Americans learn 'these guys are very, very good'

Tyler · Sep 24, 2002

National Post

Some of the best snipers in the world gathered at a sprawling army base in central New Brunswick recently, and most of them were Canadians. The soldiers at the 2002 Sniper Concentration, an event that was part competition and part training exercise, included teams from the United States and Great Britain, as well as from police tactical squads. National Post reporter Chris Wattie went into the field with the army's crack snipers and fired their .50-calibre long-range rifle, the same weapon a Canadian sniper used to make a record-setting 2,430-metre "kill" during combat in Afghanistan this year.

...

"Kicks a bit, doesn't it?" says a grinning Warrant Officer Rick Hills, the head of the army's "sniper cell," which trains the Canadian Forces' elite sharpshooters. "Don't worry, you get used to it."

The Tac-50 is a brute of a rifle: more than 1.4 metres long, weighing in at about 12 kilograms and firing a cartridge longer than your hand.

The Canadian snipers who used the "Big Mac" so successfully in Afghanistan compared its recoil to "getting whacked in the head by a hockey stick."

In fact, it is more like getting hit in the head by a hockey stick when you are not wearing a helmet.

Yet the weapon is so accurate that even a neophyte can hit a two-metre-square target at ranges that would be incredible for other rifles -- but which are easily within the McMillan's range.

In the hands of members of Canada's elite sniper squads, it can be lethal from more than two kilometres away.

...

There are only about 150 qualified snipers in the Canadian Forces, and competition is tight for the handful of openings. Fewer than a third of those who start the 45-day basic snipers course in Gagetown's area battle school pass the final exam.

...

He says the years of realistic training has paid off -- Canadian snipers are among the best in the world at their highly specialized, deadly trade. "We're the centre for excellence for snipers," he says proudly

During combat in eastern Afghanistan earlier this year, a five-man team of snipers from the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry supported U.S. and Canadian soldiers fighting Taliban and al-Qaeda holdouts.

The Canadian snipers so impressed the Americans they were nominated for Bronze Stars and one sniper made what is believed to be the longest shot ever recorded, a 2,430-metre hit on an al-Qaeda fighter who had pinned down U.S. Airborne troops below him.

...

His brown eyes twinkle as he recalls how the snipers -- "the guys" as he fondly calls them -- went to U.S. Army sniper competitions last year and cleaned up.

Teams from Canadian battalions took four of the top six spots, including first and second, at competitions in Fort Benning, Ga., and first and third in Fort Carson, Colo.

"That turned into a bit of a kick in the butt for the Americans," he says gleefully, pushing back his baseball cap on his bald head. "Canadians won almost all the top spots on their home ground."

Staff Sergeant Justin Shaffer, 27, a sniper section leader with the U.S. Army's 501st Airborne Regiment, acknowledges that his Canadian counterparts are among the best he has seen.

"They have an excellent program here," he says. "These guys are very, very good."

Staff Sgt. Shaffer, whose team finished second among the 13 competing in Gagetown last week, said he has learned a lot from watching the Canadian system.

"There's always a lot of knowledge [and] techniques to share," he says. "Canadian snipers are definitely ahead in a lot of ways."
Click to expand...

Holy Shit! We're the best at something in military?? That's gotta be a first!!! (er, for the record, our JSTF2 is also among the top 3 special forces in the world. but they're only among! Hmmm, I guess seeing as we don't have 1/100000000th the numbers of the U.S. we have to be more precise)

Log in or Sign up

Americans learn 'these guys are very, very good'

Tyler Registered Senior Member

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Americans learn 'these guys are very, very good'

Tyler Registered Senior Member

Share This Page

Useful Searches