what does it take to become a sniper in the uk, do you have to be a sharp shot in selection or under go courses at your free will....i have searched for awnsers but the snipers in the uk seem to be preety scarse...... any comments would be kool.......
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First of all you must have a few years in the infantry, you must be a very good shot, then if your OC & CO think you are up to it you are sent away on a course, but you have to pass this course before you can call your self a sniper.
Its not just about sharpshooting though is it? Dont you have to learn stalking and tracking skills and stuff or have i been reading too many dodgy action thrillers?
N.B anyone who read my last post where i said i would never post again, awell
The snipers during the 2nd World war (I think) all worked as trackers of game in the Scottish highlands. So Ii guess urnu is probably right. There was a documentary on either the Discovery channel or the History channel a few days ago. Oddly enough called ‘snipers’.
stuck in a rut, unsure about the future, unsure about the military lifestyle, for a while anyway
I watched that a couple of months ago, it as following USMC snipers and what they went through, if memory serves a fair amount of time was spent on camouflage and stalking, it was a very interesting programme so keep an eye out for them as they seem to come around every few months...
lew
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trhe first half of the show was a bit boring as it focus' on the American civil war, but theres some interesting stuff on how using sniper tactics developed through the years. the second half is better, it focus' on more modern aspects and how they have developed.
stuck in a rut, unsure about the future, unsure about the military lifestyle, for a while anyway
The sniper course in Canada revolves around the following field craft, shooting, navigation, stalking and memorization. I failed my snipers course as I have the memory of a dog on crack and couldn't find all the things they hid in the grass. And as the Pat snipers in Afghanistan last year proved they are very very good at what they do and they are the top snipers in the world. Don't call sharpshooters, snipers they are two very different things. Now I can't figure out how to load a picture onto the forum so thats the end of my post.[/url]
If a man has nothing he is willing to die for then he isn't fit to live.
That's right Rabby. They do the PW3 course alongside Royal and it's widely regarded as one of the hardest and most intense Sniper courses in the World.
The most intense, gruelling and rigorous course from what we know now is (was) the Russian (Soviet) sniper course. It lasts a year! Jewish ex-chechen war russian snipers now work in Israel shooting terrorists. They have better camouflage skills and patience than their native colleagues and have been kicking some major hamas butt.
Tab wrote:First of all you must have a few years in the infantry, you must be a very good shot, then if your OC & CO think you are up to it you are sent away on a course, but you have to pass this course before you can call your self a sniper.
Hi peeps.
I`m brand new here and I hope no one minds me diving straight in.
Anyway I was a British army sniper for 3 years.
I did my internal sniper cadre in 1988 then went to Warminster for an external cadre.
Basically you do have to be signed up by your OC for an internal, but on the whole they won`t refuse you because pass or fail you come back a better soldier. (unless you`re a complete w*nker) The external cadre is signed up by the CO AND the training wing. (Or at least it was when I did it)
The courses are 3-4 weeks long. I trained on the L42, but started my conversion to L96 just as I got out. On the first day you learn weapon drills, stripping/cleaning etc, theory of the sight and how to make a ghillie suit. It spirals up from there. You have to pass a stalk, map reading test, judging distance test, observation test, cam &concealment test and of course qualify on the shoot.
The external course is much of the same but harder. They accept that you are already trained and therefore don`t need to show you how to make a ghillie, for example.
Yes they are now training "Sharpshooters" in most infantry units. They idea is that they work with a rifle platoon in their normal role until a long shot is needed for example, a concealed MG position. Rather than having to stop for a sniper to move forward or for mortars etc, the sharpshooter deploys and takes out the crew.
If you need any more, let me know.
