Courtesy Photo | Oregon Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Kyle Stimpson, Oregon Army National Guard...... read more read more
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TILLAMOOK, Ore.--Purpose, passion, and perseverance: are all necessary qualities for a Soldier to be successful in the Oregon Army National Guard (ORARNG). Not all new recruits, however, start out with these qualities, and often it takes a great recruiter to bring them out.
ORARNG Recruiting and Retention NCO Staff Sgt. Kyle Stimpson found a diamond in the rough when 18-year-old Deacon Shepherd walked up to his recruiting booth at the Tillamook county fair last August. Shepherd graduated in June 2021 from Tillamook High School but found himself like many other high school students after graduation—without purpose and a clear direction of his path in life. After talking with Stimpson and learning about the many opportunities the Oregon Army National Guard provides, Shepherd said he had an epiphany.
“It kind of hit me…Oh wow, this is what I want to do for the next 20 years of my life,” he said.
Despite his newfound sense of direction, Shepherd had one major obstacle standing in his way from enlisting as a truck driver in the ORARNG—his weight. Shepherd had to drop 57 pounds to meet the height-weight standards. Shepherd, however, was not about to let that stop him from pursuing his dream.
“It’s really like I found my purpose in life when I met Staff Sgt. Stimpson,” Shepherd said. “So, whatever I needed to do to get there, I was going to do it.”
Stimpson tells all of his applicants: “There’s only two things I ask from you. The first is motivation, motivation, motivation. If you’re motivated, I’m motivated,” he said. “The second is don’t lie to me. If you’re working out, let’s celebrate it, but if you didn’t, just be honest. Life happens. Don’t beat yourself up for it; just get back on it the next day.”
To get Shepherd started, Stimpson devised a five-step plan, which included the following: don’t drink anything but water; do intermittent fasting and only eat from noon until 8 p.m.; keep caloric intake under 1700; find a healthy meal plan and prep it out; and work out for an hour, four times a week. The workout included doing 25 pushups, sit-ups, and air squats throughout the course of the day.
Shepherd started out not being able to do a single push-up and had to start training by doing them on his knees. He also lives on a steep hill in Tillamook, so for an addition to his workout, Stimpson told Shepherd to walk down and back up the hill—about a two-mile trek—every day.
Stimpson checked in on Shepherd’s progress every few days. “Any time I felt like he had a hard time or needed a push,” Stimpson said, “I would text or give a phone call.”
He didn’t just keep Shepherd motivated through text and phone calls though. Stimpson literally went the extra mile…or two.
“I was doing the walk up the hill with him once or twice a week,” Stimpson said. “When we were walking up the hill, I told him, ‘If you don’t beat me going up and back two times, then you have to do it a third time.’ I was always rooting for him to beat me because I didn’t want to do it the third time, but at the same time I’m a little prideful and I didn’t want him to beat me.”
Six months later, Shepherd finally beat Stimpson. More importantly, Shepherd met his 57-pound weight loss goal, allowing him to finally enlist.
Shepherd said the constant motivation Stimpson provided is what helped him succeed.
“It was just him being there by my side every step of the way,” Shepherd said. “He took me under his wing and was a mentor to me. He told me exactly what to do and how to do it, and that’s how I lost all the weight.”
That motivation, however, went both ways. “I’ve watched this 18-year-old kid, who's never done sports or worked out in his life, and it’s motivating,” Stimpson said. “It paid off for him, and he’s already lost two more pounds in the two weeks since he’s enlisted.”
Shepherd offered some advice for others who are struggling to overcome an obstacle: “Find your purpose,” he said. “Find the fire that motivates you to do it.”
Stimpson shared some advice of his own. “Great people inspire other people to be great,” he said. “Tearing down another building doesn’t make your building taller. If you’re motivated, you’re probably going to motivate other people.”
| Date Taken: | 06.21.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 06.21.2022 17:46 |
| Story ID: | 423467 |
| Location: | TILLAMOOK, OR, US |
| Web Views: | 127 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Oregon Army National Guard recruiter inspires recruit to shed weight, get in shape to enlist, by SFC Amy Elker, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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