US Marine Corp Snipers in Iraq

Some pictures of USMC scout/snipers operating in Iraq. There are a few pictures which maybe a little disturbing, I doubt they are shooting civilians though.

Originally posted by rogue1
Some pictures of USMC scout/snipers operating in Iraq. There are a few pictures which maybe a little disturbing, I doubt they are shooting civilians though.

And how do you know that there not capping civvies as they walk around the shops?? huh - cummon lay the evidence that there NOT doing it!!






















for those unaware im joking in the above responce

QUOTE : " And how do you know that there not capping civvies as they walk around the shops??"

err obvious things like -random civilians are noyt dying on the pavement from hi power rifle fire

QUOTE : " huh - cummon lay the evidence that there NOT doing it!! "

sorry burtden of proof is on you if you want to claim that they are

sheesh - some one needs logic 101 , or would room 101 be better - i get confused

Originally posted by ignorant_ape
QUOTE : " And how do you know that there not capping civvies as they walk around the shops??"

err obvious things like -random civilians are noyt dying on the pavement from hi power rifle fire

QUOTE : " huh - cummon lay the evidence that there NOT doing it!! "

sorry burtden of proof is on you if you want to claim that they are

sheesh - some one needs logic 101 , or would room 101 be better - i get confused

oh FFS

it was a JOKE - or didn`t you read that part , it was aimed at the `There are a few pictures which maybe a little disturbing, I doubt they are shooting civilians though` part from rouge , a little bit of satire that is , unfortunately , been lost in translation.

I can apreciate a bit of satire

You got to love the 50 Cal BMG, short of a tank or APC nothing will protect you from it.

Originally posted by WestPoint23
You got to love the 50 Cal BMG, short of a tank or APC nothing will protect you from it.

Actually even an APC won`t protect you , unless its a warrior - a bradley will not slow the round down as it blows through someone the other side of the tissue paper `armour.`

Actually a Bradley can withstand 30 mm rounds, seeing as .5 of an inch is 14.5 mm I fail to see how the Bradley wont stop the round.

Looking through that scope like that must be a hard job.

I personally find that being a sniper would be difficult, and I would feel like a robot or something.

My question is what the "mission" assigned to these scouts is.

Most likely watching for suspicious people, people planting IEDs, or people just running around with guns waving.

[edit on 11/28/2005 by Zaphod58]

Originally posted by WestPoint23
You got to love the 50 Cal BMG, short of a tank or APC nothing will protect you from it.

Mine sure came in handy a few times.

Originally posted by Army

Originally posted by WestPoint23
You got to love the 50 Cal BMG, short of a tank or APC nothing will protect you from it.

Mine sure came in handy a few times.

That my friend, is a nice piece of equipment!

Im not so sure snipers spend alot of time looking through thier rifle scopes unless they are about to engage or sense a problem down range. I am thinking most of the time the scope they use is a spotting scope.
While not a sniper I own two spotting scopes to see down range and a much larger field of view.
Also ..someone correct me if I am in error..do they not also have night vision gear both for the rifles and spotting scopes.

Someone also knowlegable ..correct me also on this if I am in error. Though I am sure it is not equipment a sniper would always want to carry as it is heavy and cumbersome...do they not have digital electronic day/night riflescopes now? In otherwords ...a video of the shot can be made real time and sent via umbilical line to the radio or a recording device for later transmittal to satellite..and around the world...real time if needed. Including the necessary encryption equipment.?? Is this not possible nowdays??
If so ..someone has a record of many shots taken...used as training devices/lessons learned. Not ever to be made public. Or as some would say..used only in the trade. Anyone know much about this? I have never been told this but looking at the state of the art digital camera/video equipment I just reasoned it out to myself that this was today ..possible.
My first clue about this was at a air show..looking at the equipment section of a U2 spy plane where the electronics package was sort of a module that faired in flush with the fuselage. In otherwords the module could be tailored to the specific mission...including real time digital day or night video. I just took this reasoning further to the sniping arena.

Thanks,
Orangetom

Here's a link to an older ATS thread with some great video of a USMC Scout/Sniper demonstrating the power of the .50 caliber rifle against a variety of targets usinf API ammunition.

www.abovetopsecret.com...

There are also other videos on his site www.biggerhammer.net...


An interesting article and many others on the linked page.

"It is a target-rich battlefield," say Marine snipers operating in Fallujah, a city of of about 250,000 before the population began leaving in droves. "It's a sniper's dream," said a 21-year-old corporal sniper to Tony Perry of the Los Angeles Times.

The Marine sniper went on to explain, "Sometimes a guy will go down. ... Then I'll use the second shot. As a sniper your goal is to completely demoralize the enemy."

Even with a recent truce in Fallujah, Marines will fire on insurgents who display weapons, break the curfew or move their forces toward U.S. troops. The corporal sniper chalked up 24 confirmed kills in two weeks, making him the top sniper.

Associated Press reporter Jason Keyser reported Iraqi gunmen often are hit in the early morning and early evening. Long shots, sometimes at distances of 1,000 yards, have been finely adjusted to account for wind, temperature, barometric pressure and distortions from sunlight, shadows and waves of heat from the ground.

Snipers prefer to change positions after a few shots to keep their posts secret so gunmen can't turn the tables. Barking dogs and birds suddenly taking flight can give them away.

"You have to have a combat mind," said one sniper. Intelligence reports indicate the snipers have "terrified" the Iraqi insurgents.

www.military.com...

[edit on 29-11-2005 by rogue1]

During the November battle for Fallujah, a U.S. Marine sniper made the longest range kills so far in Iraq. Reservist sergeant Herbert B. Hancock, chief scout sniper for the 1st battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, shot four Iraqis at a range of some 970 meters. The 35 year-old marine is a Texas police officer in civilian life. The shooting was done with the bolt action 7.62mm M40A3 rifle. Based on the Remington 700 short action rifle, the M40A3s are hand made to marine specifications. The rifle weighs 16.5 pounds, is 44.25 inches long and uses a 10X scope. The rifle comes with a bipod, and a rail that can also mount night vision scopes. Marine snipers operate in teams of two men, with the other man, who is often also a qualified sniper, acting as a spotter (usually with a 20X scope and binoculars.) A 970 meter shot is difficult for a 7.62mm rifle, especially in Iraq, with it’s heat and humidity (which interferes with the predictability of the bullets flight). A 7.62mm rifle rarely gets hits at more than (or even close to) 1,000 meters, and anything over 500 meters requires a high degree of skill. Shooting is easier in Afghanistan, where higher elevations provide thinner, drier air, and cooler temperatures. A Canadian sniper made a record shot (2,400 meters) in Afghanistan, using a 12.7mm rifle.

www.outsidethebeltway.com...

Its nice to see how the insurgants are crapping themselves for once :p Dont mess with a Nation with superior power and training....they'll screw you over :p

Originally posted by WestPoint23
Actually a Bradley can withstand 30 mm rounds, seeing as .5 of an inch is 14.5 mm I fail to see how the Bradley wont stop the round.

The Bradley can stop the round, but that APC does have its own weak spots when it comes to sniper fire.

Hell a sniper can "incapacitate" a tank with ease.

- Phil

Originally posted by WestPoint23
Actually a Bradley can withstand 30 mm rounds, seeing as .5 of an inch is 14.5 mm I fail to see how the Bradley wont stop the round.

unless its upgraded - the hull is designed to stop 12.7mm (.50 cal rounds) and thats standard ball - AP or API will still go through

and the front only has 1" thick aluminium armour and only the sides bottom and rear have spaced laminate armor


so my comment still stands , as an AP round will penetrate 26mm at 200meters .

Harlequin :

appologies - i was in ` rabid ` no sense of humour mode

BUT there was nothing in your first post to indicate that you were joshing

Originally posted by WestPoint23
Actually a Bradley can withstand 30 mm rounds, seeing as .5 of an inch is 14.5 mm I fail to see how the Bradley wont stop the round.

Watch the video on this thread : www.abovetopsecret.com...

These rounds could easily pierce a Bradley.