CONTINUATION TRAINING FOR SNIPERS

BY

SlugBoy

British Sniper pair field firing, but Sniping does not stop here!

GENERAL

Once our basic soldier becomes proficient in the Art of Sniping he is often considered good enough to deploy on operations in the Sniping role. This happens (At least in the British Army) all too often because Commanders do not know the slightest thing about the Sniper.

This practice sells the soldier short and will ultimately lead to his death! Sniper courses are called basic courses because this is what they are, the basic minimum, a launch pad, and the start of a Snipers career.

In this article I will touch on some of the continuation training required to bring Snipers to an acceptable deployable level

METHOD OF INSERTION

SF Snipers can insert via various means, Parachute, Boat, Helicopter, Vehicle or foot. Snipers need to at ease with each method so insertion to the area of Ops goes smoothly.

PARACHUTE: Various types can be used to insert the Sniper, these include:

a. Static line - Low level rapid deployment canopies (LLP's) are used by UK

Parachute Regiment. These have an operational jump height

of 250 feet.

b. Static line Squares - 3000 - 5000 foot jump height, instantly deployed chute that

can be steered to the Area of operations.

c. HALO - Primarily used by Para Reg Pathfinder Pl and SAS. 25000 foot jump

height using oxygen. Low opening 1000 foot normal.

d. HAHO - 25000 foot jump height, canopy deployed early in order to fly to the

target area.

Problems encountered using Para insertion: Weight of kit becomes an issue. Radios, Spare batteries, Ancills, Sniper rifle, Night Sight, Spotting Scope, Leica range finders, Tripod, Ammunition, water, rations, report writing kit, SA80 rifle, prismatic compass, these are all must go items and weigh down a pair significantly.

Solution: Train Snipers to live as rough as possible, make them suffer the cold, wettest and most miserable places in the world. Train them to live off the land, practice them in Escape and evasion and resistance to interrogation. Ensure they get use to doing without the luxury items such as Gore-Tex, Sleeping bags etc..

This approach will do two things:

1. It will allow you to see who really has what it takes when the chips are down.
2. It will train your Snipers to do without the logistical luxuries that he may not have in a War fighting scenario.

BOAT

The British field a number of smaller insertion type boats that may be used by Snipers to insert into an area of operations;

A. 2 Man Recce Boat - These are held by all Infantry Bn's and are inflatable. Quite

small in nature, prone to puncture and have limited space for two men and

equipment. However are silent (Oar propelled), easy to conceal and take minimum

training.

B. Ridged and Inflatable Raider craft - Small light weight man portable rubber or

metal boats. Suited for up to eight soldiers and equipment. Can be fitted with

outboard motor or rowed. Better for faster flowing rivers and speed (if motor used).

Takes longer to train troops to use, harder to conceal and manoeuvre. More room

for men and equipment.

HELICOPTER

Helicopters are a useful tool that add flexibility to operations and can be used to insert Sniper teams by landing (touch down), Abseil (rappelling) or fast roping. However aircraft signature can be counter productive so the use of dummy runs and drop offs can aid deception as can inserting pairs using primarily recce aircraft such as the Gazelle.

VEHICLES

Various vehicles may be used to insert snipers via Drop off, add this to routine patrol movement, night insertion etc.. and Snipers can infiltrate to greater depth after leaving their transport.

Snipers can also be equipped with ATV's or Motorcycles these of course become a logistical problem and create noise and easy targets while on the move. Vehicle borne Snipers are best employed during battle group advances. Here we keep them in reserve and use the vehicles to quickly deploy them to areas where they can be used to best effect, such as blocking/delaying enemy reinforcement, targeting Enemy specialists such as engineers clearing mine fields or targeting escaping enemy. The vehicles allow swift movement during a fluid battle.

FOOT

Ultimately Snipers no matter how they reach their drop off point will rely on their feet as their main mode of transport. This allows them to remain undetected but also means they again are greatly affected by the load they carry.

RESISTANCE TO INTERROGATION (RTI)

Snipers as with all advance forces are prone to capture and highly vulnerable. Therefore it is important that soldiers are taught the fundamentals of Escape and evasion and in the worst case RTI. Survival techniques must be taught and practiced, Snipers must be able to live off the land in order to be self contained whilst deployed, this aids their ability to remain undetected due to a non existent re-supply signature.

BASIC SURVIVAL

Snipers must be able to find or create the following;

1. Water
2. Shelter
3. Food
4. Fire

These are all basic needs for an individual to survive; being able to find these in all environments allows the Sniper to sustain himself if things go wrong.

COMBAT SURVIVAL

This differs from basic survival because the soldier is on the run, hence priorities change. Traps and trapping become an unviable option. The soldier needs to evade capture and keep moving. Water and navigation are the key aspects required, food is a luxury and any found needs to become portable. Hence animal kills require the soldier to rip out high nourishment organs that may be eaten raw such as sheep livers. (If you don't believe we practice this ask any 101st members who visited 1 Para back in 84, any out there?) The will to survive, a cunning approach and guile are the order of the day.

ESCAPE AND EVASION PLAN

Detailed E & E plans must be incorporated into pre-deployment orders. Plans for RV procedures, their locations and opening times require working out and memorising. Who sponsors RV's, Combat recovery plan or Combat search and rescue plans need to be thought through. These fundamental procedures must be adhered to once in theatre if rescue is to be expected. (Failure to do so was Bravo Two zero's fatal mistake) A War RV must be decided and should be in a safe location i.e. a friendly country.

CAPTURE

In the event of capture Snipers must know how to react. Their first priority should be survival. A soldier will never be able to resist interrogation for prolonged periods. With this in mind pre-deployment preparation can lessen the blow of captured soldiers.

1. Sanitation of kit : Snipers should deploy with no regimental/unit insignia, including t-shirts etc... Unit tattoos should be discouraged. Grids, timings and radio frequencies should be encoded. Radios should be used on schedules and frequencies slipped off dials when not in use. Personal items such as letters, rings and photographs should not be taken into the field as interrogators will use them against you. Brief only on what soldiers need to know prior to deployment.

2. Be the grey man: If captured try not to draw attention to yourself. Remain in the background, try not to lead those personnel captured with you.
3. Do not offer information: If captured it is your duty to with hold information. However the initial 24hr period after your capture are the most critical. Things change, your information will become outdated British soldiers are taught to stick by the following, Name, Rank, Serial Number, Date of Birth and to answer `I Cannot answer that question' to all other questions. However this will irritate an enemy very quickly and they will take great pleasure in breaking you. Once the initial 24hrs is over you've done your best, you must stay alive. Cover stories can be used, drip feed information on weapon systems etc.. (Info that can be found in books and on the internet etc..)
4. Third World Capture: It is a point to note that many third world countries have no prisoner of war policy, CAPTURE ESPECIALLY OF SNIPERS WILL MEAN YOUR DEATH!
5.  

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

These points are by no means the end of it. Snipers must master Communications, First Aid, Arty/Mor indication, FAC procedures, team, section and Platoon SOP's (standard Operational procedures). They must keep on top of their basic skills, shooting, judging distance, Navigation, Camouflage, Stalking etc... They must practice in all environments; they must work on their observational skills and produce timely and accurate information. The list goes on!

Train hard, train for War and endure hardships!

All the best Slugboy!

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