TAMPA —
Veterans suffering from wounds physical and mental can find healing diversion through special sports shooting events offered in Tampa.
But one program sponsoring these events is under review because of the shooting death this month of former Navy SEAL Chris Kyle at a Texas gun range. The suspect is a former Marine whom Kyle tried to help.
Security checks and other measures in place here make it unlikely something similar could happen in Tampa, say those who run the programs.
And the slaying hasn’t dampened interest in the events, said Scott Neil, a retired Green Beret who runs some of the local sports shooting events.
But he’s concerned about restrictions that may arise from it.
“Looking at the circumstances surrounding what happened to Chris Kyle, it is a caution to everyone else,” says Neil, 45, who retired two years ago after 25 years with the Army.
“Guys are starting to talk about not seeking help. They don’t want to admit to the problem and risk having their guns taken away. This is spooking the herd.”
In the wake of the Texas slayings and other events, the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital is reviewing an adaptive sports program that includes shooting events for those with post-traumatic stress syndrome, a hospital spokeswoman said.
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Taking guns out of the hands of sports shooting enthusiasts who are stable enough to be around weapons, Neil says, would be a real loss.
During his five tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, Neil saw death and destruction and was diagnosed with PTSD. The shooting events, he says, are therapeutic.
“It’s a peer activity we enjoyed when we were soldiers,” says Neil, helped create a course teaching law enforcement officers how to deal with veterans.
“It is a place that is familiar with the guys who don’t want to talk about their issues. But once they get out there, they start sharing their stories. It’s the same thing with group therapy. It’s why Alcoholics Anonymous is so successful.”
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Investigators say Kyle, 38, and Chad Littlefield, 35, were killed by Eddie Ray Routh at the Rough Creek Lodge shooting range, about 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth.
Routh, 25, eventually was arrested and told authorities he was suffering from PTSD.
To prevent trouble, Tampa sports shooting events use security measures that start even before a veteran gets to the range.
“Number one, we pretty much know the veterans we are encountering and bring out,” says Neil, who, as a Green Beret spent years teaching foreign troops how to use weapons.
They also are vetted by Dave Winters, a retired Air Force senior master sergeant who runs the Black Dagger Military Hunt Club. The club holds several sports shooting events in the area for wounded veterans, and Winters works with Haley’s adaptive sports program to find wounded veterans considered safe around guns.
“We work with veterans who have traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries and PTSD,” says Winters, whose full-time job is with U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa. “All are cleared through the doctors and therapists.”
Neil and Winters have instituted several range safety measures, many of which Neil learned while teaching foreign troops how to use weapons.
Anyone who intends to pick up a weapon —even those who have fired guns for a living — must first undergo a safety briefing., even those who fired guns for a living.
All access to ammunition is tightly controlled.
“There are range safety officers for each shooter and people backing them up,” Winters says. “All firing is strictly coordinated, and there are stringent rules on weapons handling.”
Aside from the camaraderie, Neil says the act of range shooting — proper breathing, sighting the target, aiming and firing — offers a level of concentration and reward that can help instill confidence.
There is another benefit, he says.
All those participating are assigned jobs if they are able to perform them.
“We are not in the mindset of a pity party,” says Neil. “Our guys are assigned tasks, just like in the military. ‘Load this, unpack that.’ This is not a celebration that you are wounded.”