Posted on 07/29/2006 12:58:46 PM PDT by traumer
RAMADI, Iraq – He was 5 when he first fired an M-16, his father holding him to brace against the recoil. At 17 he enlisted in the Marine Corps, spurred by the memory of Sept. 11.
Now, 21-year-old Galen Wilson has 20 confirmed kills in four months in Iraq – and another 40 shots that probably killed insurgents. One afternoon the lance corporal downed a man hauling a grenade launcher 5½ football fields away.
Wilson is the designated marksman in a company of Marines based in downtown Ramadi, watching over what Marines call the most dangerous neighborhood in the most dangerous city in the world.
Here, Sunni Arab insurgents are intent on toppling the local government protected by Marines.
Wilson, 5-foot-6 with a soft face, is married and has two children and speaks in a deep, steady monotone.
After two tours in Iraq, his commanders in the 3rd Battalion, 8th Regiment call him a particularly mature Marine, always collected and given to an occasional wry grin.
His composure is regularly tested. Swaths of central and southern Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, are dominated by insurgents who regularly attack the provincial government headquarters that Marines protect.
During a large-scale attack on Easter Sunday, Wilson says, he spotted six gunmen on a rooftop about 400 yards away. In about 8 seconds he squeezed off five rounds – hitting five gunmen in the head. The sixth man dived off a 3-story building just as Wilson got him in his sights, and counts as a probable death.
“You could tell he didn't know where it was coming from. He just wanted to get away,” Wilson said. Later that day, he said, he killed another insurgent.
Wilson says his skill helps save American troops and Iraqi civilians.
“It doesn't bother me. Obviously, me being a devout Catholic, it's a conflict of interest. Then again, God supported David when he killed Goliath,” Wilson said. “I believe God supports what we do and I've never killed anyone who wasn't carrying a weapon.”
He was raised in a desolate part of the Rocky Mountains outside Colorado Springs, “surrounded by national parks on three sides,” he says. He regularly hunted before moving to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as a teenager. His brother also serves in the military.
Guns have long been part of Wilson's life. His father was a sniper in the Navy SEALS. He remembers first firing a sniper rifle at age 6. By the time he enlisted he had already fired a .50-caliber machine gun.
“My father owned a weapons dealership, so I've been around exotic firearms all my life,” said Wilson, who remembers practicing on pine cones and cans. “My dad would help me hold (an M-16), with the butt on his shoulder, and walk me through the steps of shooting.”
Technically, Wilson is not a sniper – he's an infantryman who also patrols through the span of destroyed buildings that make up downtown Ramadi. But as his unit's designated marksman, he has a sniper rifle. In the heat of day or after midnight, he spends hours on rooftop posts, peering out onto rows of abandoned houses from behind piles of sandbags and bulletproof glass cracked by gunfire.
Sometimes individual gunmen attack, other times dozens. Once Wilson shot an insurgent who was “turkey peeking” – Marine slang for stealing glances at U.S. positions from behind a corner. Later, the distance was measured at 514 meters – 557 yards.
“I didn't doubt myself, if I was going to hit him. Maybe if I would have I would have missed,” Wilson said.
The key to accuracy is composure and experience, Wilson says. “The hardest part is looking, quickly adjusting the distance (on a scope), and then getting a steady position for a shot before he gets a shot off. For me, it's toning everything out in my head. It's like hearing classical music playing in my head.”
Though Wilson firmly supports the war, he used to wonder how his actions would be received back home.
“At first you definitely double-guess telling your wife, mom, and your friends that you've killed 20 people,” Wilson said. “But over time you realize that if they support you ... maybe it'll make them feel that much safer at home.”
He acknowledges that brutal acts of war linger in the mind.
“Some people, before they're about to kill someone, they think that – 'Hey, I'm about to kill someone.' That thought doesn't occur to me. It may sound cold, but they're just a target. Afterward, it's real. You think, 'Hey, I just killed someone,'” says Wilson.
Insurgents “have killed good Marines I've served with. That's how I sleep at night,” he says. “Though I've killed over 20 people, how many lives would those 20 people have taken?”
Wilson plans to leave the Marines after his contract expires next year and is thinking of joining a SWAT Team in Florida – possibly as a sniper.
Islombies. I like it.
"I think she could wrestle me to bed."
That is wrong on so many levels.
This is a great, honorable young man, and his targets are evil. But no human is less than human, we are all children of God and all sinners, as our mutual faith teaches. Whether aborted children, the ill or infirm, the incapacitated, like Teri Schiavo, or even these evil terrorist scum, there are no sub-humans - there is no life unworthy of life. There are humans whose killing is wholly and fully justifed, as in this case, and I understand the emotional reason to speak of sub-humans, but it is far better to think of them as the worst of human sinners whom , through the intervention of this remarkable young man, God has seen fit to be removed.
"4 of the 5 jihaddis must have been extremely sluggish.....8 seconds is a very long time "
Not really, the first two were probably dead before the others realized they were under fire. Then 2 more were dead before they realized it was a sniper.
You can run. But, you'll just die tired.
Joan of Arc could organize a nice little force to kick your sorry disbelieving butt. And if you don't think that counts for anything, then make sure to go take a leak on Patton's grave. And be prepared for the consequences.
You're a better person than I. I still can't see them as anything more than verminous slime.
I look at it this way. Some people long ago reneged on their membership dues and violated the rules of the human race and thus have had their membership revoked. That's how I look at these nihilistic beasts.
Nevertheless, I honor and appreciate your high road approach.
I agree.
One good thing is that he has a pretty common last name, if it is his last name.
I didn't know the Mosin Nagant was made in the southpaw
configuration..
LOL! I own an AR-15 A2 (pre-Ban...gd Clinton grumble) and prefer calling it a Homeland Defense Rifle. Testing that against a Ruger Ranch Rifle in the same caliber found the Ruger to be just as accurate despite having a shorter barrel. The AR is still nicer to shoot due to the excellent spring-buffer system - which greatly enhances target retaining during recoil. The SR-25 is next on my Christmas list.
"Joan of Arc could organize a nice little force to kick your sorry disbelieving butt. And if you don't think that counts for anything"
Joan of Arc was an act of God, and therefore totally irrelevant to this subject. Further, Saint Joan would have been the first to tell you that she couldn't organize anything on her own.
With the libs in control, such boys coming up with guns in their regular lives would no longer exist. The lib view of gun ownership would have prevented Wilson from ever owning or firing a gun prior to military service.
To me, this is one of the thoughts behind the 2nd Amendment. This guy was training for this moment in his life for years as a civilian, from childhood.
How many more of our service people learned marksmanship long before thier military life began - all because they had the right to "keep and bear arms"?
"Nevertheless, I honor and appreciate your high road approach."
Really? I view it as a real impediment to victory.
"I agree. The .223 ain't long range. It's a close action assault weapon. If he's sniping, he's doing it with a heavy caliber weapon."
The .223 or 5.56mm round certainly isn't as good for long range as the 308 or .50 cal. but with the right rifle and cartridge it is plenty accurate. I've met several of the match shooters in this area that practice out to 600 yds and consistently score well. Of course they have a heavy barrel, upgraded trigger and hand loaded ammunition.
Identifying a soldier, let alone a sniper, could draw in Al Q response, at worse, or Code Pink pickets, at least. Not good at all.
The gyrene said "large scale attack". That means all kinds of weapons popping off. The ragheads were 400 yards away. They probably didn't hear the sniper's weapon going off. I doubt they had a clue that they were under sniper fire, except for the last guy who went to airborne school jihad style.
Gunny Hathcock has passed on to his eternal reward.
These hard hitting shooters are his legacy.
Yep - sounds like this guy is devistating to the enemy - and saving taxpayer dollars in the process - not having to waste much ammo!
BTTT
I didn't know you had a fetish for gigantic, slobbering worms with six-inch fangs.
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