Enfield
7 July 2000, 17:22
Got this off the DND website...
Enfield
--------
Eleven soldiers, covered with grass and shredded burlap, take five minutes to
conceal themselves in an open field-ready for a serious game of hide and seek-before training their weapons on two observers sitting on a grassy hill 200 metres away.
For the next hour, the soldiers must be
patient, avoiding any careless movements,
or risk being ejected from the concealment
exercise. From their makeshift observation
post, two experienced snipers scan the
field's scrubby vegetation watching for
movement or unnatural shadows, colours
and shapes. They are instructors testing
their students. The students, members of the Royal Canadian Regiment, were midway through
3 RCR's seven-week basic sniper course that began in May at CFB Petawawa.
Last year the course was conducted in Gagetown by 2 RCR.
"It is the most challenging QL4 course in the infantry. It has a high attrition rate," said one instructor. "The standards come as a bit of a shock and are inflexible. We can't have even a minor error."
The need for snipers and training in the
Canadian Forces increased in the last
decade as the types and frequency of
overseas missions increased. The snipers
provide security and protection for CF
troops.
Snipers-highly trained infantry
soldiers-work themselves into position,
stay there for extended periods of time
under difficult conditions and can kill
selected enemy at long ranges.
"It's the normal infantry skills taken off the scale," said another instructor. The sniper course is designed to build on the
students' soldiering skills.
In the early weeks of the course, three students returned to their units after failing to meet shooting requirements. The remaining 11 students had to learn to stalk or sneak up on their targets undetected and judge distances across hundred of metres.
Of the 11, only 5 passed.
"Every day's a learning experience," said
one student who wanted to gain the respect of his peers by becoming a sniper.
"You have to scrape and fight for each
point you earn."
He has learned to take care of the little
things like lens paper for his scope and a
pencil, which he can sharpen-not a pen,
which may run out of ink.
"I love to do this stuff," said another
student. "It's actually designed for a soldier. You're always learning about field
craft, using the ground more, the weapon, the optics, the ghillie suit, what's out
there and what they can see. It's one of the better courses the infantry offers."
Enfield
--------
Eleven soldiers, covered with grass and shredded burlap, take five minutes to
conceal themselves in an open field-ready for a serious game of hide and seek-before training their weapons on two observers sitting on a grassy hill 200 metres away.
For the next hour, the soldiers must be
patient, avoiding any careless movements,
or risk being ejected from the concealment
exercise. From their makeshift observation
post, two experienced snipers scan the
field's scrubby vegetation watching for
movement or unnatural shadows, colours
and shapes. They are instructors testing
their students. The students, members of the Royal Canadian Regiment, were midway through
3 RCR's seven-week basic sniper course that began in May at CFB Petawawa.
Last year the course was conducted in Gagetown by 2 RCR.
"It is the most challenging QL4 course in the infantry. It has a high attrition rate," said one instructor. "The standards come as a bit of a shock and are inflexible. We can't have even a minor error."
The need for snipers and training in the
Canadian Forces increased in the last
decade as the types and frequency of
overseas missions increased. The snipers
provide security and protection for CF
troops.
Snipers-highly trained infantry
soldiers-work themselves into position,
stay there for extended periods of time
under difficult conditions and can kill
selected enemy at long ranges.
"It's the normal infantry skills taken off the scale," said another instructor. The sniper course is designed to build on the
students' soldiering skills.
In the early weeks of the course, three students returned to their units after failing to meet shooting requirements. The remaining 11 students had to learn to stalk or sneak up on their targets undetected and judge distances across hundred of metres.
Of the 11, only 5 passed.
"Every day's a learning experience," said
one student who wanted to gain the respect of his peers by becoming a sniper.
"You have to scrape and fight for each
point you earn."
He has learned to take care of the little
things like lens paper for his scope and a
pencil, which he can sharpen-not a pen,
which may run out of ink.
"I love to do this stuff," said another
student. "It's actually designed for a soldier. You're always learning about field
craft, using the ground more, the weapon, the optics, the ghillie suit, what's out
there and what they can see. It's one of the better courses the infantry offers."