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| Iraq |
| Expert Marine Sniper in Ramadi |
| 2006-07-31 |
| ...During a large-scale attack on Easter Sunday, Wilson says, he spotted six gunmen on a rooftop about 400 yards away. In about 8 seconds he squeezed off five rounds — hitting five gunmen in the head. The sixth man dived off a 3-story building just as Wilson got him in his sights, and counts as a probable death... |
| Posted by:Chomble Grolutch3348 |
| #14 "As a result of his skill Sergeant Hathcock was twice recruited for covert assignments. One of the them was to kill a Frenchman who was working for the North Vietnamese as an interrogator. This individual was torturing American airmen who had been shot down and captured. One round from Carlos' modified Winchester Model 70 ended the Frenchman's career. On another occasion Sergeant Hathcock accepted an assignment for which he was plainly told that his odds for survival were slim. A North Vietnamese general was the target, and the man died when a bullet fired by Carlos struck him from a range of 800 yards. Hathcock returned to Hill 55 unscathed. In one incredible incident an enemy sniper was killed after a prolonged game of "cat and mouse" between Carlos, with his spotter, and the NVA sniper. The fatal round, fired at 500 yards by Hathcock, passed directly through the NVA sniper's rifle scope, striking him in the eye. Hathcock would eventually be credited with 93 enemy confirmed killed, including one Viet Cong shot dead by a round fired from a scope-mounted Browning M-2 .50 caliber machine gun at the unbelievable range of 2500 yards." http://www.grunt.com/scuttlebutt/corps-stories/heroes/carloshathcock.asp |
| Posted by: Mark E. 2006-07-31 21:26 |
| #13 X, a lot of Marine grunt battalions usually come w/a sniper platoon located either in the H&S company or in the Weapons Company - they are usually called STA Platoon (Surveillance & Target Acquisition pronounced "Stay"). "Scout Snipers" (their full name) are at a premium and a lot of times the regular line companies will cross train their own riflemen in sniping tactics. A lot of these grunts are not "school trained" snipers per se, although the resident battalion snipers will teach the regular line grunts some things. I had the good fortune to do some minor training w/our battalion snipers a long time ago. Talk about fun. Anyways the "scout" part is often more important as they are normally the eyes and ears forward for the battalion commander. BTW - Hathcock was one bad mofo. Some of his exploits were copied in the movie "Sniper" w/Tom Berrenger. |
| Posted by: Broadhead6 2006-07-31 19:59 |
| #12 I just wish they wouldn't name names. |
| Posted by: 6 2006-07-31 17:46 |
| #11 He's not using a .50 Cal. Most likely an M-14 with a scope. The M-14 is still one of the best sniping rifles you can use for "common" units. Most sniper teams use 30.6 Remingtons. Only Special OPS and EOD teams use the Barret .50 Cal. The reason I bring this difference up is that it highlights this Marines' skill. Hitting a target with an M-14 at that range is worth acolades. |
| Posted by: Armylife 2006-07-31 16:48 |
| #10 Indeed.... his story is so good as to make for bad cinema; sniping guy at 2500 yards with a 50 cal with a scope on it, sniping the guy through the other guy's scope, the NVA general, scope zeroed at 700 yrds, his amazing drive and patriotism, etc. |
| Posted by: Mark E. 2006-07-31 14:00 |
| #9 Mark E, I'm a Carlos Hathcock fan myself. Great read and I could live with a fictional version (hint to good writers). A sniper has to have the patience to wait for days while bugs bite him, and rain, sun, and every possible inconvenience nibble at his endurance. And, even after that, he has to outthink his target. Focus, focus, focus. Hathcock was great because he loved to 'play' soldier, and also because he held the marine corps in the highest regard and each marines life in high esteem. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2006-07-31 13:49 |
| #8 Last haji dived off the building to avoid being Martyred(Tm), after watching the heads of his buddies being punctured in rapid succession leading to him? But... I thought they loved death more than we love life?!?!? That's so confusing! Obviously, you just can't please some people, even if you try your best. |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2006-07-31 12:55 |
| #7 He does use the DMR though, which is an accurized version of the M-14 built by Marine Corps armorers at Quantico. |
| Posted by: remoteman 2006-07-31 12:13 |
| #6 "snipers also learn fieldcraft (camoflage, stalking) and shot selection. There's alot more to being a sniper than being a good shot!" Heh. I have a friend who washed out of sniper school, not because he couldn't shoot well enough, but because he wasn't sneaky enough.... |
| Posted by: Mark E. 2006-07-31 12:03 |
| #5 P.S. I find it interesting that the sixth guy chose to jump off a building rather than get shot. Al |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2006-07-31 11:46 |
| #4 Xblanke, snipers also learn fieldcraft (camoflage, stalking) and shot selection. There's alot more to being a sniper than being a good shot! Al |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2006-07-31 11:44 |
| #3 What I found interesting: Technically, Wilson is not a sniper — he's an infantryman who also patrols through the span of destroyed buildings that make up downtown Ramadi. But as his unit's designated marksman, he has a sniper rifle. Does that mean he didn't do the formal Marine sniper training, but he's still the designated marksman because he's a dead-eye? Is that a distinction without a difference? |
| Posted by: Xbalanke 2006-07-31 11:34 |
| #2 Repost from yesterday, IIRC, but still a good story to read. Get them while they're young. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2006-07-31 09:57 |
| #1 Outstanding performance! On a similar note, I just read a book about Carlos Hathcock. For shooting exploits there is almost no match... |
| Posted by: Mark E. 2006-07-31 09:47 |