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The Snipers of Fallujah
December 3, 2004: One of the most important aspects of winning urban warfare, especially for insurgent movement, involves the use of snipers. Booby traps and ambushes are all well and good, but nothing harasses the enemy or makes troops more afraid than a clever, well-positioned sniper in a crowded city. Fortunately for the US troops in Fallujah, this is exactly what the insurgents did not have. Snipers were particularly prevalent during the Fallujah battles and were heavily used against US forces. While still very dangerous, the insurgent snipers were far from expert. None had specialized sniper training and the quality of their weapons was very poor. Its very hard to be a precision shooter when all you've got is a battered, rusting AK-47 with no scope and partner with no binoculars to spot for you. Also, the insurgents tended to have no concept of movement. Marines reported that insurgent snipers would choose obvious hiding places, the minarets of mosques were a favorite, and not move after firing at US troops. A smart sniper would have picked an unlikely location and moved around after each attack. The insurgents' poor technique made them easy targets for airstrikes, bunker busters, and even counter-snipers. This is consistent with the poor marksmanship and just-about-everything-else skills of the rebels. By contrast, Marine snipers did extremely well, with one corporal racking up 24 confirmed kills during the battle. Of course, he was equipped with state of the art binoculars, ammunition, a spotter, and a state of the art weapons system. Today's sniper equipment is far from simple. Two people are required to make a sniper team work, a spotter and the actual shooter. Depending on the environment and how long it is likely to take for the enemy to spot your position, firing position can take very little effort or a great deal. Stalking the enemy and moving into position can take as little as ten minutes or as much as three days (as was often the case in Vietnam), since soldiers, especially officers, are probably to some degree aware that they are considered a prime target, depending on the enemy's reputation for sharpshooting. Posted by: Steve 2004-12-03 |
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