Are snipers and recon still valid in infantry battalions?

[Pete]

In the 50s and early 60s, most Divisions ran a recon school and had a Recon platoon competition annually.

You hardly ever hear of Recondos or Long-Range Reconnaissance Patrols these days. I met a few graduates of division-level Recondo schools when I joined in 1977 and Lurps were spoken of with a kind of awe.