Sailors with the Naval Health Clinic Cherry Point and their families came together for a day of firing at the Cherry Point Skeet Range Sept. 27 to test their hand at shotgun skills here.

The NHC teamed up with volunteers from the Cherry Point Skeet Club to shoot clay pigeons during a trap, skeet and wobble shoot. Total membership in the club has grown each year since 2006. It now has more than 400 members and is the largest and most active club at Cherry Point.

“The Cherry Point Skeet Club is an organization set up to support the military of Cherry Point as well as the civilians and families that live here,” said Tom Bruhn, range safety officer for the Cherry Point Skeet Club. “The purpose of bringing groups like the Naval Health Clinic out here is to build camaraderie and provide a place for them to come have fun, competition and sharpen their marksmanship skills.”

Following a short safety brief and a hot lunch, the shooters divided into groups and were given shotguns lent by the club.

A trap shoot is a shotgun competition where five shooters on a line fire at clay pigeons, which are launched in separate directions, according to Bruhn. The shooters fire five shells from one location before shifting down the line to fire again at a different location. The shooters fired a total of 25 shells from five different vantage points.

Next was the wobble shoot. According to Bruhn, during a wobble shoot, competitors stand on a pyramid structure with elevated platforms and fire at targets appearing randomly from beneath them.

“Coming out to a skeet range helps sharpen the marksmanship skills of any shooter. Shooting is a sport that you can’t do enough of,” said Bruhn. “The more times you shoot, the better you’ll be; so this is a great experience for them to practice and have a good time.”

The final round was a traditional skeet shoot. Participants fired from eight different positions throughout a half circle pattern at targets appearing from several different directions.

“Our wardroom came out to the skeet range with our families for a fun, team building experience,” explained Navy Capt. John F. Ferguson, the commanding officer of the NHC. “This was an idea we had for a professional military education event because we are being trained in the safe use of fire arms and new skills.”

It is important for the NHC to incorporate different types of PME into the work environment because it builds a different type of bond and camaraderie, said Ferguson.

“Sometimes we forget that we are all human beings when we are constantly working,” said Ferguson.  “This was a chance for our team and our families to get together in a more relaxed environment and get rid of some tension while learning something new. This was our first time coming to a range like this all together, but I am looking forward to doing it again in the future.”