foreign they are quiet observers who creep within meters of the enemy and can take out a target [Music] from nearly a mile away their actions can change the outcome of battles even Wars they take lives to save lives silent hidden deadly one shot one kill foreign [Music] [Music] foreign Modern Warfare there is a single soldier that relies on stealth camouflage and Marksmanship within Coalition armies they are considered one of the most feared Weapons Systems and often their effective the modern sniper their presence changed the face of the battlefield forever no one was safe from their bullets no matter how far behind the front lines of particular importance was the psychological impact snipers could have on an advancing Army literally grinding it to a halt today snipers are one of the most relied upon assets a battle commander Can field but it wasn't always that way snipers date back hundreds of years even to the days of the American war of independence American militia Marksman targeted British officers with deadly accuracy their musket balls had a devastating effect on British Battlefield leadership the American Civil War the deadliest war in American history over 600 000 soldiers die in battle during the Civil War snipers on both sides of the conflict took a deadly tool once again proving their effectiveness no one seems safe from these marksmen [Music] World War One the war of attrition and stalemate it was in this horrific war that snipers truly proved their value the Imperial German Army were first to use snipers they had a devastating effect on Allied soldiers killing anyone foolish enough to expose themselves the British quickly formed their own sniper schools they developed unique camouflage systems known as ghillie suits to help a sniper blend in with the terrain within months the British had even the score [Music] World War II during the second world war snipers again proved their tactical value in the Pacific in Europe and even in Russia snipers played a decisive role in the battlefield the Russians in particular use snipers with ruthless efficiency and famous battles such as Stalingrad Russian female snipers made many German soldiers pay the ultimate price but snipers were not well liked even by their own troops with a reputation as ruthless loners who would kill their own mothers they were shunned and misunderstood even worse military leaders didn't understand how to tactically employ snipers that was all about to change [Music] Vietnam during the Vietnam war U. S snipers gained notoriety snipers helped keep the enemy away from critical installations killed Viet Cong leaders and help protect American soldiers hated by the enemy more than any other a bounty was put on their heads but U. S military leaders and soldiers loved them because of what they had proved in the jungles of Vietnam the sniper had finally earned his place as one of the most respected and feared warriors on the battlefield [Music] today snipers are an integral component of all Coalition armies in Afghanistan and Iraq snipers are making a profound difference using covert tactics they gather information about the enemy with a single bullet they can wreak havoc on attackers stop suicide bombers from reaching their intended targets saving lives by Taking Lives their Force multipliers who've earned their place in top combat units good training it's critical to success it all begins at school sniper School Fort Benning Georgia home of the U.
S army sniper school at this school barely passing is not an option only the best of the best make the grade because in the field mistakes cost lives Fort Benning Georgia one of the largest bases in the U. S army over 181 Thousand Acres 63 firing ranges over 20 000 troops in the field every day [Music] basic infantry School U. S Rangers Airborne training Armor training this is truly the training ground of warriors it's here at Fort Benning that the U.
S army established their sniper School considered by many to be the best in the world here soldiers are taught the essentials of being a sniper but snipers are far more than Marksman well the sniper brings several things to a commander into the battlefield first of all the world train sniper team is a great reconnaissance asset for the commander they can infiltrate into an area they can stay in an area and they provide reconnaissance that our current ISR intelligence surveillance reconnaissance platforms your uavs and other such platforms can't because they don't have persistence you can put a team in for 24 48 72 hours and let them observe a known or suspected area of Interest the other thing that they bring to the battlefield is the ability to selectively take out known or suspected threats sometimes at long distances nothing instills more fear in the enemy than that see the the guy he's talking to whose head explode it's pretty demoralizing especially if you're the guy who whose head explodes one of the essential skills taught to snipers is stalking it's a grueling class many don't make it to the end a sniper has to be strongly motivated to succeed where others would quit today camouflage and Route choices are everything snipers have to be able to sneak right up to the enemy unseen in order to do this they have to conceal their presence this is known as vegging up yeah you want to veg up a little bit here just consider you're moving on your way up there but once you get up there the veg usually changes so you want to get into a good position take off your top and put a lot more veg up there before you get to your final firing position sniper students wear Gilly suits a special suit designed for attaching vegetation to it the idea is to break up the outline of your body blend into your environment and creep around unnoticed this young sniper is learning the essentials of this critical field craft yeah tie them off you don't want to do too much here because the veg usually changes about 300 meters out and at that point you just look like something that doesn't belong there and these guys that are spotting us they've been doing this for you know 20 some odd years they really know how to pick things like that out especially the two guys that are on glass right now oh Vietnam guys I can see anything out there so you just hope not to get caught all right three hours stalk time starts now the students silently head off into the forest one by one each focused on a mission deep in the woods sits the sniper's targets two men in a truck but they're not sitting ducks they know there are snipers out there they carefully scan the forest closely examining every detail they're Veterans of the Vietnam War and expert snipers the student's goal is to creep up without being seen and take a shot at the instructors they successfully do this by identifying a letter then they creep back to where they started all undetected it's one of the hardest events in Sniper School [Music] I'm pretty sure I got his attention [Music] instructors walk the forest they help the veteran snipers in the truck bust the students they watch for Telltale Clues which give away the sniper's positions there are many challenges for the sniper to consider one is overhead movement [Music] [Applause] continue to move this time the student is given a warning overhead movement all right look back real quick you won't be seen you see that big tall tree just those two trees you just moved Roger the thing was shaken big time all right that's exactly what they're looking for in the truck they're looking for that overhead movement that's a huge Target indicator the next time he is busted he'll be forced to start his crawl all over again like in the real world these snipers can't make movement mistakes good field craft techniques all are important the key is not getting caught if they're using the improper movement techniques and moving too fast then it's easy for they I the human eye to quickly zoom in on that and then just exploit it and that's where these observers are very very highly trained to do this exercise that's why uh it's it's easy for them to Spot It as far as time living right now it's been an hour and 47 minutes and some of the guys haven't even taken a shot um they haven't they're not using the veg natural Vege around them in my opinion not really good right now because this is a third full stop and it's still not doing as good as it's supposed to be doing about face one step forward one more inch forward inch forward sniper this right here oh my God that's his uh Natural Bridge sorry man just recall caught back a little bit about 50 60 yards again all right five steps forward I'm not gonna let this forget this bullet off Roger gotcha under there this time the students did so poorly the entire group is nude it means everyone has to go back to the start line and begin their crawl again oh my God these guys are pretty good they're really really good repetition is the key to learning it ingrains key lessons lessons that will save these snipers lives on future operational deployments well the challenge for me was uh again as close as I could setting up to take a shot without getting detected unfortunately for me that didn't happen [Music] a sniper is able to stay focused to get that one well-aimed shot the job is mentally and physically tough you have to be above average in all ways you have to make a lot of right decisions under intense pressure the most dangerous threat for a sniper is another sniper this is when the hunter [Music] becomes The Hunted thank you knock yourself the sniper rifle has changed very little since World War II currently the most popular weapon is the venerable M24 the total firing system it sets standards for accuracy dependability and durability the M24 was designed by the United States military and has been sold to armies around the world M24 sniper weapon system bolt action five round magazine cartridge NATO 7. 62 millimeters muzzle velocity 2580 feet per second weight 12. 3 pounds sites loophole marked 10 by 40 millimeter scope effective range over 800 meters it's a 762 NATO caliber it's got a range of 800 meters and a shooter dependent good Shooters can take it out to a thousand meters one thousand meters away from the target the length of about 10 football fields an extremely impressive standard but some have gone even further Afghanistan 2002 operation Anaconda a Canadian sniper makes the longest confirmed sniper kill in combat history 2430 meters that's over 26 football fields sniper used a long-range weapon system for the shot the Barrett m107 sniper rifle weight 30.
