US Snipers in Najaf

[Dago]

Datter posted this on AGW, and I thought it interesting enough to crosspost here.

From
Intel Dump

One shot, one kill
USMC snipers exact a deadly toll from the Iraqi insurgents in Najaf

Eric Umansky alerted me in his Today's Papers column to a passage in this New York Times article describing fighting in Iraq which talks about the killing being done there. I have read a great deal about Operation Iraqi Freedom and the subsequent fights to pacify parts of Iraq such as Ramadi, Fallujah and Najaf. But when I saw this statistic about sniper kills, it really hit me that we are decisively engaged:

    Fighting in Najaf has intensified sharply in the past three days, said Capt. Coby Moran, operations officer of the First Battalion of the Fourth Marine Regiment, one of three American battalions, with a total of about 3,000 troops, fighting here.

    American forces are tightening their cordon around the shrine and the Old City, Captain Moran and other officers at the American base in northern Najaf said Tuesday. A Western reporter and photographer who moved through the southern half of the Old City on Tuesday morning encountered sniper fire.

    Marine snipers killed 62 people on Tuesday, and an Army battalion pushed deeper into the Old City, though it remains at least a half-mile from the shrine, Captain Moran said. An Apache attack helicopter fired three missiles at mortar crews on the roof of a parking garage adjacent to the shrine, Army officers said. [emphasis added]

    "We're starting to put together our plan," Captain Moran said. "We're forcing the enemy to react to us a little more, tightening the noose."

Analysis: That's a lot of killing being done by a relatively small number of Marines. I'm not entirely sure of this fact, but I think that each Marine Corps infantry battalion (like 1-4 Marines) has a scout/sniper platoon in its headquarters company. So we're really talking about 20-30 Marines -- only half of whom are actually shooters, due to the marksman/observer team concept -- killing 62 Iraqis in one day. It's possible that the Marine captain quoted in this article is counting all kills via rifle, because after all, every Marine considers himself to be a rifleman. But I don't think so; I think these are confirmed sniper kills, and this is a huge number.

I have written before that I don't think that body counts per se are a good indicator of success. However, I do think they make for a good indicator of combat intensity, and in some ways, of combat effectiveness. One point that comes through again and again in stories of engagements in Iraq is that the Iraqi insurgents simply don't understand tactical fundamentals such as cover and concealment. I have seen Al-Jazeera tapes and U.S. military tapes of engagements where Iraqi insurgents, whooped up by their buddies into a frenzy of martyrdom, literally rush out into the middle of the street to launch an unaimed RPG at U.S. forces. In nearly all the videos, they are instantaneously cut down by a few short bursts of aimed rifle and machine gun fire. No trained soldier would ever do something so stupid. But the Iraqi grunts do it again and again, almost inviting death.

The resulting lopsided casualty counts have a great deal to do with this skill imbalance. U.S. troops simply don't expose themselves to fire when it's unnecessary, and they employ fires to shield their maneuver when they move. Indeed, I would argue (based largely on Dr. Stephen Biddle's research on skill/technology issues in warfare) that this skill imbalance is the most important factor in determining the outcome of urban engagements, because of the way that urban environments degrade the usefulness of technology. We simply can't employ standoff weapons systems like tanks and Apache helicopters at 2-3 km. So we have to employ our tough young Army and Marine Corps infantrymen instead.

Some technologies -- such as commo and night-vision gear -- can make a big difference. But ultimately, it comes down to basic tactical fundamentals like fire & maneuver, effective use of cover & concealment, and the ability to hit what you shoot. It therefore doesn't surprise me that the Marine snipers are doing such deadly work in Iraq. But the numbers do give me pause, because they tell me that our Marines and soldiers are decisively engaged right now in the kind of infantry combat that grinds up men and materiel.
[Phillip Carter, Wednesday August 18, 2004 at 9:06am] 1 Trackbacks

[FUNKED1]

There's a person on AGW (and here) who has a business acquaintance with one of these soldiers.  I'm not sure how much he can share, but from what I have seen and heard these guys are absolutely devastating the enemy.  The best part is that they are able to ID targets positively as combatants.  Pretty much zero collateral damage.

[B17Skull12]

IS Mr.Black over there?

[Gman]

I'm not on AGW, but a Marine Master Sniper, who's also a good friend of mine, teaches our precision rifle, police marksman, and sniper courses for our school/training facility here.

He was deployed in Iraq with the 1st Marine Division, and taught at the sniper school as well as the mountain warfare school.

I've shot with pretty much every Tier 1 type soldier around here at the school and Sigarms Academy (I'm a Tac Conceal Pistol Instructor with Sig), and our x-Marine is by far and away the best most meticulous rifle shooter I've ever met.  

There's a good reason that Delta and the Teams train at the Marine sniper schools.


P.S., his confirmed count is 47, and he told me he did another 100+, and I believe it.

[demaw1]

We have a sniper in our squad, really a nice guy. Dago I believe they dont stay under cover as much because of all those virgins, really I do. Has to be much easier and safer there for them, than their normal routine. Thanks for sharing article.

[stiehl]

At least the Iraqi conscript army, as bad as it was,  had some training. These guys are just cannon fodder.


Reading "13 cent Snipers" right now, Garand M1-D seems pretty cool.

[FUNKED1]

Originally posted by B17Skull12
IS Mr.Black over there?

He has been awful quiet.  I think he must be our secret weapon in Iraq.

[cpxxx]

That article reminded me of a news shot I saw taken in the West Bank. Some Palestinians were doing the usual Arab thing, hamming it up for the camera. Bouncing out in the street, firing a burst and hopping back in. One guy jumped out, there was a single shot and he went down. A one shot kill.  Obviously the Israeli sniper had zeroed on the corner and waited.

I imagine something similar is happening in Najaf. By all military experience Najaf should be a nightmare for the Americans. Urban warfare where the enemy knows the ground.  In fact it seems to be a nightmare for the Mehdi army.  Obviously lessons have been learned.

[Dinger]

I've switched computers and haven't installed YM yet.  Maybe I should do that now....
I've seen more pictures of bodies, so I assume he's pretty busy.

[Otto]

There's a cool picture on the front page of today's (Saturday) New York Times.

  There's also a editorial explaining how the fighting is all the fault of the U.S. and how none of this would have happened if the Marines has just been 'sensitive' to the needs of the AK toting thugs when they first arrived.  (I guess that means we should have ignored them)

  Of course the Editorial Office is 6000 miles away from where the shooting started.  But,  that dosen't stop the Times from finding the 'Truth'

[Mickey1992]

Originally posted by cpxxx
Some Palestinians were doing the usual Arab thing, hamming it up for the camera. Bouncing out in the street, firing a burst and hopping back in. One guy jumped out, there was a single shot and he went down. A one shot kill.  Obviously the Israeli sniper had zeroed on the corner and waited.

http://tv.reuters.com/index.jsp?auto_band=x&rf=sv&fr_story=7b4502f30ed2dcc62f7577e46a6ae419a2e3e1db

Watch about 1 min into the video.  Iraqi gunmen are popping around a corner taking pot shots.  On the 3rd try, the gunman appears to take a round to the arm.

[BlckMgk]

Originally posted by Mickey1992
http://tv.reuters.com/index.jsp?auto_band=x&rf=sv&fr_story=7b4502f30ed2dcc62f7577e46a6ae419a2e3e1db

Watch about 1 min into the video.  Iraqi gunmen are popping around a corner taking pot shots.  On the 3rd try, the gunman appears to take a round to the arm.

Video about security in NYC

[Mickey1992]

Originally posted by BlckMgk
Video about security in NYC

I don't know why the BBS is chopping my URL in two.  Go to http://tv.reuters.com/ and click on the Sadr City video clip.