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Playing It By The Book
by Troy McMeanus & Kim Williams

(Interview appears in March/April 2006 Issue of Front Sight Magazine)

A tireless supporter of USPSA across many levels, the focus of this issue’s Safety Area is Area 8 director and newest addition to the NROI Instructor Corps, George Jones. Fellow instructor Troy McManus and I teamed up to interview George for this piece. Here’s what we got when we managed to get him to sit still long enough for an interview.

Kim: Why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself and your family?

George: Although I’ve lived in numerous places, including six years in Hawaii, I’ve been in northern New Jersey since 1977. My wife Maureen has been very supportive of my shooting interests and USPSA involvement, although she doesn't shoot. I have an older daughter who has two daughters of her own, six and two. They live north of Seattle, so I get out there at least once a year to visit. I’ve used that trip as an alibi to shoot a few matches in Area 1 over the years. Maureen and I have a son, Bryan, who is in his first year at Yale. We’re pretty proud of that boy. My “real job” has been flying helicopters. It will be forty years this coming September since Uncle Sam taught me how, then gave me an opportunity to practice for a year in some faraway place. I finished my army tour as a flight instructor for two years, and then started flying commercially after leaving the army. I've been doing it ever since.

Kim: How long have you been involved with USPSA?

George: I started in 1997, getting back into shooting after a 30-year layoff. I was on a plane bound for Vegas for a one-day business meeting. I was minding my own business, reading one of the gun mags when the guy sitting next to me asked, “Do you shoot?” Well, I was trying to stay low profile, so I politely gave him a non-answer. Later, he asked if he could read it when I was done. That’s different, I thought...so we struck up a conversation. It turned out he was going to Vegas for a shooting competition and he invited me to come to the range to watch. He also gave me a copy of GunGames magazine and told me about IPSC and USPSA. So, the next day, after my meetings, I headed to the range to watch. I was impressed; it looked like great fun.

My airline passenger friend turned out to be none other than Bruce Piatt, and he was shooting the Soldier of Fortune match. Within two weeks, he helped me find a suitable gun (which I still shoot regularly) and here we are.

Kim: Why did you decide to become a Range Master and instructor? Are you
nervous about teaching?

George: Not at all nervous. I’ve been a military and civilian flight instructor and have spent countless hours teaching flight students or standing in front of a class. I actually enjoy it. The experienced (never say “older”) guys pass on the knowledge to the younger ones. That probably explains my interest in becoming an RMI. I think I can do an effective job.

Becoming a Range Master had more to do with helping to maintain the high standards (and sometimes raise the bar) with major match officiating. I've been fortunate to work with some remarkably competent CROs and RMs early in my RO career. Now, maybe it’s my turn.

Kim: Who have your mentors or role models been in the organization? Why?

George: My first mentor was Arnie Christianson. He was the CRO on the stage when I worked my first major match (the 1998 Aware). I worked with him again for the next two Aware matches as well. I admired his cool control, stage presence, and knowledge of the rules. He was the first guy to scold me when I took a shortcut on a range command. I never forgot. Arnie was the instructor for my CRO class as well. My other role model was (he’ll blush if I say “is”) Troy McManus. Troy was the MD when I worked the Area 4 match two successive years. He has also been the RM for some of the Nationals I have worked. The work ethic and the attention to detail were obvious. I learned some of what it takes to debug a match before it starts. Troy was also my mentor when I took the RM course.

Troy: Thanks, George, you were an apt pupil. Tell me what you think we can do to improve within NROI. Do you see better range officers because of NROI's efforts?

George: By the very nature of its responsibilities, NROI will always have to adapt. Technology and innovation (I did not say “gaming”) constantly challenge the playing field. Changes in the rules, either due to direct rulebook updates or rules interpretations require NROI to react. New rulebooks, new training materials, and modernizing the RO seminars all represent an unseen and very much underappreciated workload. But, the bottom line is that it does raise the bar on the quality of our range officers. I have seen such great improvements over the last several years.

Troy: Since you've been both a competitor and an official at the USPSA Nationals, can you give us some ideas for improvement?

George: That’s a tough one. It’s always easy to find fault, it’s another thing to give constructive feedback. I guess I have to say that we need to assure the quality of the officiating and apply a continuous improvement model for the Nationals staff. While it’s very important to use experienced CROs at the Nationals (and other major matches), we also need to methodically nurture new ROs who will someday develop to be the next Nationals CROs.

Troy: You were elected as Area 8 director by write-in vote. Were you surprised? Why did you want to be an Area Director?

George: Surprised? You bet! I honestly thought it was an uphill effort without hope. But, I had the support of a number of people who campaigned for me and helped me get the word out. I never “wanted” to be an AD, but I felt the organization could use my help. It’s a time-consuming and challenging job with few rewards. I’d still rather just go shoot. Heck, I never even get to drive the company yacht.

Troy: What do you see as the biggest challenge facing USPSA in the coming years?

George: Undoubtedly, it has to be the continuing assault on our gun rights and the loss of our shooting ranges and hunting lands. Fewer kids grow up hunting and shooting. Fewer people serve in the military. All of those things slowly erode our member base, and reduce our available shooting venues. It’s not just a USPSA thing; it’s affecting all shooting disciplines.

Kim: Speaking of kids and shooting, your son Bryan is a pretty decent shooter. He has his Open Master card and performed very well last year. Can you keep up with him, or do you find yourself having to resort to the "age and treachery" angle?

George: Treachery doesn’t work anymore. As he started to improve, his times became faster (damn kids) but I could beat him with better hits. Then, about two years ago, I think he found the sights. I didn’t stand a chance. It’s been great seeing him improve his ability to figure out a stage.

Troy: I've worked with both you and Bryan at major matches, and you are both excellent Range Officers. Have you learned anything from that youngster, and have you taught him a few tricks along the way?

George: He has taught me to keep an eye on the details. He doesn’t miss much, whereas I would sometimes take the small things for granted. At the 2000 Limited Nationals, we were working the Standards stage from hell. By the third day in the heat with no shade, I was running out of gas. By that time in the match, you figure everyone’s gear is up to par, so I was not paying that much attention to the type of guns in the holsters. I’m getting ready to start a shooter when Bryan taps my shoulder and says “He’s shooting a XX gun in Production”. It took three tries for me to understand that the shooter was shooting Production with a single-action gun. This very new shooter didn’t know any better and it not been noticed by anyone on any of his previous stages.

I have taught him a lot about how to work and manage a stage over the years. I think that’s why he developed into such a fine RO so quickly. He has an amazing memory of the rules and I taught him how to apply it on a stage. We used to play “what if” on the way to and from matches. I would use anecdotes and actual events from matches, or would challenge him with rules scenarios to get him thinking outside the box. I think it helped both of us.

Troy: Good man. Tell me George, as an NROI RMI, what's your mission?

George: I’d better open the rulebook and see what it says (grinning) Beyond passing on my experience and knowledge, I hope to promote respect for the rulebook. By that, I mean that the rules should be followed, logically and fairly, even when they appear inconvenient or we may disagree with them. That’s what the shooters expect.

Kim: Are there any matches that stand out as the best for you? Or perhaps the worst?

George: There are a number of matches that would fall into a “best” category. I’ll never forget my first major. The 1998 Aware and the ones that followed at Watervliet were a whole lot of fun. The whole atmosphere of the match was contagious, and it started with Match Director, Pat LeGere. I made some good friends there. There have been a number of others over time, but I will drop my modesty and say that the recent Area 8 matches have been excellent matches to shoot. I saw them as a worker, not as a shooter (the perspective is definitely different), but I was very pleased with them.

I have worked matches that were wracked with problems, yet the shooters loved the match. I see that as a great compliment to the hard work of the range officials who plod on anyway and make the problems invisible to the shooters.

The worst? I’ll take the fifth. I do recall a match or two that I would never shoot again. Fortunately, those matches are rare and usually the problems are addressed if you take the time to explain it to the match staff. Sometimes very well meaning, hard working people bite off more than they should.

I understand the frustration of shooters who complain when a major match is not run in accordance to the rulebook. They have taken the time and spent their money trusting a match to be run a certain way. When that trust is broken, no one wins.

At Level I matches, it is understandable to help new shooters through the match, giving them assistance not normally allowed. When it comes to safety infractions, however, there should be no “mulligans”. Shooters will not take the safety rules seriously if they are not taught to respect them from the start.

Kim: George, it’s been a pleasure. In closing, do you have any amusing anecdotes you'd like to share with the membership?

George: Working major matches is always an experience. Every time I think I’ve seen it all, along comes a new form of entertainment. There was a time when I was helping on a stage at the Area 1 match. A certain Executive Director we both know was the CRO on the stage with a table start (you also had to pull a lever) and running the shooter. He had to stand more directly behind the shooter than normal because of the shooter’s direction of movement after the start. I was holding the clipboard to the shooter’s left. In the middle of the draw…“Bang!” The CRO had no idea where the shot went because he had no view of the gun when it went off, but he kept his cool and cleared the shooter. Well now I was getting a very wry, quizzical look from the CRO, plainly saying “What, where, huh?” Whereupon, I calmly stuck my pen into the hole in the table about one foot away. That same CRO ran every shooter in the match in spite of losing his voice on Day 2 and refused every offer to read the written course description for him. The man is an animal!

We welcome George to the NROI Instructor Corps. If you should get the opportunity to take a class with George, do so. You’ll benefit from it immensely. He has the knowledge and experience from those that came before him plus his own that make him an invaluable resource to the organization and to shooters of any level.