Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Goodbye, Scout Snipers ... For Now
RealClear Defense ^ | 15 Dec, 2023 | John J. Waters

Posted on 12/15/2023 6:05:54 AM PST by MtnClimber

Scout Snipers have a mantra.

I learned that mantra years ago when I was assigned to lead a platoon of these Marines. My chief scout in the platoon, a title held by the most experienced Scout Sniper, was Damon.

When we met in 2012 on Camp Lejeune, Damon was in his late twenties. His guys were at-home in the woods and with a load on their backs; they rarely complained about being dirty, tired or uncomfortable. I learned quickly that Scout Snipers were the best in the battalion, regular infantrymen who had started out carrying an assault rifle or lobbing mortars but aspired to something sleeker, freer and more elite. Before graduating the arduous Scout Sniper Basic Course to earn his new, coveted title, Damon himself had carried a machine gun on a deployment to Anbar province. I remember the front of his uniform was covered in ribbons and medals earned on combat tours. On his back were the words “Scout Sniper.” They were branded into his skin.

Similar to most competitive people, Damon didn’t like following rules, including the rule that required him to buckle the chinstrap on his Kevlar helmet. Like a kid who refuses to put on a helmet before riding his bicycle, I couldn’t get him to listen. Whenever we went to the field for training, I’d see that nylon strap dangling off his sideburns. “I know, sir,” Damon would say. Until the next time it happened, and the time after that. If only he hadn’t been so good-natured (and good at his job), I might have been more insistent that he fall in line.

But I wasn’t.

Recently, the Marine Corps decided its infantry battalions no longer need Scout Snipers. The final class graduates today from the Scout Sniper Basic Course.

(Excerpt) Read more at realcleardefense.com ...


TOPICS: Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: marine; marines; recon; sniper; snipers; usmc; wokeism
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-30 next last

1 posted on 12/15/2023 6:05:54 AM PST by MtnClimber
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

Are the only kind of decisions “bad decisions”?


2 posted on 12/15/2023 6:06:04 AM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

Since I fully believe our military is being recruited, trained, and equipped to wage war against Americans, this is not a bad thing to not have Marines trained to fight in the wild. The elites think war against the US will be purely urban.


3 posted on 12/15/2023 6:09:54 AM PST by CodeToad (Rule#1: The elites want you dead.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

Meanwhile, the U.S. Army is actually expanding its sniper program. Including women. Go figure...


4 posted on 12/15/2023 6:10:08 AM PST by donozark (Even when Paul Pelosi isn't drinking, he's getting hammered.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

Snipers add a sense of order to the uncontrolled mayhem that constitutes your average firefight. Things get downright creepy when they are about.


5 posted on 12/15/2023 6:18:56 AM PST by ComputerGuy (Heavily-medicated for your protection)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: CodeToad

The elites in DC may get surprised by elites in Beijing who want our resources, but don’t want any non-Chinese race to be left. Especially white and black elitists.


6 posted on 12/15/2023 6:22:14 AM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of Colorado scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/merit_badge_reqandres/rifle_shooting.pdf ... Boy Scout merit badge info re shooting. My husband was a scout leader for years. The merit badge/s info is all online now fyi.


7 posted on 12/15/2023 6:23:52 AM PST by GAgal
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber; All
A blast from the past.

1st Version

2nd Version

8 posted on 12/15/2023 6:25:10 AM PST by mabarker1 ( (Congress- the opposite of PROGRESS!!! A fraud, a hypocrite, a liar. I'm a member of Congress!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mabarker1

I think women make good snipers. There have been more than a few.


9 posted on 12/15/2023 6:35:59 AM PST by DIRTYSECRET
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

We will be back.

Semper Fi.

L


10 posted on 12/15/2023 6:38:13 AM PST by Lurker ( Peaceful coexistence with the Left is not possible. Stop pretending that it is. )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

Annual event honoring Major Jim Land who started the school. Still an old school Marine

https://majorlandsnipercup.com/


11 posted on 12/15/2023 6:39:26 AM PST by Stonewall1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: DIRTYSECRET

Old men and women can both have the shooting capability of a sniper, but can they fulfill all the physical challenges that an American sniper may face to conduct a mission?


12 posted on 12/15/2023 6:46:59 AM PST by ansel12 ((NATO warrior under Reagan, and RA under Nixon, bemoaning the pro-Russians from Vietnam to Ukraine.))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber
Big mistake, but one which fits a Corp that now cannot identify a man.

Since man started forming armies, there has always been a group of elite fighters that were out front of the pack.

I think that a trans should be a leader of the future "scouts", they need the variety.

13 posted on 12/15/2023 6:48:48 AM PST by USS Alaska (NUKE ALL MOOSELIMB TERRORISTS, NOW.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

The Anti-exceptionalism of theWoke officer corps now ruling the US military making another epic mistake.

There can be no elite soldiers in the non-binary’s Marine Corp!


14 posted on 12/15/2023 6:50:29 AM PST by Pontiac (The welfare state must fail because it is contrary to human nature and diminishes the human spirit.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: donozark

I don’t think Scout Snipers and regular snipers are the same thing.


15 posted on 12/15/2023 6:53:08 AM PST by Blood of Tyrants ( "It is easier to fool people than to convince them they have been fooled."- Mark Twain)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Blood of Tyrants

Different terms. Same mission.


16 posted on 12/15/2023 6:57:34 AM PST by donozark (Even when Paul Pelosi isn't drinking, he's getting hammered.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: DIRTYSECRET
I think women make good snipers. There have been more than a few.

My wife is a CC instructor, pretty good in math, and a pretty good shot overall. However, she has trouble understanding the finer points behind the mechanics and detail of accurately lobbing bullets long distances. In her words: "This is a lot of trouble just to make one shot."

17 posted on 12/15/2023 7:01:56 AM PST by eastexsteve
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies]

To: Lurker
We will be back.

Full Clown material, right here:)

18 posted on 12/15/2023 7:04:04 AM PST by JonPreston ( ✌ ☮️ )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: JonPreston

Scout Sniper School has come and gone a number of times, the military does that, they used to break up the Ranger units after every war.


19 posted on 12/15/2023 7:32:34 AM PST by ansel12 ((NATO warrior under Reagan, and RA under Nixon, bemoaning the pro-Russians from Vietnam to Ukraine.))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 18 | View Replies]

To: MtnClimber

“Recently, the Marine Corps decided its infantry battalions no longer need Scout Snipers.”

Obama/Biden “generals”. No more tanks and artillery either.


20 posted on 12/15/2023 7:45:30 AM PST by Bonemaker (invictus maneo)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-30 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson