Success has ripple effects

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Destiny Miner
  • 482nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office
HOMESTEAD AIR RESERVE BASE, Fla. --  Overall success and confidence often result as spillover from a specific part of somebody's life, said a senior noncommissioned officer with the 482nd Fighter Wing Security Forces Squadron.

Master Sgt. Stephen Hodges, who ranked 6th in a field of 120 shooters at an October 13 to 15 pistol marksman competition at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, credits the lessons and discipline from his pastime as a target shooter for gains in Airman core competencies and NCO leadership traits. "If you pick something in life you're good at, work hard at it, then it can give you the self-confidence to be good in other areas of your life and career," he said. "Being good at shooting makes me a better Airman, NCO, and leader."

The "bleed over," as the sergeant calls the ripple effect of success in his marksmanship interests, serves not only as a confidence boost, it also relieves daily stress.

Shooting--as well as many other activities--forces a person to concentrate on very specific things, said the sergeant. While shooting, Sergeant Hodges needs to concentrate on his breathing, eye-hand coordination, and clearing of mental distractions to name a few. This concentration has given him portable skills: the ability to narrow his focus on the task at hand, a process to dilute distractions, and a keen sense of his physical interaction with the task.

In concrete terms, the ability to clear his mind and focus provided the groundwork for his success in Iraq. Sergeant Hodges was able to overcome the mental obstacles, physical demands, and logistical challenges of a deployment, contributing fully, in a leadership capacity, to the training of Iraqi Military Police recruits. As part of a small group of deployed security forces NCOs, Sergeant Hodges helped develop a group of Iraqi law enforcers in record time.

The lessons of Sergeant Hodges' success are transferable, said the sergeant. It's all about picking something you are, or want to be good at, and sticking with it. "It's just like shooting, I have to practice or I lose it. Anybody can be anything with training," he said.

And "once a person chooses something that can bleed over, it's all the little pieces that you gain that bleed over and allow someone to manage their personal affairs and career," said the sergeant. "If you want to bring up everything else in your life, say a, b, and c, then draw on the success you have with d. It just bleeds over."

Sergeant Hodges was also featured in the April Flight Lines (former Homestead Air Reserve Base publication) when he placed 11th in a field of 190 rifle shooters, earning the Bronze-level Excellence in Competition Rifle Match Medal. His ranking in the October competition earned the privilege of wearing the same level medal for pistol marksmanship.

Tech. Sgt. Paul Dean, 482nd FW Public Affairs, contributed to this story.