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Marine sniper credited with longest confirmed kill in Iraq...
Submitted by: 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing ^ | 1/2/05 | Submitted by: 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing

Posted on 01/12/2005 10:50:46 AM PST by IGBT

Marine sniper credited with longest confirmed kill in Iraq Submitted by: 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Story Identification #: 200512134758 Story by Cpl. Paul W. Leicht

AR RAMADI, Iraq (Jan. 02, 2005) -- Seen through a twenty-power spot scope, terrorists scrambled to deliver another mortar round into the tube. Across the Euphrates River from a concealed rooftop, the Marine sniper breathed gently and then squeezed a few pounds of pressure to the delicate trigger of the M40A3 sniper rifle in his grasp.

The rifle's crack froze the booming Fallujah battle like a photograph. As he moved the bolt back to load another round of 7.62mm ammunition, the sniper's spotter confirmed the terrorist went down from the shot mere seconds before the next crack of the rifle dropped another.

It wasn't the sniper's first kill in Iraq, but it was one for the history books.

On Nov. 11, 2004, while coalition forces fought to wrest control of Fallujah from a terrorist insurgency, Marine scout snipers with Company B, 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, applied their basic infantry skills and took them to a higher level.

"From the information we have, our chief scout sniper has the longest confirmed kill in Iraq so far," said Capt. Shayne McGinty, weapons platoon commander for "Bravo" Co. "In Fallujah there were some bad guys firing mortars at us and he took them out from more than 1,000 yards."

During the battle for the war-torn city, 1/23 Marine scout snipers demonstrated with patience, fearless initiative and wits that well-trained Marines could be some of the deadliest weapons in the world.

"You really don't have a threat here until it presents itself," said Sgt. Herbert B. Hancock, chief scout sniper, 1/23, and a 35-year-old police officer from Bryan, Texas, whose specialized training and skill helped save the lives of his fellow Marines during the battle. "In Fallujah we really didn't have that problem because it seemed like everybody was shooting at us. If they fired at us we just dropped them."

Stepping off on day one of the offensive from the northern edge of the Fallujah peninsula, the Marine reservists of 1/23, with their scout snipers, moved to secure a little island, but intense enemy fire near the bridgeheads limited their advance. Insurgents littered the city, filtering in behind their positions with indirect mortar and sniper fire.

"The insurgents started figuring out what was going on and started hitting us from behind, hitting our supply lines," said Hancock in his syrupy Texas drawl. "Originally we set up near a bridge and the next day we got a call on our radio that our company command post was receiving sniper fire. We worked our way back down the peninsula trying to find the sniper, but on the way down we encountered machinegun fire and what sounded like grenade launchers or mortars from across the river."

With a fire team of grunts pinned down nearby, Hancock and his spotter, Cpl. Geoffrey L. Flowers, a May 2004 graduate of Scout Sniper School, helped them out by locating the source of the enemy fire.

"After locating the gun position we called in indirect fire to immediate suppress that position and reduced it enough so we could also punch forward and get into a house," explained Hancock. "We got in the house and started to observe the area from which the insurgents were firing at us. They hit us good for about twenty minutes and were really hammering us. Our indirect fire (landed on) them and must have been effective because they didn't shoot anymore after that."

Continuing south down the peninsula to link up with the Bravo Co. command post, Hancock and Flowers next set up on a big building, taking a couple shots across the river at some suspected enemy spotters in vehicles.

"The insurgents in the vehicles were spotting for the mortar rounds coming from across the river so we were trying to locate their positions to reduce them as well as engage the vehicles," said Hancock. "There were certain vehicles in areas where the mortars would hit. They would show up and then stop and then the mortars would start hitting us and then the vehicles would leave so we figured out that they were spotters. We took out seven of those guys in one day."

Later, back at the company command post, enemy mortar rounds once again began to impact.

"There were several incoming rockets and mortars to our compound that day and there was no way the enemy could have seen it directly, so they probably had some spotters out there," said 22-year-old Flowers who is a college student from Pearland, Texas.

" Our (company commander) told us to go find where the mortars were coming from and take them out so we went back out," remembered Hancock. "We moved south some more and linked up with the rear elements of our first platoon. Then we got up on a building and scanned across the river. We looked out of the spot scope and saw about three to five insurgents manning a 120mm mortar tube. We got the coordinates for their position and set up a fire mission. We decided that when the rounds came in that I would engage them with the sniper rifle. We got the splash and there were two standing up looking right at us. One had a black (outfit) on. I shot and he dropped. Right in front of him another got up on his knees looking to try and find out where we were so I dropped him too. After that our mortars just hammered the position, so we moved around in on them."

The subsequent fire for effect landed right on the insurgent mortar position.

"We adjusted right about fifty yards where there were two other insurgents in a small house on the other side of the position," said Flowers. "There was some brush between them and the next nearest building about 400 yards south of where they were at and we were about 1,000 yards from them so I guess they thought we could not spot them. Some grunts were nearby with binoculars but they could not see them, plus they are not trained in detailed observation the way we are. We know what to look for such as target indicators and things that are not easy to see."

Hancock and Flowers then scanned several areas that they expected fire from, but the enemy mortars had silenced.

"After we had called in indirect fire and after all the adjustments from our mortars, I got the final 8-digit grid coordinates for the enemy mortar position, looked at our own position using GPS and figured out the distance to the targets we dropped to be 1,050 yards," said Flowers with a grin. "This time we were killing terrorism from more than 1,000 yards."

-30-


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 123; bang; banglist; iraq; marines; marinesnipers
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1 posted on 01/12/2005 10:50:47 AM PST by IGBT
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To: IGBT
"From the information we have, our chief scout sniper has the longest confirmed kill in Iraq so far," said Capt. Shayne McGinty, weapons platoon commander for "Bravo" Co. "In Fallujah there were some bad guys firing mortars at us and he took them out from more than 1,000 yards."

GOOD HUNTING!

2 posted on 01/12/2005 10:52:46 AM PST by patriot_wes
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To: IGBT

Already posted
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1313501/posts


3 posted on 01/12/2005 10:54:38 AM PST by Doneel
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To: IGBT
well-trained Marines could be some of the deadliest weapons in the world.

Should read "well-trained Marines are the deadliest weapons in the world."

this is there basic philosophy so why should a journalist sneer at the philosophy.

4 posted on 01/12/2005 10:55:19 AM PST by dts32041 (When did the Democratic party stop being the political arm of the KKK?)
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To: IGBT

Marine Corps Gun Control
"One shot, one kill"

Semper Fi,
Kelly


5 posted on 01/12/2005 10:55:26 AM PST by kellynla (U.S.M.C. 1st Battalion,5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Div. Viet Nam 69&70 Semper Fi)
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To: IGBT

Great shooting!


6 posted on 01/12/2005 10:55:26 AM PST by nuconvert (No More Axis of Evil by Christmas ! TLR)
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To: IGBT

Nice.


7 posted on 01/12/2005 10:56:15 AM PST by vpintheak (Liberal = The antithesis of Freedom and Patriotism)
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To: IGBT
Professionals doing their job.
Professionally.

Thank you guys.

8 posted on 01/12/2005 10:56:36 AM PST by Publius6961 (The most abundant things in the universe are hydrogen, ignorance and stupidity.)
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To: patriot_wes

Where's that picture of Bush about to throw the football while pointing. Time to throw the ball and take the enemy out!


9 posted on 01/12/2005 10:57:18 AM PST by sr4402
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To: IGBT

It would be interesting to know more about the rifle that's being used, and the bullet and load, but I suspect it's classified.


10 posted on 01/12/2005 10:57:22 AM PST by Spok
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To: Spok

Those shows on the Discovery Channel talk about the equipment snipers use. I think the show was actually called "Sniper" or "Military Sniper" or something. They went in depth. Cool stuff.


11 posted on 01/12/2005 10:59:05 AM PST by thefactor
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To: dts32041

"The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle"
General "Black Jack" Pershing
U.S. ARMY


12 posted on 01/12/2005 10:59:24 AM PST by kellynla (U.S.M.C. 1st Battalion,5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Div. Viet Nam 69&70 Semper Fi)
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To: IGBT
Riggs: "When I was 19, I did a guy in Laos with a rifle shot at a thousand yards in high wind. Maybe eight or even ten guys in the world could have made that shot. It's the only thing I was ever good at... "


13 posted on 01/12/2005 11:01:41 AM PST by Bluegrass Conservative
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To: IGBT

        Just makes you proud to be an American, doesn't it?

Owl_Eagle

”Guns Before Butter.”

14 posted on 01/12/2005 11:02:49 AM PST by End Times Sentinel ("If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace;" –Thomas Paine)
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To: Spok
This will work


15 posted on 01/12/2005 11:05:09 AM PST by 506trooper (No such thing as too much guns, ammo or fuel on board...unless you're on fire)
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To: kellynla
"The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle. It is your killer instinct which must be harnessed if you expect to survive in combat. Your rifle is only a tool; it is a hard heart that kills. If your killer instincts are not clean and strong, you will hesitate at the moment of truth. You will not kill. You will become dead Marines and then you will be in a world of shit because Marines are not allowed to die without permission; you are government property!"


16 posted on 01/12/2005 11:05:20 AM PST by Bluegrass Conservative
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To: IGBT

Good shooting, Marine!


17 posted on 01/12/2005 11:08:23 AM PST by 7.62 x 51mm (• veni • vidi • vino • visa • "I came, I saw, I drank wine, I shopped")
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To: IGBT

M40A4 sniper rifle, not much difference

18 posted on 01/12/2005 11:10:19 AM PST by sure_fine (*not one to over kill the thought process*)
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To: Bluegrass Conservative

Martin could be pointing at a target, but it's obvious that Roger's gun is not on his target, but his finger is on the trigger. He's not even looking in the same direction as the muzzle of his gun!

Stupid Hollywood.

I HATE THAT!!!


19 posted on 01/12/2005 11:11:04 AM PST by SASsySIGster (Christmas Gifts should sparkle or go BANG really loud.)
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To: IGBT

More of our American Heroes!!! Love you guys


20 posted on 01/12/2005 11:13:17 AM PST by TexasTaysor
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