6-4. TYPES OF ENEMY SNIPERS AND THEIR CAPABILITIES
The three general types of snipers are the specially trained and equipped individual, the trained marksman, and the civilian irregular. Each has different characteristics of operation and may be used to accomplish different purposes. Countermeasures effective against one type may be less effective against another.
a. Specially Trained Sniper. The most dangerous sniper is the individual who has been specially selected, trained, and equipped with a modern scope-mounted sniper rifle. These individuals are expert shots and are trained to select key individuals as their targets. They can hit at great range (sometimes out to 1,000 meters) and are skilled in avoiding detection. They are normally members of an organized, armed force and wear a standard uniform that may be modified to provide better camouflage. Their actions are carefully integrated into the overall plan of operation. This sniper is the most difficult to counter effectively. Until recently, there were not many potential adversaries of the US that could produce significant numbers of such individuals. Many armies in the world now have a renewed interest in snipers. More and more sniper training is taking place, with an increase of high-power rifles that are available at a reasonable cost on the world arms market. US forces can expect to see more and more trained snipers with improved weapons systems during future urban operations. Some of these may be equipped with rifles and night observation equipment that are among the best in the world. The US Army and its Western allies already have a relatively large number of this type sniper, as do several states of the former Soviet Union, and the Peoples Republic of China.
b. Trained Marksman. A trained marksman is a common sniper often found in urban combat. This sniper is a trained soldier, equipped with a standard issue weapon, who is an above-average shot. He normally has fair to good field craft skills and is difficult to detect in the urban environment. He may be employed singly or in teams to create confusion among friendly forces, cause casualties, or harass and disrupt the tempo of operations. He is often used by the enemy in an economy-of-force role as a rear guard or covering force, while the main enemy force withdraws. He may also be placed on the perimeter of a defended urban area to provide early warning of the approach of friendly forces and to disrupt and cause them to deploy early. The trained marksman is a dangerous foe. He can be found in fairly large numbers in the armies of many potential adversaries. He is normally a member of an organized, armed force and wears a standard uniform. He may, however, be a guerrilla fighter, in which case he may not wear a recognizable uniform but will normally carry his arms openly.
c. Armed Irregular. The third general type of sniper is the armed irregular. He may have little or no formal military training but may have experience in urban combat. He may or may not wear any distinguishing uniform and may even appear to be merely another of the thousands of noncombatants found in a large urban area. He may or may not carry his weapon openly and may go to great lengths to avoid identification as a sniper. His fires are normally not accurate, and he seldom deliberately targets specific individuals. His actions are not normally integrated into an overall enemy plan, although his attacks may be loosely coordinated with others in his general area. Although this type of sniper has the least ability to cause heavy losses among US forces, he has high value as an element of harassment, and in some stability and support situations he may achieve results far out of proportion to his actual ability to cause casualties.
d. Range of Sniper Attacks. The typical range for a sniper attack is 300 to 600 meters with medium-caliber rifles. Shots from 800 to 1,000 meters are the exception. Heavy sniper rifles (caliber .50, 12.7-mm, 14.5-mm, and 15-mm) with ranges of 1,200 to 1,500 meters are now available around the world. These heavy sniper rifles were originally intended as antimateriel weapons for stand-off attack against high-value targets, such as radar control vans, missiles, parked aircraft, and bulk fuel and ammunition storage sites. They are only marginally accurate enough for long-range shots against individual personnel. It is their ability to shoot through all but the heaviest shielding material, and their devastating effects, that make them valuable psychological weapons. The ability to shoot through common urban building materials makes these large weapons valuable as countersniper tools.
e. Equipment Trends. Several other equipment trends will result in a greater threat to US forces from urban snipers in the future.
(1) The quality and quantity of night observation devices sold on the world market is increasing daily. In the near future, even trained marksmen may be equipped with devices to allow accurate fires at night.
(2) The use of simple, direct-view optical sights on military rifles is increasing. Although not in the accuracy class of true sniper weapons, these sights make the trained marksman a much more dangerous foe. This is especially true within the shorter ranges (less than 200 meters) normally associated with combat in urban areas.
(3) Many armies are now buying simple but effective devices to either silence or suppress the muzzle blast of sniper weapons. These devices inhibit the task of determining the location of a sniper. Although many of these devices significantly reduce the maximum effective range of the weapon, snipers can be very effective at less than 200 meters with these devices attached.
(4) The employment of heavy sniper rifles, such as the .50 caliber, has increased.
(5) The use of laser detection devices to detect, damage, degrade, or prevent the use of snipers has increased.
I guess I should consider myself lucky, being shot at by snipers and living to tell the tale. Although one came close, but I think it was more luck on his part that ability, was firing somewhat rapidly, defenitly not full auto, had two rounds pass near my head, and a third hit the upper edge of the turret just as i was sitting down (didn't realize what the first two rounds were, didn't hear gunshots, just the droan of the rounds flying by) but was outside of my sector of fire and couldn't get an eye on him to return fire. theres a few of them out there that I would consider snipers, the most I don't though, for the same reasons stated above, just having basic marksmanship doesn't make you a sniper.
). after WW1 everything the Entente knew about sniping was dismissed, programs cancelled, and skilled peoples let go. And then another war comes along, and eventually the English speaking peoples decide to look up the WW1 vets still kicking and re-learn everything again. And then after WW2 what happens? They can it all again, lose everyone, except the Marines who keep a small program going. And then Vietnam comes, and the Army has to learn it all again!
