CAMP PERRY, OHIO – The National Rifle Association's Range Engineering Crew has been instrumental in providing support for the National Matches since 1968, when Department of Defense support was withdrawn, and this year, it is no different. As part of the NRA’s National Matches partnership responsibilities, Range Engineering crew sets up and maintains the National Matches firing ranges.

One man is tasked with directing this 60-person crew and providing the best ranges possible for the top shooters in the world.  That man is Joseph M. DeCosta, a man with a legacy, high work ethics and a kind heart. 

"He is the first one to get here at 6:30 a.m., and one of the last people to leave,” said Robert W. Green, the tool clerk for the National range operations.

Green has been working for Mr. DeCosta for three years and has nothing but kind words to say about him.

“He is a gentle man, has lots of patience with the younger employees working for him and he makes sure that we have everything we need to finish the job,” said Green.

Those who know Mr. DeCosta know that he is not one to sit back and watch others work; he will be out on the range helping out. He is a “super hard worker who never sits down and is always doing something; he is not afraid to do manual labor,” said Jen J. Rich, administrative assistant for Mr. DeCosta.

“A wonderful person, a very caring and compassionate individual who puts everybody else first,” said Rich.

“He is definitely here for the kids and doesn’t give himself a lot of credit,” said Rich, “he is a genuine person because he will tell you how it is, not to hurt a person’s feelings, but to help them in the long run.”

Every summer, Mr. DeCosta drops applications off at local high schools and provides students there the opportunity to apply to work on the Range Engineering crew at Camp Perry during the summer.

“Joe hires around 60 kids every summer and never has a problem finding people,” said Ralph F. Reichman, Assistant Range Engineer for the NRA.

“We have several people who have worked for eight years or more,” he said, “we’ve even had entire families work for Joe, from parents on down to their kids.”

The extent of his hiring is noticed. “When “I’ve worn my range shirt into businesses, I’ve had people say they used to work for Joe 15-20 years before,” said Reichman.

“Joe has a big impact on many of these kids, in fact there was a young man who worked several years for Joe who went out and joined the Marine Corps. He said that Joe had been in the Marines and he wanted to be like Joe,” he said.

Mr. DeCosta is a boss to some, but much more to many other youth. “He is a friendly face to talk to. When I was going through personal problems, he tried to do everything nice for me; he was somebody to talk to, a friend,” said Rich.

Mr. DeCosta gives precedence to those who worked for him before, but also likes to hire those trying to start a family tradition of working in support of the National Matches.

“My older brother used to work for him,” said Katie R. Perry, a first-year worker from Oak Harbor, “he is a really nice guy, easy to get along with and fun to work with.”

“I just met him,” said Brooke G. Blay, another first-year worker for Mr. DeCosta, whose job is to paste targets during the National Matches, “he is nice, approachable, and easy to talk to.”

“He’s a good person who makes sure that everybody gets along, he’s just fun to work with,” she said.

Having teenagers work for a man in-charge of setting up the nation’s premiere shooting event, there are bound to be mistakes made.

“Even though [Mr. DeCosta] takes things seriously, he is able to make the job fun, and after a mistake, he can look at it with a good sense of humor,” said Matthew D. Sandwisch, a range foreman, who has been working for Mr. DeCosta for nine years.

“[Mr. DeCosta] realizes that he has 50 years on us and so he understands that mistakes will happen and as long as we learn from it, he can let it go,” he said.

“Being a former Marine and having the discipline that comes with that enables me to teach how to do a job the right way, cleaning up afterward and how to act in a work environment,” said Mr. DeCosta.

“I impose a work ethic that recognizes that as long as shooters are out firing, then we are here and we will work for them,” he said.

“It is a different type of work, because everyday is a shooting day, each range must be ready for the next competition. It has to get done today, there is no tomorrow,” he said.

“I have expectations of the kids, I like to look at it as training for the real world and I do realize that they don’t have the years of experience that I have, so it is training for them,” said DeCosta.

“And of course mistakes happen, and so I made a plaque that is called the ‘Golden Screw-Up’ and a person’s name is inscribed on it for a mess-up that stood out in everybody’s mind,” said DeCosta, “The one that I remember the best is where a wheel fell off a tractor on the range, and a kid comes along and drives it off, with only three wheels; he got the award hands-down.”

Seeing the humorous side of things is how Mr. DeCosta is able to cope with the deadlines that must be met, “that’s how I keep my sanity, by keeping up with them, I’m 75 years old and I know they haven’t been around. I try to teach them to think, and I want them to be confident and to not be afraid to try new things, especially if it gives a person experience in the real world.”

“But really, I can’t say enough about the kids, they are great and the work ethic that they bring in is great, because they are ready to work every morning that they come in,” he said.

“To be honest, I don’t know how he does it, he goes in so many directions at once but he still has his focus on everything important and he never forgets his workers, because he knows everyone personally,” said Green, “he’s a good man.”

NEXT ARTICLE