A Story of One Very Brave Marine Sniper... Sergeant S., Memo

    Sergeant Memo and his spotter, Pasciuti, were both helping out with back-clearing opperations. Which is simply when the main force of marines pusshes forward, a group covers their rear so no insurgents could attack at their rear flank. Memo, Pasciuti, and a small security force went into the city of Fallujah for a regular back-clearing mission. Memo had found two buildings that looked like they would be could to use for sniping off of. A part of the security force went into one house, while Memo and a few others went over to the other to clear them. Before opening the door and going inside Memo noticed something strange and out of place. The door's glass was broken in and scattered inside the building in front of the door. Memo immediatly notticed it to be an early-detection system. He radioed to Higher asking if there were any other units in the area. About the time that he got the negative answer, yelling and AK gunfire broke out from the building the other marines were sent to clear. Memo immediatly rushed over to assist. As he cautiously entered the doorway to the second building he heard something clink against the wall and roll to his feet. He recognized it immediatly as a grenade. He tried to run before it exploded but bumped into another marine and was only able to turn to his side as the grenade exploded sending shrapnel into his right side. He realised that marines were still trapped inside and ignored any pain as he rushed back inside to help the trapped marines. Others rushed in to help pull out the injured marines while Memo frantically fired up the stairs toward the second floor, where the insurgents were. Momentarily the insurgents dissappeared from Memo's view as the marines evacuated the injured. The insurgents soon returned into view with a direct shot toward the door through the stairwell and hallway, trapping Memo and one other marine inside the building and keeping other marines from reentering. The other marine thrwe a grenade up the stairwell, however before it detonated the insurgents were able to throw it back towrds the helpless marines. it landed in front of Memo when it detonated. The shrapnel hit him in the face and arms, as he tried to cover his face. The other injured marine threw a second grenade up the stairs actually killing one gunman and surprised Memo when he made a frantic run for the door in this second, leaving Memo by himself with an unknown amount of enemy insurgents at the top of the stairs. The insurgents began to try to kill Memo by coming down the stairs, but here Memo had the upperhand, because of the stairwell, Memo was able to see the enemy's feet before the nemy ever saw him. Memo unholstered his M9 pistol. The second insurgent to walk down the stair was shot in the ankle causing him to fall down the stairs where Memo shot them. After only a few kills this way one of the insurgents caught him off gaurd and crouched to Memo's level and sprayed with his AK. Memo quickly turned and unloaded into the man. Memo felt the pain of the man's bullets hitting him hard in the chest, but thankfully, he was wearing his body armor that stopped the bullets. After a few more kills this way, Memo remembered the claymore in his bag. A claymore in a shaped and directional charge that is used as a security element that can either be detonated by the use of a trip wire or  though the use of a remote. Memo reholstered his pistol and ran out into the hallway as he through the charge with his left and detonated it with his right with the remote. He blew out part of the ceiling, and stairs which collapsed on top of Memo before he could run to the door. He was knocked unconscious, but came to quickly. He unburried himself and ran to the very nearest Humvee. When he went back he saw that reinforcements had not arrived yet and that the 50 caliber machine gun on top of the seven-ton wasn't being manned. He got into the turret and was able to lay down two progressed streams of fire in to the house he had just exited until the gun jammed. When it jammed he grabbed a marines M16 assault rifle and unloaded five full magazines into the house.  As he was fighting, the reinforcements arrived. The injured were evacuated and Memo was told to go as well, but refused the orders. Instead he grabbed another M16 and loaded his pockets with grenades and told the nearest marine to follow his lead. Memo ran over to the the other house he had originally seen the early-detection rig at. Insurgents were spotted running through the courtyard that was inbetween the houses  towards the walls. The two marines threw grenades at them but gave up their position and had grenades being thrown back at them. Moments later the marines could hear a tank coming their way. The tank pulled into the driveway towards the insurgent filled house and unloaded on the two houses. And then, just a few moments later, all the marines were ordered to evacuate, because fighter jets were inbound to bomb the houses and surrounding houses. Once safely at base Memo learned that there were 18 bodies found inside the house he was trapped in. He had recieved a stress fracture to his right hip from the cieling landing on him, a class 3 concussion, and broken sternum from the three AK bullets that were found lodged in his chest plate. He had 18 pieces of shrapnel removed from his leg, 6 from his right arm, and four from his face. This just goes to show the true valor and bravery that the marine sniper has.

Sniper's Concealment: The Ghillie Suit

   One of the most intimidating things about the sniper, is how well they can conceal themselves from the enemy. The sniper adapts to whatever enviroment their certain situation puts them in. One of the snipers most useful tools of the trade to help them in their hiding, is the ghillie (prenounced Gi-lee) suit. This suit is made up of dyed burlap or jute that matches the color of of the enviroment that the sniper is hunting in. The ghillie suit breaks up the outline of the human body and makes it near impossible to spot the sniper.

This is a woodland bushrag ghillie suit.

Here a light colored ghillie keeps the sniper virtually undetectable from the enemy eye.

    The term ghillie came from Scottish follore from a from a tree spirit called "Ghillie Dhu." This spirit had the ability to conceal itself in different types of vegetation like tress and banches. The Scottish gamekeepers were the ones that originally used the ghillie suit as a way of staying hidden. Then during the Second Boer War, a unit in the British army became the first to actually deploy the ghille suit through the specific role of sniping in 1916. Not the ghillie suit if used all over the world by snipers and is the ultimite in concealment.

Top Sniper

Snipers Elite

93 Confirmed Kills

   As in anything else, be it sports, science, or something else, there is always that one person that is considered to be the best in their field. The same goes for the military and sniping. During the Vietnam War, a man racked up an incredible tally of 93 confirmed kills; that means that while he had a spotter with him and watching, he's killed 93 hostile Viet Cong. He also had several hundred unconfirmed, seeing as he liked to work alone most of the time. This man is Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock.
   Carlos Hathcock was sent over to Vietnam as part of the new Scout/Sniper program. He was chosen above many for his far superior shooting skills. On the Marine Corps shooting course, he scored 248 points out of a possible 250. Soon after being sent into Vietnam, he began to rack up an incredible tally on the North Vietnamese Army (NVA), who were quick in setting a bounty on his head of a three years salary, which was speculated to be about $10,000 at the time.
   Sergeant Hathcock was instantly recognizable for the white feather that was held in the band around his boonie hat. He acquired the feather shortly after arriving on his first tour of duty. He noticed a man outside of a hut from his position carrying a weapon. He sent one well aimed shot down range and killed the man. Later, after walking past the man, the rifle that was lying on the ground was pointing to a white feather just a foot away from the muzzle. He picked it up and tucked it away in the band on his hat. This forever became his personal sign. The NVA new him only as "Long Tr'ang de K'ich" which translates to "The White Feather Sniper."

   Unfortunately, during his second tour in Vietnam, the amtrac that he was in ran over a land mine that exploded sending the amtrac straight up bursting into flames. Being the only one left conscious, Hathcock put his comrades before himself and got everyone else out of the burning amtrac. He suffered 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree burns on 85% of his body. He was immediately flown out of Vietnam and was sent home having to receive multiple skin grafts. This was soon to end his career as a Marine along with his multiple sclerosis. Just 55 days short of his 20 years of service, Hathcock was deemed medically 100% disabled and was forced to retire. During his career as a marine he was accredited to 93 confirmed kills, several hundred unconfirmed, and he was to later receive the Purple Heart, Silver Star, and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal. Unfortunately his terminal multiple sclerosis ended his life February 23, 1999. However today he is still a sniping legend that all snipers today strive to be like.

Sniper Weapon Systems

So what is the Sniper's weapon? Well, duh, the sniper rifle. But what exactly is a sniper rifle?
Snipers throughout time have used a very large variety of weapons to suit their specific wants and needs. During World War I and II the sniper rifle was really nothing more than the standard bolt-action or semi-automatic rifle with a teloscopic sight mounted on top. Getting into the Korean War there still wasn't a demand for the role of sniping leaving a gap in the sniper's arsenal. Most of them again just used the same, standard issue rifles with telescopic sights on them. Some preferred the slower, more accurate bolt-action guns, obvioiusly due to the accuracy involved with the far fewer moving parts than the semi-automatic guns. Moving on into the Vietnam War snipers finally started to really get recognized. They were finally given their own training school and were able to carry out specific sniping missions. This was one of the most effective ways of combatting the guerilla warfare used by the Viet Cong. The arsenal for these snipers was very large indeed now. It all really just depended on the type of mission being run. For missions where great range was needed and there wasn't a need to be ditching quickly or any instant threats, the Browning M2 50 Caliber machine gun was used with a mounted telescopic sight. With its slow rate of fire, single shots could be fired with ease making it a very formittable weapon. Another popular weapon was the Remmington Model 70 and Model 700. A favorite of the Viet Congs' was the Russian designed Mosin Nagant. It fired a much smalled round than either the Model 70 or 700 and consequently was easily outranged.
    Now for the fun. Today's current snipers use a great variety of weaponry. The sniper rifles used today are the standard M40A4 for the Marines and the M24A3 for the Army. These weapons are bother based almost exclusively on the Model 700. However there are also new "Anti-Material" guns being used now as well. These big bore guns shoot the 12.7mm round compared to the standard 7.62mm. This is the big 50 caliber gun. The 50 caliber sniper rifle in service right now is the M82A1, which is used by the Marines and the Army uses the identical twin brother of it designated the M107.

Here you can really see the difference in size of the standard rounds. The one on the left is the standard 223 round fired in all of the standard M4 assault rifles. The middle is the .338 Lapua which is another standard round found in a lot of sniper rifles. The one on the right is the Big 50. This is the anti material round used in the M82A1 and in the M107.
(Photo coutesy of "Bayou Renaissance Man" 's Blog post)

This is the Marines prized 50 caliber sniper rifle, the M82A1

This was the often used Remmington Model 700 of the Vietnam War.

What is a Sniper?

    The Sniper is a very important role in the military. It is you synonymous with precision killing and being the ultimate in stealth. What the definition of a sniper is, is still a debate. The term "Sniper" has been used pretty loosely in the past, however today the sniper is a very highly recognized and highly trained and skilled individual. Snipers in the past were really no more than marksmen or sharpshooters. They started to come about really as soon as the first firearms conflict came around. However there is reason for many to believe that the very first sniper came around during Da Vinci's time. In fact, it is Leonardo himself. The is reason to believe that Leonardo da Vinci produced his own firearm with his own design of a telescopic sight on it to increase the image size and to increase effectiveness. Apparently he stood on the edge of his hometown, Florence, Italy firing some 300 yards at enemy soldiers with his custom Wheelock design.
    Today the Sniper is a very highly trained individual who has highly tuned in senses, who delivers trained and precise rifle fire from long ranges and highly concealed positions. This may sound like a mouthful, but is incredibly simple. Basically, the sniper kills, with one shot, at long ranges, without ever been spotted or having the enemy knowing he was there. There goal is to kill, without the enemy knowing anything other that the person next to them is dead and on the ground and they don't know how, from where, or what is to happen next, but usually they don't have to worry about the whats going to happen next part too long...
   Snipers training is unlike any other specialty training in any services. It fits the needs and profile of the sniper as an individual. During their several week course, snipers learn to be dead-accurate at ranges surpassing 1,000 yards, and not unusually, 1,500 yards, with a sniper rifle. They learn the importance of concealment and they learn how to stalk an enemy without ever being spotted.

Can you spot the two man sniper team? The distance is a mere 5 feet to them. 

The Sniper truly the "Master of terrain, technology, and timing. He is a Hunter of Human Prey. And the military's most feared fighter." Sniper- Adrian Gilbert