories; and traveled in East Germany (when there was one) and in the Soviet Union (USSR) when there was one. Followed by infamous KGB in the USSR and in Jordan to name a couple locations – the KGB never caught him…
Loves to collect wine and enjoy with friends. Loves this country.