Scout sniper

Scout Sniper team secures a Boeing-Vertol 107 out the environment

Scout Sniper ( English for scout - sniper ) are specialists of the United States Marine Corps , which are used to opposing leader, radio operator , detector , reconnaissance , crews killing and other key players targeted.

history

During World War II , US General Douglas MacArthur introduced snipers into the United States Marine Corps during the Pacific War campaigns against Japanese troops , who were different from those in American troops in Europe . They were equipped with improved Springfield M1903 A4 riflescopes that had an 8x magnification. Their training was also slightly better than regular snipers in the United States Army . They learned to read maps , make military drawings and interpret aerial photographs , which ultimately gave them the title "Scout Sniper".

Logo of the Marine Corps Scout Sniper School at Camp Pendleton

To this day, the scout snipers, who work in groups of two (shooter and spotter ), are trained and used in the United States Marine Corps.

criticism

American scout snipers with an SS flag in Afghanistan, 2010

The Scout Sniper used the double victory rune , the symbol of the National Socialist Schutzstaffel , as an unofficial emblem since the 1980s at the latest. After US media reported it in February 2012, the Marines commander apologized for the practice, banned it, and ordered an investigation.

Media reception

• Contemporary History: Special Forces in World War II, Snipers - Ambush Threat (Documentation, 2004).
• Jarhead - Welcome to the Filth , Hollywood film about a US Marine Corps Scout Sniper squad in the Second Gulf War (feature film, 2005).

literature

• US Marine Corps: US Government Scout / Sniper Training Manual , English language edition, paperback, 176 pages, Desert Pubns Verlag, March 1989, ISBN 978-0-87947-094-4 .
• Ronin: A Marine Scout / Sniper Platoon in Iraq by Mike Tucker, 210 pages, Stackpole Co Verlag, 2008, ISBN 978-0-8117-0318-5 .

Web links

Commons : United States Marine Corps Scout Sniper  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Scout Snipers on the United States Marine Corps Recruiting Command website
• USMC Scout / Sniper Association Internet presence of a supporting association on the subject (English)
• Goodbye to Romance - What It Takes To Be A Marine Scout / Sniper American soldier on the profession of scout sniper (English)

swell

1. ^ Dan Lamothe: Marine scout snipers used Nazi SS logo , Marine Corps Times . February 9, 2012. Archived from the original on February 12, 2012 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved February 11, 2012.  
2. ^ Dan Lamothe: Amos sorry for Marine use of Nazi SS logo , Marine Corps Times. February 10, 2012. Archived from the original on February 13, 2012 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved February 11, 2012.