AF Shooting Team member aims high with USAFA cadets

KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- A Kirtland officer will return to the Air Force Academy campus Saturday to help train members of the USAFA Combat Shooting Team.

1st Lt. Dalton Bridgers, who is in pilot training here, is a member of the Air Force Action Shooting Team.  He graduated from the Academy and continues to work with shooters there in his spare time, with the aim of helping them apply their skills in the context of competitive shooting.

"The training opportunities the cadets have are mostly on the tactical or combat shooting side," Bridgers said. "My training gives them the opportunity to get exposure to a different type of shooting.  I want them to do well and help them sharpen their skills so they can represent themselves well when they go to competitions."

It's not the first time Bridgers will be returning to the Academy to work with the cadets.  In December, he spent the day training the cadets, and then competed with them the following day at a U.S. Practical Shooting Association competition in Aurora, Colordado.  He ended up winning first place in the event.

"One of my goals was to do well and set the example," he said. "I wanted them to know what they were capable of, that they could perform at a higher level."

Bridgers said he encourages the cadets to compete in as many competitions as possible.

"It's a great opportunity for them to get out and showcase themselves," he said. "And competing alongside civilians gives the cadets a significant opportunity to learn from them and get better."

Bridgers, an Academy graduate, started shooting competitively in high school in Poplarville, Mississippi. He did not shoot competitively while at the Academy, but became actively involved in practical shooting sports after graduation. He now spends about an hour or two a day practicing - including about 1,000 rounds of live-fire practice each month - and competes in events nearly every weekend. Recently, he took third place overall at the High Desert Classic, Albuquerque's elite shooting competition. 

Bridgers is one of 10 members selected for the Action Shooting Team. Team members are expected to represent the Air Force regularly in civilian shooting competitions, but Bridgers feels they could be doing more.  He thinks there are missed opportunities for using team members to train other combat units around the Air Force.

"I believe the Air Force has a significant training resource already in place they could utilize to provide training to combat units," he said "We know how to run these guns more effectively than anyone else."

He hopes his trips to USAFA will help demonstrate what shooting team members could provide in potential training opportunities. 

Bridgers is in initial qualification training for the HH-60G Pave Hawk. Once finished in May, he will be assigned to the 41st Rescue Squadron at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia.