Members of the Army Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps program at a North Carolina high school reportedly will be able to practice shooting at the school’s indoor range.
WRAL reported the Smithfield-Selma High School JROTC opened its 1,200 square-foot, six-lane, indoor shooting range last week. The program paid for constructions with the help of donations from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
The cadets will practice shooting with Daisy pump air rifles, but must undergo extensive training before they can participate in the activities at the range.
"There’s a marksmanship safety test they have to take, and they have to get a 100 on it," Commander David Wegman told WRAL. "In addition to that, they have to sign a safety pledge, get permission from home and then finally demonstrate on the range that they know how to handle one of these air rifles safely."
Wegman insisted that the shooting range doesn’t pose a threat, despite the controversy surrounding gun violence and school shootings.
"The procedures that we have in place ensure that we do the same thing, the same way, every single time," he explained.
Only four JROTC cadets are currently trained to use the shooting range. Wegman hopes to have all seniors in the JROTC trained and certified by next fall.