482nd cop medals in Air Force shooting competition

  • Published
  • By Dan Galindo
  • 482nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE, Fla. --  Master Sgt. Stephen Hodges, 482nd Security Forces Squadron, recently earned recognition for his marksmanship skills in the Excellence in Competition Rifle Match at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

Shooters in rank from Airman Basic to Colonel, and even an Airman from the Australian Royal Air Force traveling from the U.K., made the trip to Ohio for the competition, hosted by the 88th Security Forces combat arms section from Feb. 26 to March 1.

With a score of 449 using the M-16 A2 rifle, Master Sgt. Hodges placed 11th out of 190 shooters in the competition.

"I felt I could have and should have done better," Sergeant Hodges said. "I could tell that my sighting was about a half-inch off to the right side."

Nevertheless, his score put him in the top ten-percent, qualifying him to wear the bronze-level EIC Rifle Match medal on his service dress uniform.

"He actually beat me by one [point], so I have to say, Sergeant Hodges did very well," said Staff Sgt. Terry Wallace, a range instructor for the event.

Targets were 25 meters away with a single silhouette simulating a distance of 200 meters. A bulls-eye was worth ten points, and outer rings descended in point value from the center of the target.

Regardless of a shooter's experience level, range instructors strived to make the competition challenging but enjoyable.

"It was just you and your rifle," said Sergeant Hodges. "We didn't have any support to help steady the weapon. Also, people couldn't bring their own weapons, so no one had an unfair advantage."

"We could have just sent people straight to the line after issuing a weapon and scorecard," said Sergeant Wallace. "But, we added some classroom time to help people with basic weapon familiarization and to demonstrate shooting positions."

However, stringent rules were in place for "zeroing", where shooters adjust the sights of the rifle to give the best idea of where a bullet is expected to hit the target.

"For the regular Air Force Qualifying Course we can actually give people extra rounds to zero the weapon, but the competition is stricter so we can keep everyone on the same level," Sergeant Wallace said. "They only got ten rounds and two minutes to make adjustments."

"Doing sight corrections was more difficult that what I'm used to," said Sergeant Hodges. "You really have to know what you're doing to make the correct number of adjustments."

After only ten rounds allowed for zeroing, as opposed to nearly 20 rounds for the standard AFQC, Airmen began shooting for points in four different positions.

For the standing, sitting and kneeling positions, shooters had 45 seconds and ten rounds, for a total of 30 rounds. Airmen got another 20 rounds for the prone position, lying down, with a full minute to shoot.

According to Sergeant Wallace, the standing position proved the most difficult.

"That's where most of the lower scores came from with each shooter," he said. "It's a very unstable position. The other positions allow you to have some steadiness."

He added that it's difficult to know exactly how one will perform in a shooting competition. Though, for Sergeant Hodges, confidence with a rifle comes rather easily, despite not getting as much practice as he would prefer.

"I didn't have any experience shooting before the Air Force, but since my first time I've been somewhat of a natural at it," Sergeant Hodges said. "Everyone has their off days, but I consistently fire 'expert'."

In fact, this is not the first time he's proved his skill. In 2003, during Defender Challenge, the overall Air Force Security Forces competition, he placed sixth out of 120 competitors in the Combat Tactile Pistol match.

Since Sergeant Hodges medaled in the rifle match, he will not be able to compete again in the same event, but hopes to attend the pistol competition, which Sergeant Wallace says is planned for fall of this year.

Sergeant Hodges has advice for would-be competitors.

"Listen to your instructors. They want to help you do well," he said. "Then, it's just a matter of remembering the fundamentals - breathing, sight picture and trigger control."

Capt. Christopher Ledford of the 81st Civil Engineering Squadron, Keesler A.F.B, Miss., shot the winning score of 470.