USA Today Sniper cover story

reed11b

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http://www.usatoday.com/news/milita...nipers-warfare-technology-training/54845142/1

From the Text
A precision weapon
U.S. commanders typically describe counterinsurgency as improving government and the economy and protecting the population. But killing hard-core elements of the insurgency helps persuade the population to join the winning side, military analysts say.
Snipers are ideally suited for that. "It's a lot easier to win hearts and minds when you're doing surgical operations (instead of) taking out entire villages," said LeRoy Brink, a civilian instructor at the Fort Benning school.
Snipers have another advantage. They wear on the enemy's psyche, producing an impact disproportionate to their size. "It takes the fight out of them," Marine Col. Tim Armstrong, commander of the Weapons Training Battalion at Quantico, said of the impact on the enemy.
Snipers will play a prominent role as the military reshapes itself into a more agile force after Iraq and Afghanistan. In a new strategy unveiled in January, the Pentagon said it planned on building a smaller, more expeditionary military force and would expand America's capabilities to train indigenous forces over the next several years.
Snipers fit well into that concept, said Andrew Krepinevich, president of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. "They've proven to … have had substantial payoff in terms of military effectiveness. They will continue to be valued."
Refinements in training and advancements in technology have proved a deadly combination for snipers.
"It's much more of a science now," said Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Eggers, a leader at the Army's sniper course at Fort Benning. "Understanding the technology, better understanding of ballistics — that is what has really changed the game."
In recent years, snipers have been armed with handheld ballistic computers that calculate the effects of air pressure and other atmospherics on a bullet's trajectory. Optics and rifles have also improved accuracy. The Marine Corps assembles its own bolt-action sniper rifles to exacting standards here at Quantico.
Typically, a well-equipped sniper in World War II could be expected to hit a human target with a single shot at about 600 yards in favorable conditions and during daylight. Today, snipers can typically hit targets at twice that range from more than half a mile away and at night, said Bryan Litz, a ballistics expert at Berger Bullets who has done military contract work.

Interesting to see snipers getting mainstream press. Think this will help the community when the budget crunch comes around?
Reed
 
Think this will help the community when the budget crunch comes around?
Reed

Nope, I see the funds being used up on completely retarded ass shit, by shit-bird officers not giving two shits about a sniper sections. I see school slots being used as re-enlistment tools, and equipment becoming broken, missing pieces and more or less inoperable until the next big war…

Sorry for the honest opinion. :-/
 
What community? In the army at least sniper is not an MOS, it is a skill identifier, which means there is no sense of a command to help you out. So I would say that having media exposure will help you approximately 0.

In the Corps it is a actual MOS, but I agree with what you say, media exposure isn't the greatest thing for a community like that. The S/S I knew in the Corps were pretty well professional but also quiet, humble guys who did their jobs well and that's it, and preferred to not work in the spotlight.
 
Typically, a well-equipped sniper in World War II could be expected to hit a human target with a single shot at about 600 yards in favorable conditions and during daylight. Today, snipers can typically hit targets at twice that range from more than half a mile away and at night, said Bryan Litz, a ballistics expert at Berger Bullets who has done military contract work.
Bryan Litz has seen Sniper a couple times too many. Really? 1,200m at night? 1,200m during the day is a stretch. It'd be especially hard with military weapons, and I don't know what kind of night optic we're supposedly using to do that.
 
Bryan Litz has seen Sniper a couple times too many. Really? 1,200m at night? 1,200m during the day is a stretch. It'd be especially hard with military weapons, and I don't know what kind of night optic we're supposedly using to do that.

I'm no expert but as far as I can recall Marine Sniper used 10x scopes and Army Snipers used 8x scopes in ww2, so long range shots in the area you describe would have been hard.
 
I'm no expert but as far as I can recall Marine Sniper used 10x scopes and Army Snipers used 8x scopes in ww2, so long range shots in the area you describe would have been hard.

The standard issue scope in early WWII was 2.2x with the M73 scope that was upgraded but not with magnification. There was a bigger one but I cant recall/find details on it right now.


*edited to correct technical details
 
The standard issue scope in early WWII was 2.5x with the M73 scope that was upgraded but not with magnification. There was a bigger one but I cant recall/find details on it right now.

The only info I can find is that the Weaver 330 or 330C (which became the M73/ M81/ M82) was used, the only difference between the variants were things like reticle type or a sunshade. All, to include the M84 (which wasn't issued until March or so of 1945) were 2.2x.

The Marines used a 7.8x Unertl scope on their rifles while the Army had the 2.2x listed above.

http://www.snipercountry.com/Articles/SpringfieldM1903.asp

http://olive-drab.com/od_other_firearms_rifle_m1903a4.php
 
Yeah, one of the Unertls was a 7.8 or 8x, something like that. The big problem was that it had a crosshair reticle, so range estimation was a guessing game.
 
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