Hopper attended boot camp with Alan "Dutch" Schaefer in 1967 and the two quickly became friends. In 1979, they were serving in Malaysia, by which time Hopper had become a helicopter pilot. The two men took part in a disastrous mission that almost cost them both their lives, with Hopper risking his own safety to evacuate Dutch from the combat zone. While close, Dutch and Hopper apparently fell out of contact some time after this. In 1987, Hopper and his team were assigned by Al Dillon to rescue several CIA agents captured by rebels when their helicopter was shot down over the jungle of Val Verde. Hopper's team quickly discovered the wreckage of the agents' helicopter.