USS GUNSTON HALL, Gulf of Oman (Oct. 5, 2012) - Marines with Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, fire M-9 Beretta pistols during sustainment training on the flight deck of the USS Gunston Hall in the Gulf of Oman, Oct. 5, 2012. The 24th MEU is deployed with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force for U.S. Central Command in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.

Photo by Sgt. Richard Blumenstein

U.S. Marines packing pistols on ship

5 Oct 2012 | Sgt. Richard Blumenstein 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit

USS GUNSTON HALL, Gulf of Oman -- U.S. Marines with Combat Logistics Battalion 24, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit recently conducted a live-fire range shooting M-9 Beretta pistols on the flight deck of the USS Gunston Hall.

This type of training is typical for Marines deployed at sea and is meant to sustain their marksmanship skills with various weapons systems. Even with the added challenge of engaging their targets with the movement of the ship under their feet, the Marines stayed true to form adapting to, and overcoming, the mild nuances of firing on ship.

They engaged targets from 20, 15, and 10-yards away while donning a full combat load, while performing a myriad of drills such as speed reloads drills and failure to stop drills.

“Once you start shooting you forget you’re on ship,” said Sgt. Miguel Sosa, a Brooklyn, N.Y. native and supply warehouseman with CLB 24. “It was the same thing as firing on the ground.”