I was trained as a sniper in 1976. It was a 10 week course and it was a lot of hard work and there was nothing cool or glamorous about it. You had to have achieved the rank of at least corporal by the time the course commenced.
The cadre was bound and determined to fail us. We did a lot of known and unknown distance shooting. You learned to shoot moving targets and how to use techniques like the "ambush" on moving targets. There were pop up targets and even falling plates.
We were even taught how to shoot with a sling and the use of metallic sights.
There was a lot of patrolling and I got stuck carrying the AN/PRC 77 transceiver. We also used the old "Starlight" night vision scope.
We had to learn to move - not the same as walking or rushing through the bush like a wild herd of elephants. We learned about stalking and we avoided trails at all costs. There was quite some training in tracking.
We learned about the judicious use of explosives, the use of make-shift booby traps, learning to judge distances, drawing range maps, use of map and compass and how to make sure the team had a very close pace count.
How to navigate by other means, survive in the bush, basic medical and field craft. We had to relearn the proper way of building hides, personal and weapon camouflage. Where to conceal ourselves and our movements, not be conspicuous or obvious. The difference between cover and concealment and etc. And many other things not mentioned.
One of the last exercises we did was to navigate 50 miles or 80 km. Each checkpoint would have a hidden (not obvious) container with the grid reference of the next check point. I, of course had to carry the PRC 77 and my own sniper rifle. My partner had to carry his load, a little bit of mine and another sniper rifle.
The cadre was out looking for us and if they caught us they would bring us back to the starting point. If we were caught again, we would end up failing the class. When you graduated, you were assigned to a Brigade and more training, when put on reserve duty, you had to return for refresher courses and further phases of training.
I did this for four years. Oh yes, we began with using NATO 7.62X51mm Lapua Match ammunition.
In other words, there is a lot more to being a sniper than learning to shoot long range. Every sniper is a marksman but not every marksman is sniper material. Our motto was Perseverance, Persistence, Precision. One of the few men, in the history of the United States Military establishment, to have achieved both with distinction was the expert rifleman (Camp Perry) Carlos Hathcock II.
Then I came to the United State, got my degree and got bored. I then entered the U.S. Army and volunteered for the Airborne. I ended up in the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg -- the home of the brave!
Excellent site.
