Quote Originally Posted by Steve Blair View Post
Still....let's try to keep this one down to a discussion of the role of snipers in COIN/Small Wars and not engage in too much speculation. As mentioned before, sniping has come a long way in terms of acceptance and training, but there are still those who would prefer to see it go away.

Vietnam saw a great deal of experimentation in sniping; in areas ranging from equipment to tactics and training. What is the role of the sniper in Small Wars, and perhaps more to the point who should be establishing that role? If a small war is really an extension of law enforcement (or statecraft), does it rest with the military or elsewhere? And if the policy does go wrong or change, where does that dead cat land? In the lap of the shooter or in the office of those who make the policy?

Sniping by its nature can lend itself to abuse by those seeking metrics for things (like the body count). It is also by its nature easy to marginalize or discount by those who don't understand it or its application. It's the wider nature of the discussion that interests me...both on the military and LE sides of things.
Steve,

I think when we talk about sniper operations and their use on the battlefield there needs to be clear ROE, regardless of intensity of the combat. However, I think in this war much like in Vietnam there is a lot ambiguity to sift through at the SSG and below level. Not sure I buy into the account that this particular example was a "classified" operation to kill insurgents. Many times these programs remain inside SOF units and not the 25th ID, not too bag on my Tropic Lightning brothers since I am a former Golden Dragon but this sounds too "Apocalypse Now" to me.

Now ROE rests in the Commander's lane of responsibility, but each individual out there returning fire has the moral and legal obligation to be sure of their target before they squeeze the trigger. So it is two-fold, the Commander dictates the policy but the individual rifleman ensures he follows it.

More to your question of Small Wars/COIN, I think snipers have a vital role to play in this arena. Especially, when applied in the Scout Sniper role and doing RSTA as their primary mission and target interdiction as their supporting mission. In Iraq there have been numerous success stories of snipers interdicting IED emplacment teams along MSR's, and they routinely provide overwatch for the infantry maneuvering to and on the OBJ, so their roles are necessary and needed.

PT