C-sniper help
I'm the asst S3 at a training battalion and I've been tasked to find information regarding c-sniper operations. I need everything from c-sniper defeat principles to tactical recommendations. If you have anything, please help as I searched fruitlessly on google and I don't want to reinvent the wheel. Thank you in advance for all your support
Though not military there used to be a lot of law enforcement training in counter sniper tactics. The same with fire departments. Most of that kind of material though is not going to be available through Google. The FBI used to have an entire class on counter sniper operations for law enforcement. I have a couple of books sitting on my bookshelf from classes but they are all 15 years out of date.
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Call
Have you looked in Center for Army Lessons Learned (CALL)? I remember from a trainup that we found counter-sniper training aides like pocket cards. There is probably other info there too. You could also look at the Fort Benning site and go into the Infantry School. They may have POCs or resources in the sniper school (Target Interdiction?) page.
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The army is paying a gazillion dollars to contractors to do all the data mining work for you.
Simply head to the below URL and submit your request. Operators are standing by.
https://call-rfi.leavenworth.army.mi...ewRequest.aspx
Thanks for the help
Thank you all for the help. They were all great assets. Especially you Cav Guy... sir. I was in your COIN class (18-20 Feb at Ft. Meade). I knew there was a site like that, but I just couldn't remember. Thanks again sir
Additional assistance from CAC
As I recall...
CAC and Benning were tasked to form a C-sniper integrated capability development team (ICDT)...
I think this is the home of most of what they developed in cooperation with CALL
https://forums.bcks.army.mil/secure/...aspx?id=329139
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Thanks,
Hope you enjoyed the class. All our stuff is posted @ http://coin.army.mil in the knowledge center - including those videos we used.
Counter sniper issue resurfaces
Bill Moore has posted this on SWJ and this thread has been created in response:Please note re-surface and I will try to identify previous thread(s) in a moment. A reminder: we are seeking experience to help those in the field, so OPSEC has some impact here and if necessary or demand requires it this thread can be moved to a secure place.We need to resurface our counter sniper discussion to present our men and women dealing with this serious threat some viable options. The best defense against a sniper is a sniper, but we all know that only goes so far, and screening only works at fixed facilities, not when they're on patrol. We have a lot of experience (old and new) collectively, so let's start posting on this topic in the council.
Possible, previous threads are:
Sharpshooter/DM employment:http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=4575
Are snipers and recon still valid in infantry battalions?:http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=8165
I know sniping appears in several historical threads and more recently their role in the Finnish context.
Last edited by davidbfpo; 07-16-2011 at 12:53 PM.
davidbfpo
David, good to see you direct some traffic on this. Some of the practical things I've learned (old and new) are:
-You can assume that you are always under observation. That's the very first rule.
-Snipers, both ours and theirs are trained to "burn through" their concealment with the optics they apply. As a result, they often fire from more than one terrain feature or layer of concealment away. Patrols employing guardian angels would do well to direct their focus to these areas, not just the line of trees across the field.
-Patrols that employ travelling and/or bounding overwatch are less likely to be surprised. This is a basic TTP that I think has been allowed to go fallow because of the threat of IEDs and limited resources in terms of detection equipment and personnel.
-Patrols that pay attention to using angles, shadow, and other naturally occuring features fare better too.
-All around observation skills are so easy to be taught that it is laughable, but if not done, or not done to standard it limits every members ability to "scan wide and focus small" when tgt indicators are afoot.
I'll for sure think of a few more while I am looking at RVs today, but these come to mind the quickest.
# Is the 'nervous' sniper 'dance' in use with sentries?
# Did PsyOps try to mislead OPFOR riflemen, trying things such as a rumour that body armour is weakest in centre, or horror rumours about retaliation against snipers?
# Are trench scopes in use?
# Why do things such as this happen if OPFOR riflemen are to be taken seriously?
# Are periscopes in use?
Fuchs,
I don't know if your points are comments on my points, in part I think because of language misunderstanding.
I'm scratching my head about your periscope comment. I know you advocate them, but at least in the Afghanistan context, they aren't a player as one might think.
Last edited by jcustis; 07-16-2011 at 07:29 PM.
Sniper Rounds and more...
An item in today's Washington Times Inside the Ring.
Sniper Rounds
An Army judge advocate general (JAG) temporarily banned Army and Marine Corps snipers from using a highly accurate open-tip bullet.
... mistakenly thought the open-tip round was the same as hollow-point ammunition, which is banned. The original open-tip was known as Sierra MatchKing and broke all records for accuracy in the past 30 years.
The difference between the open-tip and the hollow point is that the open tip is a design feature that improves accuracy while the hollow point is designed for increasing damage when it hits a target.
About 10 days ago, the Army JAG in Iraq ordered all snipers to stop using the open-tip 175-grain M118LR bullet, claiming, falsely, it was prohibited. Instead of the open-tip, snipers were forced to take M-60 machine gun rounds out of belts and use them instead.
The order upset quite a few people here and in Iraq who said the JAG ignored the basic principle of every military lawyer that there is a presumption of legality for all issued weapons or ammunition that are made at the military service level at the time they are acquired.
"She forced snipers to use less accurate ammunition, thereby placing U.S. forces and Iraqi civilians at greater risk," a Pentagon official said of the JAG, who was not identified by name. "And she incorrectly issued an order. JAGs may advise a commander, but they cannot issue orders."
After Army lawyers were finally alerted to the JAG's action, the order was lifted and the JAG was notified that the open tip was perfectly legal for use by snipers. However, the reversal was followed by the Army officials' taking retaliation against a sniper who blew the whistle on the bogus order. The sniper lost his job over a security infraction in reporting the JAG.
This was a huge deal. I hope the young shooter gets squared away by the powers that be.
XM110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System
July issue of Army Magazine - XM110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System by Scott Gourley.
Representatives for Army Test and Evaluation Command are conducting operational testing on the newest addition to the U.S. Army arsenal: the XM110 7.62 mm semi-automatic sniper system (SASS). As that testing is under way, there is a high likelihood that small numbers of the new system will begin entering the field in response to urgent need requirements.
According to Lt. Col. Kevin P. Stoddard, U.S. Army product manager (PM) for Crew-Served Weapons, the XM110 program evolved in response to a field requirement from some U.S. Army sniper teams. Those teams are currently equipped with the M24 7.62 mm sniper weapon system and the M107 .50-caliber semi-automatic long-range sniper rifle. Because snipers operate in teams, their equipment requirements fall under the PM for crew-served weapons.
“Right now the Army has an M24, which is bolt action,” Stoddard explained. “Then we came along with the .50-caliber, the M107, which is a .50-caliber semi-automatic. It’s designed to reach out beyond 1,000 meters [to engage] anti-materiel targets. Then units came along with a new requirement. They were looking for [the ability to engage] light-skinned materiel as well as personnel with 7.62 mm. They were also looking for a weapon that would be good in a close urban fight as well.”
The requirement for a new semi-automatic sniper system was released at the end of 2004. The Army called for “a 7.62 mm semi-automatic sniper system capable of delivering precision fire primarily on anti-personnel targets out to a range of 1,000 meters. This system must be a man portable, shoulder-fired system using military standard 7.62 x 51 mm caliber ammunition but optimized for the open-tip M118LR long-range ammunition. In addition, M993 armor piercing (AP) ammunition will be fired based on specific mission requirements. Compatibility with the existing family of military 7.62 x 51 mm caliber ammunition is also required. The primary components of the system include a rifle, detachable bipod, hard transport/storage case(s), soft carrying case(s), cleaning/maintenance equipment and manuals. The weapon will have a flash/sound suppressor, high capacity (up to 20-round) detachable box magazines; rails/mounting surfaces for mounting fire control (optics, backup iron sights and aim-light) systems; variable power optics/electro-optics (in order to engage targets between 50 and 1,000 meters); and an accompanying spotting scope with range estimation reticle(s) and a night vision interface.”...
Iraqi Rebels Learn From U.S. Sniper Guru
29 October London Daily Telegraph - Iraqi Rebels Learn From U.S. Sniper Guru by Robert Watson.
Iraqi insurgents have formed a special sniper brigade which is drawing its inspiration from a US training manual by one of America's most revered snipers.
A new insurgent propaganda video shows how guerrillas have dramatically upped their kill rate of US soldiers with the help of The Ultimate Sniper, written by a retired US Marines major, John Plaster.
The tactics they have gleaned from the book, which is available on the internet along with an accompanying DVD, are thought to be behind a steep rise in the level of sniper fire on US troops in recent months.
A total of 36 such attacks have been recorded by the US military in Baghdad alone this month, of which at least eight are believed to have been fatal. In January, by contrast, sniper fire incidents were barely above single figures, and deaths relatively rare.
The video is thought to have been made by the Islamic Army of Iraq, whose followers are drawn largely from the 400,000 former Iraqi army soldiers who were dismissed by the US...
Major Plaster was in the Army not the Marine Corps and when he was in MACV/SOG he was in a SF slot. This article seems like a propaganda piece to me.
Last edited by bismark17; 10-29-2006 at 05:07 AM.
John Plaster on the Web
Here is his Ultimate Sniper web page.
U.S. Military Probes Sniper Threat in Baghdad
29 October Reuters - U.S. Military Probes Sniper Threat in Baghdad by Paul Holmes.
The U.S. military has begun looking more closely at shooting attacks on troops in Iraq to establish whether they are carried out by snipers, according to a spokesman.
The change reflects concern over an insurgent video-CD that appears to show a series of shooting attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces in Baghdad by a purported sniper brigade from the Sunni militant Islamic Army.
The video, which Reuters has seen, was handed out in Sunni parts of western Baghdad last week as a "gift" to mark the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. It shows 28 separate attacks, several of them involving precision shots to the head.
Narrated by a man described as the brigade "commander" and subtitled in English, it claims the marksmen use a training manual written by a retired U.S. Army Special Forces officer.
"Ultimate Sniper," written in 1993 by Major John L. Plaster, is freely available through online bookstores. It was updated this year "for today's Global War on Terror," according to www.ultimatesniper.com, which calls it the bible of sniping...
Makes sense. Urban terrain is perfect for snipers. They are small so they can hide, buildings give them lots of oportunities for positions....
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