Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Swoop on May 07, 2010, 09:47:23 PM
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1273679/Gone-28-seconds-Rapid-sniper-takes-Taliban-soldiers-protect-British-patrol.html
Gone in 28 seconds: Rapid-fire sniper takes out five Taliban soldiers from more than a mile away to save British patrol
By Ian Drury
A British sniper shot dead five Taliban gunmen in just 28 seconds to save the lives of comrades walking into an ambush.
The marksman felled the rebels from more than a mile away as they prepared to attack troops on foot patrol in Afghanistan. The corporal - whose identity cannot be revealed for security reasons - has killed a record 37 enemy fighters during a four-month tour of duty. But his most remarkable feat of arms came when he and the spotter who accompanies him saw the group of armed Taliban.
They were taking up positions to fire on a patrol that included the platoon commander in Helmand Province. Hiding in an old fort, the sniper prepared his British-built L115A3 Long Range Rifle.
The firearm, which fires 8.59mm bullets at three times the speed of sound and uses a state-of-the-art telescopic sight, is so effective that it has been nicknamed The Silent Assassin. Requesting permission to shoot - needed because the British had not yet been attacked - the corporal made sure the rebel leader was in the crosshairs of his sights. He would have had to make precise calculations in a split-second on wind speed and other weather conditions to compensate for the drift of the rounds in flight.
Moments later his commander gave him the go-ahead to fire and in less than half a minute the five Taliban gunmen lay dead.
He said: 'They gave me the "weapons free". I engaged with the first insurgent.
'Then the other four had moved closer, so I took them down as well.'
The sharp-shooter, a father of one who has been a sniper for nine years and serves with 4th Battalion The Rifles, added: 'My job is about taking care of the boys. It is not about how many you kill, it's about the team.'
Former SAS commander Andy McNab said: 'To bring down five targets in less than 30 seconds is a real achievement. When shot at, humans react just like animals. There are a couple of seconds where they will freeze, then they hit the ground or run.
'In this case the sniper would have had to hit, and kill, a moving target at a considerable distance.'
The corporal's achievement in June last year in the Nad'e Ali district of Helmand, was revealed after the Mail told of how fellow sniper Craig Harrison broke all military records by killing two Taliban machine gunners from more than a mile and a half away.
The Corporal of Horse - a rank in the Household Cavalry corresponding to Sergeant - felled the gunmen with consecutive bullets even though they were 1,070 yards beyond the official range of his rifle
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Well done Tommy, well done indeed! :salute
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Nice job...gotta love snipers. :salute
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:salute
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This fellow can shoot over my shoulder any time. :D
OUTSTANDING!!! :salute
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So... The British have decided its time to bring back the Longbow... but with an upgrade!
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Shhhhh, don't tell the French.
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Kick butt...glad that he was able to do that and help his brothers in arms out.
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
If you read it correctly he was not interested in his kill count...that's today's media for you.... He was there for the team.... so he helped his team...definitely not a cowardly form of fighting when you consider that quite often they are placed by themselves (with spotter) in remote areas.... if they get into trouble...they have to hold out till help arrives...
Plus modern warfare in general is like this.... half the missiles are sent by people who have a picture of what they are firing at
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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.
What a diddlying joke.
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I was criticizing the media, not him.
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No, you said that sniping was cowardly and you admire the grunts more.
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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.
The British and Americans used to think that too during the first part of the American Revolution. But they soon realized that standing out in a open field shooting at each other wasn't the best way to stay alive. They soon found trees to hide in and around.
The Americans used a tactic that the native Americans used and the sniper was born.
Snipers are usually at the front of the fight, long before they regular forces get there. They deserve the utmost respect for their bravery. They're usually out numbered 100 if not 1000 to 1. Very scary position to be in.
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Snipers are usually at the front of the fight, long before they regular forces get there. They deserve the utmost respect for their bravery. They're usually out numbered 100 if not 1000 to 1. Very scary position to be in.
Yep and every solider Iv known can tell you that when there was a friendly sniper team in the area they felt a whole lot safer because they knew they were watching their backs. Very far from being cowardly.
Just like in this case. What could have happened if that marksmen wasn't there? There is a good chance that we would be hearing about more of our solders being WIA or KIA on the 6 o'clock news.
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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 :noid
(http://www.sogknives.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/shooter.jpg)
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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 :D
Snipers are also primary targets, especially for other snipers.
A good life, - I think not
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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.
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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.
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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.
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My little brother is an Army sniper. Actually was on that show Army Snipers just recently.
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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... :D . Nothing is safe when I'm in the hills with my 22...
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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. :p
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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/ (http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/business/sales-of-l115%11a3-sniper-rifles-soar-201005102715/)
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hilarious! :rofl
(I'm not the only one having a go at McNabb then :D)
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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.
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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.
Shot signature? I'm fairly sure the supersonic crack of a bullet whizzing past their heads would have given them a clue ;)
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Yea Mark Wahlberg is more badass then Chuck Norris, he shot down a Helicopter with a sniper rifle........ :D
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Except everything outside a range of....oh say 400 yards for a poncey .22. :p
400 yards for a 22? You're optimistic .. oh that's right you're a pom - what are you down to using slingshots for hunting in mother england these days :D
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Shot signature? I'm fairly sure the supersonic crack of a bullet whizzing past their heads would have given them a clue ;)
Maybe they weren't aware they were under fire because the supersonic crack was from a bullet whizzing through their heads?
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Maybe they weren't aware they were under fire because the supersonic crack was from a bullet whizzing through their heads?
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It took me nine rounds but I took him down with the ninth.
I should probably insert something here about pommie literacy rates....
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I should probably insert something here about pommie literacy rates....
Go right ahead professor, not sure how I've demonstrated illiteracy but crack on nevertheless :salute
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400 yards for a 22? You're optimistic ..
Nah I'm just a better shot than you.