The Art and Science of Sniping > United States Maritime Corps Flagship > News Display
8 U.S. Marine Corps scout snipers show up at a five-week state-of-the-art marksmanship training course typically recognised as the Urban Sniper Program. The Marines utilised this time to refine and hone their marksmanship expertise to keep optimum proficiency at Camp Hansen on May perhaps 25.
U.S. Marines with the Expeditionary Operations Training Group, III Maritime Expeditionary Force, instructed the Urban Sniper Course to increase sniper expertise in urban environments by way of precision hearth, engaging targets via glass, urban tactical motion, marksmanship for the duration of the working day and evening, preparing, and stalking in urban terrain.
“A massive portion of the initial week is likely back to the fundamentals,” claimed Sgt. Todd Smith, a scout sniper with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, and a pupil of the City Sniper Training course. “We are producing our marksmanship abilities to the proficiency of when we initially graduated sniper school.”
The snipers arrived at the range early in the morning to get a basic safety short and assessment the lessons they experienced realized just before commencing to hearth. The students were being fired in many positions, at a wide variety of not known distances, perfecting their accuracy. Immediately after, the college students obtained numerous new lessons just before starting the nighttime part of the occasion. Through this time, they reviewed the fundamentals of marksmanship in a nighttime setting.
“The City Sniper Class was developed to superior prepare snipers who are assigned as part of the maritime raid force.” Gunnery Sgt. Augusto Zapata, chief teacher of EOTG, III MEF
“This study course presents Marines with innovative marksmanship techniques and work strategies to improved assist the maritime raid drive element of the MEU,” said Gunnery Sgt. Augusto Zapata, the chief teacher of Expeditionary Functions Coaching Team, III MEF.
Scout snipers have two main roles. They use large-caliber weapons to prohibit the enemy from going freely in a concentrate on region by disrupting their functions and conducting reconnaissance and surveillance to report to their command.
“Being a scout sniper is an occupation that calls for a good deal of specialized proficiency,” claimed Zapata. “Snipers ought to be extremely proficient in science intertwined with arithmetic. They have to estimate inside, external and terminal ballistics as perfectly as compensate for all the external elements this sort of as weather. However, the art comes into engage in when they learn that science to the stage where by they can velocity as a result of the method and arrive to a answer for the challenge.”
The study course follows a crawl, stroll, and operate mentality, preparing the college students for marksmanship evaluations. All the Marines must move the evaluations to graduate from the course. They will be specified many road blocks, which includes firing at many targets from not known distances, partaking in simulated urban threats, and engaging in aerial marksmanship.
“It’s usually good to be surrounded by snipers, primarily with extra senior snipers,” claimed Smith. “We have gunnery sergeants, personnel sergeants, and civilian instructors with a prosperity of awareness that they have discovered above 15 several years of remaining snipers. The awareness they have obtained is then easily handed on to us and presents us much more wisdom whilst establishing a qualified character, and I glimpse forward to refining my occupation throughout the following several weeks.”