Wolf Pack Airman's hobby improves duty performance, more

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Amanda Savannah
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  One 8th Security Forces Squadron Airman has found an off-duty activity that helps him develop his leadership skills and achieve an ultimate personal goal at the same time.

Staff Sgt. Duriel Howard, 8th SFS standardization and evaluations NCO, has dived in and is proving he is as much an asset to his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu group as he is to the squadron.

As the standardization and evaluations NCO, Sergeant Howard is responsible for certifying every Airman in the squadron on their duty tasks, whether it be a patrolman, desk sergeant, entry controller or others.

And according to a BJJ teammate and fellow 8th SFS member, this means he must be a highly-trained and valued member of the squadron.

"In order to be a stan-eval NCO, you have to be the tip of the spear, and he is," said Staff Sgt. Ryan Troester, 8th SFS military working dog handler and group member.

And after only three months on the BJJ team, the 32-year-old Austin, Texas, native has proven his dedication isn't limited to his duty performance. Sergeant Howard recently claimed two gold medals at the fifth annual De La Riva BJJ Cup in Seoul, Korea; one in his weight class and the other for the absolute division, which is all the weight classes combined.

"It felt good to win the medals," Sergeant Howard said. "But it's all thanks to my group. I absolutely couldn't have done this myself - I had no experience, but the entire team helped me achieve this."

Being a part of the group and winning the medals will also help the 10-year Air Force veteran reach his ultimate goal - to be an Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter.

"To be a UFC fighter, I need to learn martial arts, so this is one step to doing that," said Sergeant Howard, who is now a two-stripe white belt martial artist.

Although he's achieved so much so quickly, he still has a ways to go. Martial arts experience takes a person through five belt colors as they progress - white, to blue, to purple, to brown, to black. But Sergeant Howard said he plans to continue practicing BJJ and reaching for his goal, long after he leaves the Wolf Pack in six months.

But in addition to aiming for a personal goal, Sergeant Howard said he is developing himself as an Airman, a security forces member, and is remaining fit to fight as well.

"What I am learning, I can apply at work," Sergeant Howard said. "If I'm in a bad situation, I can apply what I've learned and take someone down with only as much force as necessary."
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is designed so that even the weakest person can have the same chances in a fight, said Sergeant Troester, who is a purple-belt martial artist and the one who started the BJJ group at Kunsan.

"Using leverage and technique, even the weakest person can win," he said. "It may not always be the biggest and strongest person."

Sergeant Troester has been a BJJ martial artist for more than two years and said he started the local group to help his fellow security forces Airmen develop their skills and because of the intensity of the workout.

"This training helps us for our job - the security forces career field has the most possibility for being in an altercation, so it gives us good self defense to fall back on," he said. "But it's also a great workout. BJJ is the only PT (physical training) I do, and I scored a 95 on my last PT test."

Sergeant Howard agreed.

"I'd like to see more people join our group, because it's a great workout and a great way to relieve stress," he said.

The "Kunsan BJJ Club" is currently at 10 regular members, including Airmen from many other career fields.
"We have people from several different career fields, such as the fire department, medical, maintenance, and EOD (explosive ordinance disposal)," said Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Tomkiewicz, 8th SFS and club member.

The group practices off base with a local gym's BJJ team. When they aren't hard at work, they enjoy spending time "hanging out" with the members of the gym's team, Sergeant Howard said.

"The BJJ group gets me away from my daily grind and keeps me fit and focused," he said. "The group works together and practices so we all get better."
Sergeant Tomkiewicz, a one-stripe white belt martial artist, joked that he wasn't sure about Sergeant Howard getting the practice.

"He's a great member of the team; a hard worker and a team player ... but he squashes me," said Sergeant Tomkiewicz.