Another British sniper doing his thing.....

[Redlegs]

On the particular issues of snipers, I always detested them. This guy is obviously highly skilled, but sniper war, from the age of the arrow to the high powered telescopic rifles is a "cowardly" way to fight. I much more admire the patrol guys in front than the skilled sniper hiding under a bush a mile away.

Clearly you never saw the Mark Wahlberg movie  

[bozon]

No, you said that sniping was cowardly and you admire the grunts more.

That I said. Notice that I used "cowardly" in quotation marks and was talking with respect to the grunts. Also, regarding the media I was replying to SPKmess. You posted between us 19 seconds before me.

[SPKmes]

That I said. Notice that I used "cowardly" in quotation marks and was talking with respect to the grunts. Also, regarding the media I was replying to SPKmess. You posted between us 19 seconds before me.

Fair call...I should practice what I preach and read properly (your post)...I just got a little fixated by the "Cowardly" word in your post... So for not reading your post correctly (About media)I apologize....  but the rest still stands 

[bozon]

I just got a little fixated by the "Cowardly" word in your post...

Bad choice of words on my part. I should have known people would read it as directed against "brave" snipers instead of admiration to the grunts that were in greater danger, but came out of the story as damsels in distress.

[Maverick]

Snipers ARE grunts and do more than the typical grunt does. Their mission is far more than being a trigger puller. Like other parts of the military they are a force multiplier. Saying their acts appear cowardly is disingenuous as they often are far out in front of the rest of the grunts performing their mission.

There is no "fair" in battle, the days of stand up in a line and volley fire at each other is long since gone. There is no glory to be found, it's a dirty disgusting, violent activity that no one wants to do. Those snipers job is no less worthy than any other grunt in the theater and in fact they are worth far more to the commander than just a couple grunts.

One last thing. The job of a soldier is to kill the enemy, destroy their ability to make war and take territory. The sniper performs the same mission.

[Angus]

The Sniper also has to do his jobs in places that are a bit...off and not protected, - with the exception of the sniper himself of course
Snipers are also primary targets, especially for other snipers.
A good life, - I think not

[RTHolmes]

Good for him and the patrol, but such stories should not be published. "Patrol came in contact with insurgents. 5 Taliban were killed", that is all it should have said. The rest is just poor taste. In particular boasting his total kill count which is completely out of place.

the army dont normally release this kind of info, just like the details of Craig Harrison's record shots. I suspect the real reason for doing so now (note 2 press releases from MoD in the space of a week for events which took place last year) is a PR battle with the taliban.

there is a taliban sniper operating in sangin at the moment who's killed 7 or 8 british troops, the taliban will undoubtedly be making a big PR thing out of this locally for support and recruitment. the MoD is responding to this, these 2 brit sniper stories arent actually intended for us in the west, they are targeted at the taliban and the afghan locals, via our media. that the stories will also work as a recruitment tool for the army is just a side benefit.

consider how effectively al quaeda used Juba (bagdhad sniper) as a PR tool for support and recruitment in iraq.

[bozon]

Note to the moderators: This is not rule #14 related. I do not express any political view regarding the situation in Iraq/Afghanistan. This is about the media.

All nice and dandy and I still think that the report is despicable. I have zero problem with shooting Talibans, but I do have a problem with it becoming a spectacle. Another example is the constant "leakage" of gun camera footage from Iraq. This is the lowest kind of propaganda, the modern equivalent of bringing back prisoners to fight lions in the arena for the home crowd amusement. Notice the little things like: mentioning his kill count, bringing a quotation "When shot at, humans react just like animals" that is general, but in the context the reader associates the enemy with the animals, riding national pride (he is killing them with a British-made weapon) and inventing/citing cool nicknames (The Silent Assassin). Practically propaganda 101.

Snipers make good propaganda heroes. In WWII almost every nation had its own sniper hero and the propaganda eagerly followed (and boosted) their kill counts. A regular soldier that committed an extraordinary fit will be immediately wrapped, shipped home and put on a pedestal before he gets killed. The reason is that a regular soldier is not likely to survive so many close encounters with the enemy to be able to kill 37 of them, unless he is sitting on a big machine gun and they are running exposed in front of his barrel. There is next to nil chance that this will repeat over several engagements and he will survive - there will be no story to follow.

RTHolmes,
You posted just as I was hitting my post button. I partially agree, but see my notes about the propaganda above. This seems to be aimed more towards the home crowd.

[RTHolmes]

I think you have to make a distinction between the info that the MoD has issued via press releases and what the media (daily mail in this case) does with it.

the 37 kills mentioned is undoubtedly targeted at the taliban to ramp up their fear factor, and will have been taken from the MoD release (unless the mail just made it up).

However, the paragraph starting "Former SAS commander Andy McNab" onwards does not come from the MoD release. McNab now has a career as a military pundit and author so is quite happy to throw soundbites around for anyone who will listen to sell his books, this paragraph is 3rd party comment added by the journalist.

I completely agree about the guncam footage though, its just macabre. If you enjoy watching this kind of stuff (whatever uniform the targets are wearing) you should probably seek help.


edit: btw army recruitment is very healthy at the moment, so these 2 press releases werent issued for that reason.

[FiLtH]

  My little brother is an Army sniper. Actually was on that show Army Snipers just recently.

[Vulcan]

  My little brother is an Army sniper. Actually was on that show Army Snipers just recently.

Have you told him about my awesome bunny-sniping-ness? I could probably teach him a thing or two... ya know... . Nothing is safe when I'm in the hills with my 22...

[Swoop]

Nothing is safe when I'm in the hills with my 22...

Except everything outside a range of....oh say 400 yards for a poncey .22. 

[Grisbeau]

According to the Daily Mash, a respected UK news site, sales of the weapon have now soared. See article here http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/business/sales-of-l115%11a3-sniper-rifles-soar-201005102715/

[RTHolmes]

hilarious!

(I'm not the only one having a go at McNabb then )

[Pongo]

The most interesting part of the article was snipped by the OP.
"He said: 'They gave me the "weapons free". I engaged with the first insurgent. It took me nine rounds but I took him down with the ninth."

The weapon has a 5 round magazine, he fired off one mag, then changed, then was over half way through the second mag before he hit his first target.
The range is of course extreme, the enemy likely never new they were under aimed fire as the rifle is probably suppressed enough to hide the shot signature from that range. The shooter or spotter might not even have been able to see the impact of the misses to adjust, its a long way.
But 9 shots to hit the first guy. That is honestly more like an MG burst then a sniper shot.
Shooters in Afghanistan with these new rifles are setting some nice records. The altitude and openess of the country is obviosly helping, along with the technology, laser range finders and 25 power optics.