Heartland shooting park manager Busch has experience in military, law enforcement

Tom Busch, the manager of the Heartland Public Shooting Park, is a veteran.

He was in the Marines from January of 1999 to August of 2007.

Busch wouldn't trade his military experience for anything.

"I enjoyed my time in the Marine Corps. I excelled at it. I spent time with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines. I was in Weapons Company," he said.

Busch, now 44, was deployed three times to Iraq.

For part of his time in the Marines, he was a TOW gunner. In that position, he operated a tube-launched, optically tracked, wire command-linked missile system. It is an anti-tank missile.

On his second deployment, Busch was with the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion.

"When I went over to 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, I switched over from Weapons Company to Charlie Company. I became the chief scout. So I was just basically doing straight-leg infantry stuff."

He was "a machine gunner and an infantry guy."

He got out as an infantry platoon sergeant.

Being in the Marines was good for him.

"It definitely built character, for one. Two, it gave me a sense of purpose. Three, it made me grow up pretty quickly. Four, it provided me the opportunity to meet my wife."

He also built "friendships that last forever," he said.

He hasn't talked to some of the men he served with for 10 or 15 years. But "you can pick up that conversation" as if they see each other all the time.

What was his time in Iraq like?

"Hot. Stress-free. I didn't have to worry about paying bills. I didn't have to worry about groceries. I just had to worry about not dying."

At least in his experience, deployment is harder on the spouse and children left behind.

Busch didn't mind his deployments. "I guess it's the adrenaline-junkie side of it," he said.

His wife, Leigh, is a North Carolina native. They have three kids, ages 20, 16 and 11.

He has experience in law enforcement as well as the military.

He spent 14 years with the Howard County Sheriff's Office, nine of them as sheriff.

Busch, who grew up near St. Libory, graduated from Northwest High School in 1998.

After he left the Marines, he worked in construction for two or three years before joining the Howard County Sheriff's Office.

As manager of the Heartland Public Shooting Park, Busch is a Hornady employee and has been since February.

"I don't think there's a better company to work for," he said.

His sole focus is the 420-acre shooting park.

Hornady has a five-year agreement to manage the shooting park, which remains city-owned property. The agreement took effect Jan. 1.

On the side, Busch shoots competitively, entering two- and three-gun events.

On Oct. 30, the Nebraska Sports Council announced that it was bringing the Cornhusker State Games' shooting sports to Grand Island.

At a news conference that day, Busch said local officials want to make the Grand Island area a shooting destination. "And how we do that is by adding other events," such as the Cornhusker State Games.

The goal is to help grow the sport and help grow the shooting park.