Posted on 11/05/2004 10:48:26 PM PST by SmithL
FORT BENNING -- Corp. Eugenio Mendoza, a young veteran of the Iraq war, had to carry his buddy for 50 yards, scale an 8-foot wall and crawl through a water-logged tunnel at the 4th International Sniper Competition, where the challenges are designed to simulate combat scenarios in Afghanistan and Iraq.
"It's good stuff we never thought about," said Mendoza, 27, a sniper with the Army's 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky. "We're definitely going back and use what we've learned in these events."
Military snipers are skilled marksmen who are trained to kill key enemy targets -- usually with one shot over distances that would be considered impossible for regular soldiers armed with M-16 rifles.
Sponsored by the sniper school, the five-day competition that ended Friday is designed to test the marksmen's ability to fire at targets up to 800 meters away, to stalk and conceal themselves, to fire from a variety of positions after strenuous physical exertion and to quickly pick out a villain holding hostages and then deliver a lethal shot.
The competitors included 18 Army and Air Force teams from as far away as Alaska and two teams from the Canadian Army.
Staff Sgt. Larry Davis, sergeant in charge of the competition, said the military is putting more emphasis on snipers.
"The leaders realize that we're the eyes and ears for them. A sniper team is like the perfect smart bomb,
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Thank the Lord for these brave warriors! May He protect and guide them always.
Semper Fi
I got a good buddy who 6 years ago right out of high school joined the army. He is a sniper. A girl I know just got a letter from him telling her don't believe what the media tells you. We are doing good work over here.
god bless you Danny N.
come home soon
Train Hard.... Fight Easy!
A surprisingly good article from the SFGate.
The integration of actual combat scenarios and competitive shooting from other services in Sniper Training is an outstanding idea!
I also like the exchange of ideas between the competing shooting teams. It's the "little things" that add up to save lives.
Mistakes are going to be made in combat. It's the nature of the beast.
Though, it's better, safer and cheaper to learn from those mistakes now. And hopefully develop tactics that will result in live shooters and dead bad guys in the future!
Good Catch, SmithL.
Jack.
Please add Banglist to Keywords whenever posting gun-related articles..
" and two teams from the Canadian Army."
What they mean is. . .the ENTIRE Canadian Army.
The Canadian government may suck, but the the average Canadian soldier is very good.
L
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.