Courtesy Photo | 250417-N-ZZ999-1001 MIRAMAR, Calif. (April 17, 2025) - Lt. Cmdr. Jeremy Lightner,...... read more read more
Lt. Cmdr. Jeremy Lightner is a medical officer recruiter assigned to Navy Talent Acquisition Group Jacksonville, Florida. A native of Pompano Beach, Florida, who enlisted in the Navy in 2004, Lightner served in multiple roles as an aviation medical technician prior to earning his bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University and commissioning in 2011.
He has been assigned to Naval Hospitals Jacksonville, Florida, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as well as Portsmouth Naval Medical Center in Virginia. Now, he’s using his knowledge and experience to recruit the most qualified men and women to become the next generation of Navy Medicine Sailors - but that’s only half of his story.
Lightner is also an avid marksman who has been shooting competitively for 14 years.
“I started shooting early in life under the supervision of family members and bought my first rifle and shotgun at 18,” Lightner said. “I went to the gun range pretty frequently. I started honing my skills by shooting 10-inch pie plates at 100 yards, felt confident after a while, and eventually learned to shoot 5-shot groups into the size of a dime at that same distance. In 2011, I started shooting competitively.”
Over the course of the two years following competition entry, Lightner earned several awards and achieved success prior to joining the ranks of professional marksmen in 2013. Then, he had an idea to establish an official Navy team of Sailors that would focus on hitting targets while navigating obstacles - an action shooting team.
It took five years, but in 2018, Lightner and Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Shawn Buxton succeeded. The two approached the century-old, static shooting Navy Marksmanship team with their proposal and received approval to establish the action component. Lightner took the helm as director, accomplishing his first goal of joining the Army, Air Force and Marines in action shooting.
“I wanted to stand up a team to compete with the other branches,” Lightner said. “We didn’t have any representation at the time, and it was great to see it come to fruition. We launched in 2018, grew to 15 members by 2024, and we’ve continued to cultivate the team and increase the scope of the mission since. While we focus on shooting well and winning in competition settings, we’re also expanding to work with bases, ships, and other units across the Navy and bring advanced firearms training to their Sailors.”
For several units across the fleet, Lightner has used his expertise as Action Shooting Team director to increase the level of firearms instruction Sailors receive. He’s coordinated several team visits to fleet concentration areas on the east and west coasts, and is working to extend training opportunities to security and watch team leaders - so that those individuals can take the detailed, hands-on training Lightner’s team provides and share it with their peers and subordinates.
Ultimately, the spirit of competition is what drives him to cultivate Navy action shooting. Even though he hasn’t sought personal recognition for his leadership and direction, Lightner has been happy to highlight the accomplishments of his team and ensure they get the recognition they deserve - enough so that team members can now showcase that distinction on their uniforms.
“As of January 2022, we have Excellence in Competition badges that are to be worn in uniform,” Lightner said. “Once Sailors have earned excellence in competition, I approve the action badges for the entire Navy. It’s fully written in the Navy’s uniform instruction, and was previously unattainable for action shooters. I’m very proud of our team, how far we’ve come, and I’m looking forward to being a part of how far we’ll go.”
For more information about the Action Shooting Team, visit https://www.usff.navy.mil/usnmt/ and https://usnmt.org/.
Navy Talent Acquisition Group Jacksonville’s area of responsibility includes more than 30 Navy Recruiting Stations and Navy Officer Recruiting Stations spread over 144,000 square miles of Florida and Georgia.
| Date Taken: | 06.12.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.12.2025 10:54 |
| Story ID: | 500413 |
| Location: | JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA, US |
| Hometown: | POMPANO BEACH, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 193 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Medical Officer Recruiter Serves as Action Shooting Team Director, by PO1 Jackie Hart, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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