Title: SNIPERS
Description: In Detail
Description: In Detail
flipzi - October 9, 2004 08:21 AM (GMT)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sniper
:sniper:
Sniper
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The traditional definition of a sniper is an infantry soldier especially skilled in field craft and marksmanship who stalks and kills selected enemy with a single aimed rifle shot.
The word originates from the snipe, a game bird difficult for hunters to sneak up on.
In the last few decades the term 'sniper' has been used rather loosely, especially by the media in association with police precision riflemen, those responsible for assassination, any shooting from all but the shortest range in war and any criminal equipped with a rifle in a civil context. This has rather expanded the general understanding of the meaning of the term. It has also given the term 'sniper' distinctly pejorative connotations. This explains the increasing use of alternative terms, especially for police snipers such as counter-sniper, precision marksman, tactical marksman, sharpshooter and precision shooter.
Snipers in warfare
Different countries have different military doctrines regarding snipers in Military units, settings, and tactics. Generally, a sniper's goal in warfare is to reduce the enemy's ability to fight by carefully striking a very few, high value targets.
Russian and derived military doctrines include squad-level "snipers," which may be called "sharpshooters" or "designated riflemen" in other doctrines (see below). They do so because this ability was lost to ordinary troops when assault rifles (which are optimized for close-in, rapid-fire combat) were adopted.
Russian military doctrine uses snipers for long-distance suppressive fire and targets of opportunity, especially leaders. During World War II the Soviets found that military organizations find it hard to replace experienced non-commissioned officers and field officers in a war. They also found that the more expensive and delicate sniper rifles could match the cost-effectiveness of a cheaper assault rifle given good personnel selection, training, and adherence to doctrine. Additionally, they found that sniper duties fit women well, since good snipers are patient, careful, deliberate, can avoid hand-to-hand combat, and need higher levels of aerobic conditioning than other troops.
Military snipers from the U.S., U.K. and derived doctrines are typically deployed in two man teams consisting of a shooter and spotter; the spotter is usually the more experienced of the two.
Typical sniper missions include reconnaissance or scouting and surveillance, anti-sniper, killing enemy commanders, selecting targets of opportunity, and even anti-materiel tasks (destruction of military equipment), which tend to require use of rifles in the larger calibres such as .50 BMG and .338 Lapua. Snipers have of late been increasingly demonstrated as useful by U.S. and U.K. forces in the recent Iraq campaign in a fire support role to cover the movement of infantry, especially in urban areas.
The current record for longest range sniper kill is 2,430 m (7,972 ft), reportedly accomplished by a Canadian sniper in 2002, during the invasion of Afghanistan, using a .50BMG MacMillian bolt-action rifle. This meant that the round had a flight time of four seconds, and a drop of 146 feet. The previous record was held by Carlos Hathcock, achieved during the Vietnam War, at a distance of 2,250 m.
Such a shot cannot be taken in haste. By contrast, much of the U.S./Coalition urban sniping in support of operations in Iraq is at much shorter ranges, although, in one notable incident on April 3, 2003, a two man team of Royal Marines armed with L96 sniper rifles each killed at a range of about 860m with shots which curved 56ft in the air.
In the Bosnian War, and for much of the Siege of Beirut, the term sniper was used to refer to what were generally ill-trained soldiers who terrorized civilians. During the Siege of Sarajevo, the main street of the city became known as "Sniper Alley".
In urban combat against Soviet tank forces, some opposing forces successfully massed groups of three-person teams, each comprising one sniper, another team member with an assault rifle or machine gun, and one with an antitank weapon such as a RPG. These swarms of small units were reported to be quite effective, though they sustained high casualties.
[edit]
Police snipers
Police forces typically deploy snipers in hostage scenarios. They are trained to shoot only as a last resort, when there is a direct threat to life from a felon. Police snipers typically operate at much shorter ranges than military snipers, generally under 100 metres and sometimes even less than 50 metres.
Police snipers are typically trained to shoot for the cerebellum, a walnut-sized part of the brain. The intent is that with this motor-controlling brain element destroyed, the target will be prevented from detonating an explosive device or pulling a trigger.
Police snipers do not generally attempt to shoot to incapacitate; when they shoot, they shoot to kill, though there have been some notable exceptions with varying success.
In peacetime, police snipers like those of the FBI's Critical Intervention Resources Group (e.g. the Hostage Rescue Team) typically serve longer in the role, receive more training, and get more operational experience than military snipers.
[edit]
Sniper training
While good equipment is helpful, it is training which makes the sniper. Military sniper training tries to teach a high degree of proficiency in camouflage and concealment, stalking and observation as well as precision marksmanship under wide operational conditions.
Snipers are generally volunteers accepted for sniper training on the basis of their aptitude as perceived by their commanders. Sniper trainees typically shoot a couple thousand rounds over a number of weeks. The training teaches core skills of camouflage, concealment, moving tactically over terrain, observation and rifle-shooting under varying conditions. Military snipers may be trained as FACs (Forward Air Controllers) to direct military air strikes, in artillery target indication and as mortar fire controllers.
Snipers are trained to squeeze the trigger straight back with the ball of their finger, to avoid jerking the gun sideways. The most accurate position is prone, with a bipod supporting the barrel, and the stock's cheek-piece against the cheek. Sometimes a sling is wrapped around the weak arm to reduce stock movement. Some doctrines may train a sniper to shoot between breaths or even between heartbeats to minimize barrel motion.
The range to the target is measured or estimated as precisely as conditions permit. Laser rangefinders may be used. At longer ranges, the bullet drop is estimated from a chart which may be memorised or taped to the rifle. The sights are adjusted accordingly. Shooting uphill or downhill can require more adjustment, either by "holding off" by eye, or "dialing in" to the scope. The slant of visible convections near the ground can be used to estimate crosswinds, and correct the point of aim. The point of aim is in front of moving targets. Anticipating the behavior of the target helps place the shot.
..............
SEE ALL HERE
:snipemo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sniper
:sniper:
Sniper
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The traditional definition of a sniper is an infantry soldier especially skilled in field craft and marksmanship who stalks and kills selected enemy with a single aimed rifle shot.
The word originates from the snipe, a game bird difficult for hunters to sneak up on.
In the last few decades the term 'sniper' has been used rather loosely, especially by the media in association with police precision riflemen, those responsible for assassination, any shooting from all but the shortest range in war and any criminal equipped with a rifle in a civil context. This has rather expanded the general understanding of the meaning of the term. It has also given the term 'sniper' distinctly pejorative connotations. This explains the increasing use of alternative terms, especially for police snipers such as counter-sniper, precision marksman, tactical marksman, sharpshooter and precision shooter.
Snipers in warfare
Different countries have different military doctrines regarding snipers in Military units, settings, and tactics. Generally, a sniper's goal in warfare is to reduce the enemy's ability to fight by carefully striking a very few, high value targets.
Russian and derived military doctrines include squad-level "snipers," which may be called "sharpshooters" or "designated riflemen" in other doctrines (see below). They do so because this ability was lost to ordinary troops when assault rifles (which are optimized for close-in, rapid-fire combat) were adopted.
Russian military doctrine uses snipers for long-distance suppressive fire and targets of opportunity, especially leaders. During World War II the Soviets found that military organizations find it hard to replace experienced non-commissioned officers and field officers in a war. They also found that the more expensive and delicate sniper rifles could match the cost-effectiveness of a cheaper assault rifle given good personnel selection, training, and adherence to doctrine. Additionally, they found that sniper duties fit women well, since good snipers are patient, careful, deliberate, can avoid hand-to-hand combat, and need higher levels of aerobic conditioning than other troops.
Military snipers from the U.S., U.K. and derived doctrines are typically deployed in two man teams consisting of a shooter and spotter; the spotter is usually the more experienced of the two.
Typical sniper missions include reconnaissance or scouting and surveillance, anti-sniper, killing enemy commanders, selecting targets of opportunity, and even anti-materiel tasks (destruction of military equipment), which tend to require use of rifles in the larger calibres such as .50 BMG and .338 Lapua. Snipers have of late been increasingly demonstrated as useful by U.S. and U.K. forces in the recent Iraq campaign in a fire support role to cover the movement of infantry, especially in urban areas.
The current record for longest range sniper kill is 2,430 m (7,972 ft), reportedly accomplished by a Canadian sniper in 2002, during the invasion of Afghanistan, using a .50BMG MacMillian bolt-action rifle. This meant that the round had a flight time of four seconds, and a drop of 146 feet. The previous record was held by Carlos Hathcock, achieved during the Vietnam War, at a distance of 2,250 m.
Such a shot cannot be taken in haste. By contrast, much of the U.S./Coalition urban sniping in support of operations in Iraq is at much shorter ranges, although, in one notable incident on April 3, 2003, a two man team of Royal Marines armed with L96 sniper rifles each killed at a range of about 860m with shots which curved 56ft in the air.
In the Bosnian War, and for much of the Siege of Beirut, the term sniper was used to refer to what were generally ill-trained soldiers who terrorized civilians. During the Siege of Sarajevo, the main street of the city became known as "Sniper Alley".
In urban combat against Soviet tank forces, some opposing forces successfully massed groups of three-person teams, each comprising one sniper, another team member with an assault rifle or machine gun, and one with an antitank weapon such as a RPG. These swarms of small units were reported to be quite effective, though they sustained high casualties.
[edit]
Police snipers
Police forces typically deploy snipers in hostage scenarios. They are trained to shoot only as a last resort, when there is a direct threat to life from a felon. Police snipers typically operate at much shorter ranges than military snipers, generally under 100 metres and sometimes even less than 50 metres.
Police snipers are typically trained to shoot for the cerebellum, a walnut-sized part of the brain. The intent is that with this motor-controlling brain element destroyed, the target will be prevented from detonating an explosive device or pulling a trigger.
Police snipers do not generally attempt to shoot to incapacitate; when they shoot, they shoot to kill, though there have been some notable exceptions with varying success.
In peacetime, police snipers like those of the FBI's Critical Intervention Resources Group (e.g. the Hostage Rescue Team) typically serve longer in the role, receive more training, and get more operational experience than military snipers.
[edit]
Sniper training
While good equipment is helpful, it is training which makes the sniper. Military sniper training tries to teach a high degree of proficiency in camouflage and concealment, stalking and observation as well as precision marksmanship under wide operational conditions.
Snipers are generally volunteers accepted for sniper training on the basis of their aptitude as perceived by their commanders. Sniper trainees typically shoot a couple thousand rounds over a number of weeks. The training teaches core skills of camouflage, concealment, moving tactically over terrain, observation and rifle-shooting under varying conditions. Military snipers may be trained as FACs (Forward Air Controllers) to direct military air strikes, in artillery target indication and as mortar fire controllers.
Snipers are trained to squeeze the trigger straight back with the ball of their finger, to avoid jerking the gun sideways. The most accurate position is prone, with a bipod supporting the barrel, and the stock's cheek-piece against the cheek. Sometimes a sling is wrapped around the weak arm to reduce stock movement. Some doctrines may train a sniper to shoot between breaths or even between heartbeats to minimize barrel motion.
The range to the target is measured or estimated as precisely as conditions permit. Laser rangefinders may be used. At longer ranges, the bullet drop is estimated from a chart which may be memorised or taped to the rifle. The sights are adjusted accordingly. Shooting uphill or downhill can require more adjustment, either by "holding off" by eye, or "dialing in" to the scope. The slant of visible convections near the ground can be used to estimate crosswinds, and correct the point of aim. The point of aim is in front of moving targets. Anticipating the behavior of the target helps place the shot.
..............
SEE ALL HERE
:snipemo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sniper
adroth - February 16, 2006 05:06 PM (GMT)
With the advent of games like Counter Strike, the term "head shot" has become a coveted badge of skill. Books and movies also romanticize the sinper's motto: "One shot, one kill".
But how many here really understand the consequences of those terms? See below
http://tuku.military.china.com/military/ht...02-15/26122.htm
(Warning, this photo can be very disturbing)
But how many here really understand the consequences of those terms? See below
http://tuku.military.china.com/military/ht...02-15/26122.htm
(Warning, this photo can be very disturbing)
Yaberdaber - February 16, 2006 05:38 PM (GMT)
A sniper shot to the head means the closest possibility of killing the other person. This is no surprise, even the Iraqi insurgent snipers are aiming at heads now when they have a chance at coalition forces.
epigone - February 16, 2006 11:38 PM (GMT)
Kung talagang madadale ako, mas gusto ko na ng one snap gaya ng victim ng sniper. Hindi mo na mararamdaman. Keysa, makidnap ako, tapos transported sa North Korea via shipping lines. Tapos gugulpehin ako, tapos pahinga. Tapos pakakainin ka. Kapag lumakas ka, titirahin ka ng tubo sa ulo. Tapos pagagalingin. Tapos pag makuha nilang maawa sa iyo at tepokin ka na, unti-unting ipapasok ang ice pick sa tenga mo. Tapos tatanungin ka ni Kristo. "Gusto na kitang kunin dito sa aking Kaharian. Pupuwede ba, anak? " Sasagot ako, gaya ni Joe Quirino, "Take it away, Jess!" lol
saver111 - February 17, 2006 05:08 AM (GMT)
How about this sniper shot? VC got this USMC's M-14 barrel.
saver111 - May 4, 2006 11:43 AM (GMT)
Greetings from the ‘Ramadi Inn’
U.S. snipers protect strategic road in deadly city
RAMADI, Iraq - On the roof of a ruined hotel-turned-observation post nicknamed “the Ramadi Inn,” two U.S. snipers listen to Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” on an iPod and watch a firefight through holes knocked out of a penthouse wall.
Marines at another sandbagged outpost up the road are firing grenades at insurgents, sending clouds of smoke rising above a hazy midday skyline of rusting water towers, minarets and an exquisite blue-domed mosque.
“It’s a never-ending war,” says one of the snipers, 22-year-old Spc. Jarrod York of Mansfield, Pa., as explosions boom in the distance.
Ramadi, populated by Sunni Arabs 70 miles west of Baghdad, is the most dangerous city in Iraq for U.S. forces. Commanders say there are more insurgent attacks here than anywhere else in the country, with militants and American troops exchanging fire several times a day — at least.
Mission: Secure Route Michigan
American troops seized “the Ramadi Inn,” known officially as OP Hotel, in 2004 to protect a road through the heart of the city. Two years later, they are using the building and others like it to secure Route Michigan, a key supply road for U.S. forces.
This four-story structure is one of the tallest in town, offering panoramic views over an urban wasteland crawling with insurgents. The troops say the militants are also watching them — casing their positions in vehicles, peeking around corners, looking from afar through binoculars and video cameras.
It’s difficult to imagine the hotel ever had a place in Ramadi’s hospitality industry. Rocket blasts have pummeled the building, a truck bomb nearly destroyed it and human hands have stripped it bare of furnishings.
The rooms on one dusty, darkened floor have been converted into sandbagged machine-gun nests manned by U.S. and Iraqi forces.
‘Nothing’s normal’
With boxes of ammunition and spent bullet casings at their feet, troops sit with binoculars 24 hours a day. They brace for attacks, watch for guerrillas and keep an eye out for battles — muzzle-flashes, explosions, plumes of smoke.
“We watch for anything that’s not normal. But nothing’s normal around this place,” said Spc. Joe Sommer, 20, of Lawrenceville, Ga., his belt-fed machine-gun poking out a hallway window.
Past dreary halls draped with camouflage nets, soldiers sleep in cot-crammed quarters with no electricity, running water, phones or Internet.
Iraqi forces arrived a couple weeks ago and sleep on their own floor. A few promptly installed a satellite on the roof so they could watch TV in their rooms.
Every window has been sealed with leaking sandbags. Troops joke the weight of the bags may bring down the building. Scrawled on one wall: “Ramadi Inn, aka OP Sandbag.”
Darkness at noon
Only a few rooms have generator-driven fluorescent lights: the command center and a kitchen stacked with military rations. A few rays of sunlight stream in during the day, but the darkness “makes you feel like you’re living in a cave,” said Army Lt. Nicholas Goshen, 24, of Cleveland.
Ringed by trash, blast walls and razor wire, the hotel’s crumbling brown balconies and boarded windows are covered by chicken-wire fencing that hangs from the roof to help deflect shoulder-fired grenades.
Exchanges of fire have wasted most surrounding buildings and forced nearby residents to flee.
“It’s sad, but this hotel is critical to keeping Route Michigan open,” Goshen said, looking at vacant, bullet-sprayed shops across the street.
The snipers are stationed in a small enclosed room called the penthouse, which is on the roof.
Snipers' work
Sgt. 1st Class Britt Ruble, platoon commander for Charlie Company of the Army’s 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, said snipers had “taken out quite a few people digging in alleys” — planting roadside bombs — in the past year.
Ruble said rocket-propelled grenades struck the hotel at least 10 times in recent months, one of which hit the wall above Spc. Richard Cruz, 27, of Los Angeles.
“It knocked him back off his gun, but he got right back up and kept shooting,” Ruble said.
Soldiers said bullets flew through the windows during that gunbattle in March, ricocheting off walls. One round hit an American soldier in the ankle; a medic found the 7.62 mm slug in his boot.
After that, “we took the sandbags all the way to the ceiling, doubled ’em, made ’em so we can actually fight from ’em,” Ruble said.
Black marks and chips on the walls and ceilings bear testament to such stories, but soldiers say it is quieter here now than it had been — and quieter than other Marine-manned outposts along Michigan that are attacked daily.
Creature comforts, absent friends
When not on guard duty, troops read, play hand-held video games or write letters. On Sunday, a few watched “The Greatest Wrestling Stars of the 80s” on a laptop. Hot meals arrive in plastic containers once a day. Sometimes breakfast and even ice cream are thrown in.
But luxury it is not. On some walls the words “never forgotten” are written beside the names of fallen soldiers.
Goshen said he tries to call his girlfriend before going on a four-day stint at the hotel. This time, coming off another mission, he had no time.
“She knows I’m guarding a hotel, but she probably thinks it’s a nice hotel and I live in a room. She doesn’t understand,” he said. “My family would probably get a little scared if they saw what this place looks like.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12581191/
U.S. snipers protect strategic road in deadly city
RAMADI, Iraq - On the roof of a ruined hotel-turned-observation post nicknamed “the Ramadi Inn,” two U.S. snipers listen to Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” on an iPod and watch a firefight through holes knocked out of a penthouse wall.
Marines at another sandbagged outpost up the road are firing grenades at insurgents, sending clouds of smoke rising above a hazy midday skyline of rusting water towers, minarets and an exquisite blue-domed mosque.
“It’s a never-ending war,” says one of the snipers, 22-year-old Spc. Jarrod York of Mansfield, Pa., as explosions boom in the distance.
Ramadi, populated by Sunni Arabs 70 miles west of Baghdad, is the most dangerous city in Iraq for U.S. forces. Commanders say there are more insurgent attacks here than anywhere else in the country, with militants and American troops exchanging fire several times a day — at least.
Mission: Secure Route Michigan
American troops seized “the Ramadi Inn,” known officially as OP Hotel, in 2004 to protect a road through the heart of the city. Two years later, they are using the building and others like it to secure Route Michigan, a key supply road for U.S. forces.
This four-story structure is one of the tallest in town, offering panoramic views over an urban wasteland crawling with insurgents. The troops say the militants are also watching them — casing their positions in vehicles, peeking around corners, looking from afar through binoculars and video cameras.
It’s difficult to imagine the hotel ever had a place in Ramadi’s hospitality industry. Rocket blasts have pummeled the building, a truck bomb nearly destroyed it and human hands have stripped it bare of furnishings.
The rooms on one dusty, darkened floor have been converted into sandbagged machine-gun nests manned by U.S. and Iraqi forces.
‘Nothing’s normal’
With boxes of ammunition and spent bullet casings at their feet, troops sit with binoculars 24 hours a day. They brace for attacks, watch for guerrillas and keep an eye out for battles — muzzle-flashes, explosions, plumes of smoke.
“We watch for anything that’s not normal. But nothing’s normal around this place,” said Spc. Joe Sommer, 20, of Lawrenceville, Ga., his belt-fed machine-gun poking out a hallway window.
Past dreary halls draped with camouflage nets, soldiers sleep in cot-crammed quarters with no electricity, running water, phones or Internet.
Iraqi forces arrived a couple weeks ago and sleep on their own floor. A few promptly installed a satellite on the roof so they could watch TV in their rooms.
Every window has been sealed with leaking sandbags. Troops joke the weight of the bags may bring down the building. Scrawled on one wall: “Ramadi Inn, aka OP Sandbag.”
Darkness at noon
Only a few rooms have generator-driven fluorescent lights: the command center and a kitchen stacked with military rations. A few rays of sunlight stream in during the day, but the darkness “makes you feel like you’re living in a cave,” said Army Lt. Nicholas Goshen, 24, of Cleveland.
Ringed by trash, blast walls and razor wire, the hotel’s crumbling brown balconies and boarded windows are covered by chicken-wire fencing that hangs from the roof to help deflect shoulder-fired grenades.
Exchanges of fire have wasted most surrounding buildings and forced nearby residents to flee.
“It’s sad, but this hotel is critical to keeping Route Michigan open,” Goshen said, looking at vacant, bullet-sprayed shops across the street.
The snipers are stationed in a small enclosed room called the penthouse, which is on the roof.
Snipers' work
Sgt. 1st Class Britt Ruble, platoon commander for Charlie Company of the Army’s 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, said snipers had “taken out quite a few people digging in alleys” — planting roadside bombs — in the past year.
Ruble said rocket-propelled grenades struck the hotel at least 10 times in recent months, one of which hit the wall above Spc. Richard Cruz, 27, of Los Angeles.
“It knocked him back off his gun, but he got right back up and kept shooting,” Ruble said.
Soldiers said bullets flew through the windows during that gunbattle in March, ricocheting off walls. One round hit an American soldier in the ankle; a medic found the 7.62 mm slug in his boot.
After that, “we took the sandbags all the way to the ceiling, doubled ’em, made ’em so we can actually fight from ’em,” Ruble said.
Black marks and chips on the walls and ceilings bear testament to such stories, but soldiers say it is quieter here now than it had been — and quieter than other Marine-manned outposts along Michigan that are attacked daily.
Creature comforts, absent friends
When not on guard duty, troops read, play hand-held video games or write letters. On Sunday, a few watched “The Greatest Wrestling Stars of the 80s” on a laptop. Hot meals arrive in plastic containers once a day. Sometimes breakfast and even ice cream are thrown in.
But luxury it is not. On some walls the words “never forgotten” are written beside the names of fallen soldiers.
Goshen said he tries to call his girlfriend before going on a four-day stint at the hotel. This time, coming off another mission, he had no time.
“She knows I’m guarding a hotel, but she probably thinks it’s a nice hotel and I live in a room. She doesn’t understand,” he said. “My family would probably get a little scared if they saw what this place looks like.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12581191/