 Military sniper dates from the time of the Revolutionary War. Since then, snipers have been employed in every war and conflict. During our Civil War, General Hiram Burton helped perfect the techniques that snipers use. World War I saw German soldiers use high-powered rifles with telescopic sights. During World War II, the United States armed marksmen with special M1s and M1903 Springfield rifles to conduct sniper operations. When World War II taught us that a sniper is a weapon of opportunity and a typical rifleman cannot be assigned the sniper mission. Every marksman is not a sniper. Every sniper is a marksman. During the Korean conflict, Army and Marine Corps commanders failed to appreciate the techniques and capabilities of snipers. As a result, a sniper school was founded by the United States Army Infantry School in 1955-56 to pass on these lessons learned. It was noted that the way a trained sniper is the best protection against enemy snipers. They must be experts with specialized weapons and combat skills. Also their commander's education in this area is vital. The sniper program was short-lived, but Vietnam revived the need for trained snipers mainly because of enemy forces in Vietnam, demonstrating the effectiveness of sniper employment techniques under varying tactical conditions. Additionally, United States snipers in Vietnam used 2.3 rounds per kill versus thousands of rounds per kill expended by conventional units. For these reasons, the Army conducted sniper training courses and educated commanders at all levels on sniper employment. During the 1983 Grenada Operation Urgent Fury, Army snipers were successful against enemy mortar positions at ranges up to 800 meters. During the recent action just cause in Panama, the longest confirmed kill documented was 925 meters. Snipers in Panama accounted for at least 10% of all casualties and were instrumental in intelligence gathering and security, especially around the Papal Nuno. The role of the modern sniper team is to enhance and augment means of eliminating the enemy. The sniper team is unique in that it is the sole means by which a unit can engage point targets beyond the effective range of the standard service rifle. Although sniper employment has evolved from one conflict to another, certain factors of proper employment of snipers remain constant. The sniper delivers long-range precision fire on key targets as well as collecting and reporting battlefield information. Snipers can disrupt enemy movement, observation, and infiltration. They can also influence enemy actions and cause fear, confusion, and lower morale. Sniper teams should be employed directly under the commander or sniper employment officer. They must know his intent, maneuver, and fire support plan. The sniper team must be allowed to choose their own positions to ensure clear fields of fire and observation. Sniper missions can't be tied to rigid timetables nor employed so close as to draw enemy fire, but close enough to deliver fire on enemy targets. The number of teams employed in an operation will depend on their availability, the expected duration of the engagement, and the enemy strength. Snipers must be employed ahead of any anticipated movement so as to avoid detection by enemy forces. They also should move with a security element, either squad or platoon, to allow them to reach their position in less time. Plus, the security element provides a reaction force if the team is compromised. Sniper teams are affected by MET-T factors as other units are. Snipers play a major role in offensive operations to destroy the enemy's will to fight and by eliminating enemy targets that threaten the success of the mission. During an offensive operation, snipers are employed to engage enemy snipers, overwatch movement, and fire upon any targets that threaten movement. They place precision fire on enemy crew-served weapons, enemy leaders, and fire into exposed apertures of enemy bunkers. They also place fire on bypassed forces, fire on targets threatening a counterattack or fire at fleeing personnel. They also provide flank protective fire at targets that threaten an exposed flank and dominate key terrain. Snipers and the movement to contact may move with the lead element, but should be kept with the reserve in order to be deployed effectively. They should never move with the point element. Also, snipers should be employed 24 to 48 hours prior for all offensive operations. This allows them time to do their job more effectively and gather information on the enemy and dominate key terrain to prevent surprise attacks. The sniper's role is limited in a mounted attack. However, when the unit dismounts, the sniper team can be employed to support the assault. During a raid, sniper teams can either be employed with the security or support element or used in both elements to cover avenues of approach and escape into and out of the objective. They also cover routes of friendly withdrawal and provide long-range fires on the objective. When they're employed defensively, snipers will shoot specific targets that will cause the greatest hindrance to the enemy's advance, such as covering minefields, obstacles, and demolitions. They can eliminate enemy reconnaissance elements, engage enemy vehicle commanders exploding turrets, and to tank teams and OPs. Snipers can also place precision fire on enemy crew-served weapons and enemy follow-up units. Finally, in a reverse slope defense, snipers can provide effective long-range fire from positions forward of the topographic crest with security elements or on the crest of the rear hill to provide intelligence and support with long-range fire. Sniper teams also play a key role during retrograde employment. During delay in withdrawals, snipers can cause enemy forces to deploy prematurely by inflicting casualties with accurate long-range fire. For the sniper team, mount environments present difficulties not encountered on the battlefield. Streets and highways do not necessarily dictate good observation points or fields of fire. Structures and their surrounding terrain are more significant. Sniper teams need not be deployed in a city to accomplish their objective, but from a vantage point such as a hilltop outside of town. The sniper's observation and target detection capabilities combined with their precision fire give them a major role in this type of combat. Building interiors and underground passages are the best routes of movement since movement through the streets is quickly detected. In the urban environment, snipers should be positioned in the most inconspicuous settings. While masonry buildings are desirable for their protection, the main concern should remain each position's anonymity and the protection it provides. Another consideration for sniper positioning in the urban setting is the field of observation available. A long-range field of fire and all-around observation is desirable. As fields of fire are often obvious to the enemy, sniper teams should muffled the sound of fire as best they can and conceal the muzzle flash of the rifle. Shots should be aligned through openings and adjacent buildings or through funnel-shaped holes in the wall with the large end of the funnel at the room's interior. Engagement ranges are shortened by street to street and building to building fighting. However, snipers in mount offensive and defensive operations will engage primarily the same targets as those in the field. Another function of the sniper team is counter sniper operations. These operations must be thoroughly planned as this is basically a battle between two highly trained sniper elements. The first task in a counter sniper operation is to determine if there is indeed a sniper threat. Have enemy soldiers been spotted wearing special camouflage uniforms and carrying long barrel weapons with mounted scopes, bold action receivers, or are they carrying weapons in weapons cases or drag bags? Another indicator of enemy sniper activity is a unit may have had single-shot casualty of key personnel. Also, there are marked decreases in enemy patrolling activities during these single-shot reductions and have unit personnel detected reflections of light off optical lenses. Enemy sniper activity would be indicated through intelligence or by recon patrols reporting small groups of 1 to 3 enemy personnel through visual sightings or tracking. Finding single-expended cartridge casings like those used by enemy snipers would be still another indicator. Once it has been determined that an enemy sniper is operating in the area, the sniper team then will determine the best method to use in eliminating the enemy sniper. The team will determine any pattern that might have been established and conduct map records and study aerial photos to determine travel patterns. The sniper must ask himself, how would I accomplish this mission if I were he? Once a pattern has been established, the sniper will determine the best location and time to engage the sniper. He should also request the following actions. Coordination of routes and fires with the unit in the area, additional fire support, additional sniper teams for mutual supporting fire, and some of the bait likely engagement areas to deceive the enemy sniper. One example would be the use of a mannequin and a ghillie suit placed in an open area in order to entice the enemy into engaging it. This will give the sniper the opportunity to detect the enemy's location. All of these elements should be in place no later than 12 hours prior to the expected engagement time. Always keep in mind that during a counter sniper operation, the sniper must ignore the larger battle going on around him. His only concern must be to concentrate on his one objective, to destroy the enemy sniper. When an enemy sniper is operating in a unit's area, they must employ passive measures to defend against sniper fire. These are, 1. Breakup routines don't follow a set pattern. 2. Conduct all meetings under cover. 3. Cover or conceal all equipment. 4. Remove rank insignia from helmets and collars. 5. Increase observation. 6. Do most activity during limited visibility. 7. Do not let the enemy know you are aware of him. And 8. Brief patrols to look for single expended rounds and different camouflage materials. A strong point to remember in counter sniper operations is not to overlook women. An estimated 50% of snipers in many third world countries are women. Patrols and OPs should not be misled if they see a woman with a scoped rifle. She is a deadly opponent. Due to the fact that sniper skills are very perishable, they must be practiced as often as possible. One way is through the utilization of a sniper sustainment program. This program will provide the individual sniper or sniper team an opportunity to sustain their skills in both marksmanship and field craft on a regular basis. Units should try to develop a sustainment program that will require the sniper teams to re-qualify with their sniper weapons on a quarterly basis. In conjunction with the marksmanship training, the sniper would be required to participate in field craft training. This training would be approximately one week long, and units should plan a sniper emergency deployment readiness exercise, which should be 24 hours long. As a minimum, the emergency deployment readiness exercise should require the sniper to engage targets with the sniper weapon on a field fire range, participate in a concealed movement exercise, and negotiate a day-night land navigation course. An example of a five-day sniper sustainment course would consist of the following schedule. On day one, observation and target detection. Range estimation, movement techniques, select sniper team routes and position, select sniper team employment, forward observer target sighting, identify threat uniforms and equipment, basic land navigation, both day and night training, range card, log book, and field sketch. Training on day two should consist of effects of wind and weather, basic marksmanship both aiming and sighting with iron sight, and auto-ranging telescopes, engaging moving targets. Zero, iron sight and field fire, zero ART scopes and field fire, keep in memory games. The third day of the sniper sustainment training program should consist of keep in memory games, one half-of-class field fire with mover and snaps, night fire, half-of-class field craft, range estimation, target detection, concealment, and concealed movement exercises. Day four should consist of a switch of classes. Field fire goes to field craft and field craft to field fire. And finally, day five consists of the following, a rotation of the teams from AM to PM during training activities. One half-of-class record fires with movers, the sniper team calling their own wind, and the other half-of-class goes to field craft. Range estimation, target detection, and concealed movement. This will complete the five-day sniper sustainment program. The sniper teams should be afforded every opportunity to thoroughly practice their skills. Now, though, what you've seen in this presentation is only a guideline to follow, remember to take advantage of any occasion that will lend itself to further training. The sniper has special abilities, training, and equipment to do this job at the highest level of perfection. This perfection must be achieved before a sniper takes part in combat operations. One shot, one kill, United States Army snipers.