Interesting concept that could be adapted by the Philippine Army:

Rainbow Division Deploys 'Intel Snipers’ to Iraq

FORT DRUM, N.Y. --- The 42nd Infantry Division has deployed to Iraq with what leaders term a powerful, yet subtle, combat-multiplier — the sniper-trained Soldiers of the division’s 173rd Long Range Surveillance Detachment, and their newly-issued M-14 rifles.

The rifles are “part and parcel” of the changing LRS(D) mission, said the unit’s commander, Capt. Michael Manning.

“This is not a detachment of snipers,” said Manning. “This is a detachment of highly trained intelligence collectors. We have sniping capability. Now we can acquire targets, identify targets, and destroy targets with organic direct fire weapons. That’s the big change. That’s what these weapons allow us to do.”

Manning said LRS(D)’s mission used to be strictly reconnaissance and surveillance ? working in small groups 80 to 100 kilometers beyond friendly lines, reporting information on enemy movements and the battlefield to a higher command. The enemy and battlefield have changed, so the mission has changed, according to Manning.

“We’re not training for the Fulda Gap anymore,” said Manning, referring to the area in Germany that NATO forces were assigned to defend against Russian maneuver brigades. “We’re fighting insurgents who operate in small groups. That drives the way we conduct operations.”

Manning described the new mission as reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition ? in other words, LRS(D) will be assigned to observe areas for improvised explosive devices and indirect fire activity and, if ordered by the combatant commander, eliminate insurgents with their sniper rifles. The M-14, commented Manning, has redefined the unit's mission. “It’s a tremendous force multiplier. It’s a tremendous asset on the battlefield.”

Equipping and training LRS(D) on the M-14 rifles was a joint effort of the 42nd Infantry Division, the 1215th Garrison Support Unit at Fort Drum, the First Army Small Arms Readiness Group, or SARG, and FORSCOM, according to Lt. Col. Richard Ellwanger, chief of personnel, 1215th Garrison Support Unit.

“Our mission is to support the mobilization of the National Guard and Reserves,” said Ellwanger. “We work with the post to provide an infrastructure for the National Guard and Reserves while they’re here at Fort Drum.”

The M-14 rifles will increase LRS(D) Soldiers’ ability to neutralize targets without collateral damage, said Ellwanger. “The rifle gives the Soldiers the ability to engage targets out to 800 meters. Once the word gets out to the insurgents that the Soldiers have that capacity, they will be less likely to get inside the 400- to 500-meter range and engage with RPGs (rocket-propelled grenades) or medium machine guns.”

The instruction of the SARG team was superb, according to Manning. “These guys are superb marksmen. They instilled in LRS(D) the techniques, tactics and procedures that make them good marksmen. They’re professional. To a man, they’re first-rate marksmen.” Most of the training took place at Fort Drum’s Range 21, where the sniper-trained LRS(D) Soldiers zeroed and engaged targets with their iron sights, and zeroed the scopes on their rifles.

“By virtue of going through this training, LRS(D) Soldiers now have the confidence in themselves that they can effectively operate this weapon system,” said Manning. “What the 42nd Division has done, by virtue of outfitting LRS(D) with M-14 rifles, is make us the cutting edge of the LRS(D) community.”

But the real edge in LRS(D)’s sniping capability are the LRS(D) Soldiers behind the newly issued M-14 rifles — graduates of the four-week National Guard Sniper School at Camp Robinson, Ark. With their M-14 training complete, the LRS(D) soldiers became trainers themselves, turning Soldiers from other 42nd Infantry Division units into designated marksmen.

“We’re a combat multiplier because we can give the division planners nearly real-time information, and a picture of the battlefield,” said LRS(D) sniper-trained Staff Sgt. Tim Halloran. “If we’re on a mission and we acquire a high-value target, we can not only report it to higher [headquarters], we can eliminate it.”

“Hopefully we can interdict the people placing the IEDs,” said LRS(D) Assistant Team Leader Cpl. Wayne Lynch, who, along with LRS(D) Team Leader Staff Sgt. Thomas O’Hare, served a tour in Iraq last year.

“That’s all I thought about when we were in Iraq last year: ‘how do we stop these people who are placing the IEDs?’ Now that we’ve got snipers in LRS(D), we’re able to do surveillance and take direct action,” Lynch said.

Deployed to Iraq with the 119th Military Police Company, Rhode Island National Guard, Lynch said he and O’Hare made it their job to find IEDs. Lynch said he hopes LRS(D) will be tasked with interdicting terrorists placing IEDs. He’s been a member of the unit for nine years and loves it. He does not regret going back to Iraq. “I’m going with a unit I’ve trained with,” he said. “I’m honored to go to war with them.”

Based in Rhode Island, LRS(D) ruckmarches to the north summit of New Hampshire’s Mount Mooslacki every year. All members of LRS(D) are airborne qualified, and nine are ranger qualified. They have to do a jump every three months to maintain their airborne status.

“We train on a higher plain,” said LRS(D) sniper-trained Soldier Spc. Richard O’Connor. “Most units do five-mile rucksack marches. We do 15-mile rucksack marches. Other units have 45-pound rucksacks. We have 80-pound rucksacks. We have to march farther and faster than anyone else.”

O’Connor was a scout/sniper with the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. He’s been on real-world missions to Tunisia and Liberia, and took part in the rescue of Air Force Pilot Capt. Scott O’Grady, who was shot down over Bosnia in 1995.

“Anticipation of the mission is awesome,” said O’Connor. He described the job as a “rush”, and said LRS(D) team members must be physically fit, mature, and disciplined, and must know each other’s jobs. Part of that job is going “subsurface”? patrolling to a location outside friendly lines, digging a hole, and living in it while observing enemy activity.

“They might live in that hole for two to four days,” said Manning. “It takes an unbelievably disciplined individual to do this job.”

“We’re just guys with rifles,” said O’Connor. “You have to have absolute confidence in everyone on your team. There’s nothing else in the Army I want to do.”

Source: US Department of Defense; issued Jan. 15, 2005
:snipemo:

I believe this is already being done by our Scout Ranger snipers in a simpler, less-complicated manner.

:exactly:

Years ago!!!! There have been cases that sucessful engagements were based from inputs by overwatching SR Snipers.

If only the Americans care to LEARN from our experiences >sigh<

OFF TOPIC:



Aero,

So, you're a Filipino American?

well they're definitely learning every day they are in Iraq.

The US unfortunately uses their snipers in Iraq as integral part of the direct fighting process. The PA and SR for that matter have known for a while that a sniper is best used as 80% intel and 20% offensive asset. Intel gathering and reporting methods have always been their strong points. It is not uncommon that our snipers sortie with iron sight M14s (due to shortage of proper sniper equipment) but will always have a bino and will bring good intel back from the mission without firing a shot. Sniping is the craft, the rifle is just part of the toolbox thus you can use it to whatever ends that may require the skill.

This is not entirely accurate. Aa large part of Sniper Training in the US Military, especially the US Army and the US Marines involve their ability to gather intelligence. There is a reasosn the USMC uses eth term "Scout-Snipers" and have been doing so for decades.

Sniper courses in the US Military involve training in target detection and identification, camouflage and concealment, stalking, intelligence gathering, and long-range marksmanship (of course). Other tasks include call-for-fire, radio procedures, small unit tactics, etc.

In an Urban environment such as the cities of Iraq, it is not always easy to conduct intelligence operations as in a jungle or the mountains of Afghanistan. What they have been doing is placing their Snipers at vantage points where they report any pertinent information and provide an overwatch for maneuver forces. This means they are allowed to engage targets of opportunity in order to help protect the main forces.

FWIW, this is the same with Law Enforcement Snipers as well. They are the eyes and ears of the on-site Commander. They also provide overwatch (targets of necessity) for their fellow SWAT team members.

There is no argument that they are trained that way, all snipers are. But the USMC snipers I spoke to tells a different story.

They seldom go on long distance (not far from nearest strongpoint) long period overwatch stations like what the British army snipers do.

They are much more concerned about compromised hide positions and the risk of kidnapping and it is a blanket policy for all US combatants. This is driven by a combat employment policy for snipers than the training snipers received. It is a policy on the ground.

Thus most employment schemes that I can imagine is just area overwatch from a static position within a strongpoint. These intel gathering snipers somehow are exempted from the "secured combatant policy".

maybe CDF you are referring to regular USMC scout snipers, how about their Force Recon marine snipers, - i hear they are the best in the USMC and recon sniper operations are their expertise..

Maybe, but I was given the impression that it was a blanket policy, I may be wrong.

This might shed some light: http://www.americansnipers.org/themovie.htm

Blanket policies (aka: ROE - the most hated three-letter word in the US Military) can be overridden based on the situation by most any Line Commander who is not too worried about rising his or her career. This is something that is enforced in every Leadership School I have ever attended. Lower-level commanaders are expected to deal with details and to take the initiative as well as the responsibility for any and all local decisions.

As far as long range recons (by Snipers or otherwise), these are not always viable in the cities of Iraq. They stand out way too much regadrless of how much camo they put on. But who is to say they are not conducting such operations outside of the cities. Urban Sniping is a totally diffirent mindset and requires different tactics (I may be taking an Urban/Rural Sniping Course in early March myself).

FWIW, the US Navy SEALs and the US Army Special Forces (aka: Green Berets) have their own Sniper Courses. The US Air Force usually send their Snipers to train in the other branches' Sniper Schools.

:sniper:

Interesting jobs in your sig Carlos. You do all those things at the same time?

I will disagree with you on this, urban stalking is a new discipline and it is being improved by the minute, the British Army pioneered this technique in Belfast. It is viable but it is just difficult and two man sniper teams do not work without their security team but not totally impossible. You just have the guts to do it, its pretty hairy stuff .

As for stalking on built up rural areas, PA snipers have been doing this technique for a quite a while now. Why do you think most scores on the enemy in the past two years are adjacent to built up rural areas?

Anyways, good luck to your course on march, say hello to the big guy for me.

Pardom me Kabayans, does anybody around here knows any real life accounts of our (PINOY) snipers? :asniper: I've seen several news footages during the war in Mindanao against the MILF/MNLF around Erap's term. The one that is still fresh in my memory was a news footage from TFC (ABS-CBN) of a soldier with a "scoped" M16 during an encounter. I was shocked the way he fired his rifle, as if he is using a garden hose. :fire: . The next one was a footage of "The correspondent" This time a soldier is using an M21 sniper rifle. The guy is sitting on top of an APC and firing his rifle ala RAMBO :gatling: :fire: :thumb: The bad thing is my wife's cousin's husband is also watching that night and he is a US marine. The next morning he called me up and asked me if I saw it. He told me that apparently our boys doesnt know how to use a sniper rifle. :armycry: My point is if you guys know of any publication about our snipers back home that I can shove to his @$$. Thanks and hopefuly no more stupid footages nakakahiya kasi. :armyredface:

Calling Frank Suha :aberet:

Some FMA (Foreign Mil Assitance) hardware are sniper rifles, and they are directly distributed to Infantry Divisions. Without any training to the weapons sytem, they sortie with them and shoot it like its a tommy gun.

These is not our snipers, our snipers is not part of the military propaganda system, there is no press coverage for this bunch and their successes are unacknowledged by design.

whys is this so? is there no proper way for your high commande to distribute the proper weapons to the proper people?

its just kind of funny to issue scoped sniper rifles to common soldiers not trained on proper use and application...

spraying fire like rambo maybe they just wath movies for training ?

I think you may be missing the trees while looking through the forest. Each situation that you mentioned where long range urban recon was possible involved Snipers who can easily blend in with their surroundings. Any British soldier can easily blend into the Irish Community just like any Filipino can blend into just about any Urban areas in the PI. Big difference when we are talking about Caucasians trying to skulk around downtown Baghdad while lugging around a bolt-action rifle or a Barrett.

Yes, it can and is being done and I wish I can tell you who has been doing it, but I would probably loose my job if I did. But the instances in which it is done is far and few in between. For the most part, Snipers are used to support main force attacks and surgical shooting in defense of static positions.

But it is not done as a rule for the following reasons.

(1) It is very difficult to blend in (as mentioned above). It's nothing like stalking in a wooded or even desert environment. Urban environments are usually heavily populated (which is why they call it urban). The risk of an encounter with indigenous personnel increases exponentially. It's not like the Snipers can camouflage themselves as mailboxes and such.

(2) The rate of return for such risk is not worth it. With the availability and effectiveness of UAVs in such an environment, what the Snipers can find out is probably not going to be much more different or useful.

(3) The type of Intelligence our troops in that environment cannot be obtained by Snipers or Long Range Recon. Being able to identify who and where the IADs are being made or where the guerillas are hiding can best be obtained through Human Intelligence (HUMINT). This is the realm of SpecOps and PsyOps, not LRS or Snipers.

(4) The LRA and Snipers are best used to patrol the rural areas surrounding the cities with the hopes of detecting infil/exfil routes used by insurgents. This is what they are trained for and would the risk would not be as great.

When planning for Military Operations, we use the acronym METT-T(WS). One of the "T"s is for Terrain. If Baghdad was completely reduced to rubble just like Stalingrad was in WWII, then it would be a Sniper's Happy Hunting Grounds (as in Stalingrad). But that is not the case. Just because you want to use a force multiplier like LRS and/or Snipers, it doesn't mean you should. I would rather pay an indig personnel for information than send one of the well-trained Snipers. They are best used to provide overwatch for main force operations and/or to provide precision shooting in defending home base. Specially with the ratio of innocent people versus terrorists. JM2CW.

This has been the problem with the employment of Precision Riflemen for centuries. Most Commanders do not have the knowledge or training to properly train or employ Snipers and such. Most Leadership training, while usually founded on Infantry tactics, do not bother with specialized tasks (Sniping, Prisoner Snatches, Employment of Mortars, etc.).

Also, a scoped rifle does not make a Sniper make. There is so much more to it than that. JM2CW.

The same as a well sharpened scalpel would'nt make the best surgeon and the best designed wrench would'nt make the best mechanic. Sniping is an art that demands a higher level of skill and craftsmanship. :thumb:

In my neck of the woods, you make excuses when you don't want to do it, but you make ways if you intend to do it. as for blending in, then use an arab looking sniper, what gives man? Wasn't that obvious?

Recently, this is not part of the PA Sniper role, this is now the role of the designated marksman. Are we talking about DMs or Snipers?

If mailboxes are working, I will make a sniper act as a mailman than a mailbox, obviously the postal system is still up and running if a mailbox is an unsuspecting item. That is why creativity is the key to urban stalking. Sniping is the skill, the rifle is a tool, the hunt is the task, need not send a sniper in BDUs or ghillies or camo paint. If a sniper is required to use a pistol to penetrate with the feasibility of extricating himself after the kill, then why not. The sniper makes rules, not a TM or FM publication tells him so.

Yeah this happens if you do not have assets who are either trained for the task, not motivated to do it and if no one volunteers to do it, we understand.

Risk is a microtemporal entity, it is assessed by the operators, risk management as policy on a macro scale sounds political than tactical to me. Reminds me of an ASEAN member country named Vietnam.

It seems like you never had operated against an opfor where the local community is also the mass base of the enemy. Youre textbook procedures are down the drain once you are task to operate on this area. humint as primary source of intelligence? How do you validate or verify? another humint asset? No wonder a lot of troops die in Iraq.

Maybe you are trained only for this but definitely not the snipers I know.

Well as they say the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Results speaks where I came from, we do not speculate about probable outcomes, we just do the best we can and pay attention to every detail. Because it will probably be the only single thing you have to save your life as you intend to go into harms way.

Risk aversion is a disease, it is contagious and it renders one into a "state of self denial". It is like a circus trapeze artist who only intends to do his craft from a height of 5 feet.

Singa,

We don't, the american visiting forces used to. Visiting forces used to co train with local infantry units and leave items behind. This is what you can occasionally catch on TV.

As for watching TV for training, no they do not train with Rambo movies, they train with the real enemy. I would gather Singapore will be training more with video as for the lack of training areas and the limited permutation of training scenarios.

Rescue ops: Martin Burnham killed, wife Gracia wounded; Southcom mum on Yap’s fate
Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews / 7 June 2002
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- Military rescue operations in Zamboanga del Norte to get Abu Sayyaf hostages Martin and Gracia Burnham and Filipino nurse Ediborah Yap ended in a tragedy this afternoon with Martin killed, Gracia wounded and Yap reportedly killed, too.

Southcom Chief Maj. Gen. Ernesto Carolina earlier declined to comment on television and radio reports that Martin Burnham and Yap were killed. “We didn’t find Martin or Yap yet,” Carolina told MindaNews late Friday afternoon. By 7 p.m., Armed Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Roy Cimatu, said, told MindaNews that Martin and Yap were, indeed, killed.

Carolina confirmed that Martin was killed only at 7:30 p.m. when the latter’s body was flown to Southcom from the encounter site on board a US Chinook MH-47 helicopter from the encounter site to the Southcom. Martin’s remains were later brought to the Edwin Andrews Air Base here for autopsy by US doctors, Carolina said.

Gracia and her husband’s remains will be flown to the United States immediately.

Carolina declined to comment on the fate of Filipino nurse Yap, who was also reported killed. He said he cannot confirm if Yap is dead because her remains had not been recovered.

Carolina said pursuit operations are still going on.

He said the rescue operation at “past 1 p.m. today” was “somewhere in Zamboanga del Norte” but declined to say exactly where. A MindaNews source said the clash was in Barangay Cawit-cawit in Sibuco town, Zamboanga del Norte.

Brig. Gen. Emmanuel Teodosio, head of the Filipino troops in the RP-US Balikatan 02-1, told MindaNews four members of the Abu Sayyaf were killed, based on “body count” but cannot say if any Abu Sayyaf leader was among those killed.

Teodosio said Scout Rangers followed a trail of the Abu Sayyaf early this morning. He said the team of 15 Scout Rangers, among them snipers, managed to get some 15 meters from the Abu Sayyaf position in the jungle.

Right thigh

Gracia Burnham, who sustained a gunshot wound on her right thight, was, as of 5 pm, still undergoing surgery performed by American surgeons at the Camp Navarro General Hospital at the SouthCom headquarters here.

“She is out of danger. Let’s give her time to rest,” Carolina told MindaNews at 6 p.m.

Gracia was wheeled out of the operating room at 6:20 p.m.

The Burnhams were seized along with 22 others in Dos Palmas Resort in Palawan on May 27 last year.

MindaNews and an Associated Press reporter saw Gracia Burnham inside the operating room talking to the doctors.

Under heavy rain

Carolina said that under heavy rain, Gracia Burnham was dragged toward a makeshift landing pad in the encounter site. A tourniquet was immediately put on her right thigh before she was flown out of the area by a Philippine Air Force helicopter.

The hospital here has been ringed by American troops and security has been very tight.

MindaNews sources said the unmanned US spy planes had monitored a pumpboat regularly going to Sibuco and that other monitoring technologies were used to determine if, indeed, the Abu Sayyaf were in Sibuco.

Operations began last week in the Sibuco-Sirawai area with the Light Reaction Team dispatched last week.

The 1st Scout Ranger Battalion was deployed to the area Wednesday while two Marine battalions were pulled out of Maluso town in Basilan and deployed there on Thursday.

Old news shadow... :urpointis:

4 snipers and one SR team (7 operators ) a total of 11 combined operators against 60 (minimum) ASG, to my opinion is not bad! I heard from the grapevine that these are SR Sniper Class memebers undetaking their thesis "support and stalking of the ASG group holding the Burnhams".

Actually there is a story behind this, two US blackhawks and several PAF UH-1s were dispatch to the area when the fighting erupted, upon confirmation that the hostages were secured, a hasty LZ was setup on a 35 degree inclined slope. With the heavy cloud cover coming in, the Blackhawks should have been better suited to pick up the wounded. Instead, the PAF UH-1 went in under heavy weather, without radar, landed his chopper front skid only with the main rotors barely 2meters away from the hill slope. To me that is one made of heroes.

i know one of the snipers.. i heard he become an assistant instructor in one of a sniper class in Camp Tecson.. actually siya ang nagkwento sa kin ng details about sa Sirawai na classified... madami pang kwento about the SR snipers.. yun nga lang classified info.. :sniper: :specool:

They get to within 15 meters but still a number of hostages were killed. Where's the surgical precision of the sniper there?

And to think a test mission was allowed to participate in a major way...kind of fishy to me.

did anybody say the snipers got within 15 meters? am lost man. The rangers did, the snipers was on overwatch a distance away.

And honestly, almost half of the Army's daring operations in the past 25 years occured during SR test missions.

SR class on a test mission can out walk, out endure, out prolong, out patrol, out pursue even the most battle tested SRCoy. An SR Class is very motivated and have only one goal, to finish the mission and graduate a SR. You can never see an SR candidate on top of his game and in its pinnacle but only during test mission phase of his training.

Further, if I were to plan the Sirawai pursuit, I would establish that the strategic aim as "To terminate the socio-political impact of the hostage crisis". The safety of the hostage is in the top most agenda but the objective of the offensive action is to consumate the strategic aim the rest are just tactical matters to attend to. To my opinion, strategically, the outcome acheived its goal.

Better believe it, test missions carry the day for the PA. It can sometimes be the most vital operational activity of the PA for that year.

Check the other threads, this has been discussed before. Seems fishy to me that your focusing on SR test mission.

dont be so sure of this SR graduating class gung ho cdf, it was member of this same SR class you mentioned who broke fire discipline and fired too early, negating the success of another team to get within 15 meters of the ASG encampment...

As i always said, I can not judge if they have to start the fight or would have waited. Hindsight is a conveneince that we enjoy but not for that specific operator while he was on the ground.

I heard that no one on that team got a failing grade for their actions, their after action report ,as said, did makes sense to that specific scenario. We only have snippets of stories from a page off a diary, we do not know the inclinations and indications of that engagement.

But then again knowing what do know now, if he would have waited the outcome would have been better, but to be fair how will know that during that instant. If I ever commend this operator it is for making a decision on that moment whether it is right or wrong. What matters is that he made a decision instead of none.

is there a sniper rifle with explosive bullet?

Jogger bro, did some research and found this article:

Man aiming to sell military on his idea
Sniper weapon could save lives, he says

Sunday, February 13, 2005
Michael Scott
Plain Dealer Reporter

His aim: convincing the U.S. military that the high-powered, long-range sniper weapon he has designed can save American soldiers' lives -- effectively and inexpensively.

So Pecsok, 49, a lifelong firearms enthusiast, closed his Eastlake machine shop last August and devoted himself to a quest he started six years ago: finding someone to support his project.

He would prefer it was someone with enough influence or money to help him hit his target.

"This is a weapon with very specific applications, but it's a weapon that will do the job," he said. "The hardest part might be proving to someone who can make it happen that we know what we're talking about."

Pecsok believes the weapon he calls the Rapid Response Sniper System, or RRSS, would be unique because it would be portable, but have a longer range than sniper rifles, while delivering an explosive projectile -- not just a bullet.

He said the RRSS would compare in firepower to the guns on Apache helicopters but is designed instead to be employed by stealthier sniper teams of two or three soldiers.

"If you're shooting at a soft target,' a person, you wouldn't need this," he said. "But if you wanted to get onto the battlefield, leave a small footprint and completely destroy a target three miles away -- a building, a tank -- and then disappear again, this is your weapon."

The 73-pound RRSS would require a 60-inch detachable barrel. The base alone, which accounts for most of the weight, would weigh enough to require a two-sniper crew.

full story click here

awesome... :snipemo:

it's the sniper team who fired the first shot... for them to graduate a member of ASG must be killed with the first shot... that's the signal for the rest of the team to attack... and the rest are history... in this case ang big problem talaga ay kung paano makilala ang mga hostage kasi they're wearing the same camouflage as the ASG tapos some are carrying ammo and supplies...

this is the disadvantage of a test mission, the soldiers are pressured to take the misjudged shot .

who says it was a misjudged shot? the objective of mission is attrition by pursuit, there was no compelling manner to tell during that engagement if they are against the main body or just scouting, recon or rearguard elements of the ASG. It was both fortunate and unfortunate that this engagement is the main body where the hostages are. They only realized that after the attack succeeded and the ASG formations collapsed leaving the hostages behind.

There was pressure on the SR & Sniper class to engage but not for engagement's sake. It was an attempt to keep the ASG at arms length during pursuit. It just so happen that the 1st engagement also determined the outcome of developing pursuit program.

Overall, it still acheived its aim, "do not let a terrorist group hostage a government". The safety of the lives of the hostages to my opinion is secondary, the geo political and sovereign issues involved is the utmost objective.

More on Intel Snipers:

http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=968

:exactly:

Our SR snipers work weeks on end, a typical mission will be 7 to 14 days minimum considering resupply requirements. A typical SR Sniper test mission duration will take 30 days minimum to 60 days max. The logistical feat, resupply methods, insertion and extraction determines the duration of a sniper mission.

We have been doing this for years now. We may not have sophisticated rifles, but we do possess sophisticated skills to undertake these types of missions. My point here is, the US forces possibly could have modeled it after our experiences in long range interdiction missions. They have seen how we operated in Mindanao, and they should have appreciated our long range patrols and long range sniper missions.

i've read one book about the operations of the SR during the Huk campaign.. sabi dun.. one SR team will be deploy in a Search and Destry mission... then pag malapit ng maubos ang supplies nila, another team will be dispatched to resupply the unit, thus the first SR team can continue its mission even if that mission will take months. :specool: