By Staff Sgt. Matthew Orr | 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit | November 07, 2013
DJIBOUTI, AFRICA (Nov. 3, 2013) Scout Snipers with Scout Sniper Platoon, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit aim in on targets Nov. 3, 2013. Ten targets were set up from distances of 150 to 700 yards away from their firing positions. The 13th MEU is deployed with the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force throughout the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (USMC photo by SSgt. Matt. Orr/Released) (Photo by SSgt. Matt. Orr)
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DJIBOUTI, AFRICA (Nov. 3, 2013) Scout Snipers with Scout Sniper Platoon, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit set up an iron target Nov. 3, 2013. Ten targets were set up from distances of 150 to 700 yards away from their firing positions and will fall back when hit by a round and then rise again via battery power. The 13th MEU is deployed with the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force throughout the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (USMC photo by SSgt. Matt. Orr/Released) (Photo by SSgt. Matt. Orr)
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DJIBOUTI, AFRICA (Nov. 3, 2013) Cpl. Matt Wagoner, Scout Sniper, Scout Sniper Platoon, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit and native of Johnstown, Ohio, spots for a shooter from his platoon during a Known Distance shoot Nov. 3, 2013. Ten targets were set up from distances of 150 to 700 yards away from the firing positions. The 13th MEU is deployed with the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force throughout the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (USMC photo by SSgt. Matt. Orr/Released) (Photo by SSgt. Matt. Orr)
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DJIBOUTI, AFRICA (Nov. 2, 2013) Lance Corporal Walter Pereira, Scout Sniper, Scout Sniper Platoon, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit rehearses standing, sitting, and kneeling drills with an M40 A5 rifle mounted on a tripod Nov. 1, 2013 prior to attending a live fire range later in the week. The 13th MEU is deployed with the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force throughout the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (USMC photo by SSgt. Matt. Orr/Released) (Photo by SSgt. Matt. Orr)
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DJIBOUTI, AFRICA (Nov. 2, 2013) Scout Snipers with Scout Sniper Platoon, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit rehearse standing, sitting, and kneeling drills with rifles mounted on a tripods Nov. 1, 2013 prior to attending a live fire range later in the week. The 13th MEU is deployed with the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve and crisis response force throughout the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. (USMC photo by SSgt. Matt. Orr/Released) (Photo by SSgt. Matt. Orr)
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DJIBOUTI --
Sunday mornings on the USS Boxer are unlike a typical day during deployment. It is a day traditionally reserved for “holiday routine” where Marines and Sailors are afforded the opportunity to sleep in, do laundry, and typically take care of personal matters, followed by what many aboard consider the dining experience of the week; “Brunch.”
However this Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013, under the brilliance of billions of stars, made visible by the lack of interference of city lighting, Scout Snipers from Scout Sniper Platoon, Weapons Company, 1st battalion, 4th Marines, 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit took time to hone their craft and “dust the rust” off their weapons and throw some rounds down range.
The range was located in a rugged valley with mountains on the shooters left, right and in front of them. The unique landscape and the prevalence of wind gusting through the range would certainly cause some shooters to question their wind calls throughout the day.
The first order of business upon arriving at the range was to lay out ten battery powered iron targets. These minuscule targets were set up from distances ranging from 150 to more than 700 yards and are knocked down only when hit by a precisely placed round and then return to an upright position.
After briefs and additionally safety requirements the “guns,” as the Snipers call them, were unsheathed from their protective covers and the rounds were quickly sent flying down range with audible gusto.
During the training the Snipers were testing their skills by firing thee different types of “guns”; The M40 A5, M 110 SASS, and the M107 SASR.
Throughout the day, Sgt. Emmanuel Velayo, Chief Scout Sniper, Scout Sniper Plt., Weapons Co., 1/4, 13th Marine Expeditionary, offered words of advice and instruction to snipers who were having difficulty adjusting to the challenging wind conditions.
“Keep your face on the gun and let your spotter worry about the data,” he said when a sniper missed a target.
“The range here is tricky, said Corporal Steven Laughter, Scout Sniper, Scout Sniper Plt., Weapons Co., 1/4, 13th MEU and native of Shelley, Idaho, it really makes for some interesting wind calls and it isn’t like [Camp] Pendleton where the wind blows continuously from left to right.”
The Snipers fired a known distance in the prone, known distance range with tripods, and with the sun slowly setting behind the mountains finished the day off with what the platoon calls “OSOC” or One shot, One Kill.
This is where Valeyo has the Snipers face away from the range and then hides a target somewhere on the range. He then gives the snipers a minute portion of intelligence on where the target may be located and one by one the snipers come to the firing position and try and locate and engage the target.
The Marines were assessed on the time it took them to engage the target, which ranged from approximately mere seconds to a few minutes.
“Today was really beneficial, said Lance Corporal Walter Pereira, Scout Sniper, Scout Sniper Plt., Weapons Co., 1/4, 13th MEU as he was packing up. “Any rounds we can get whether it be one or 20 is great, as shooting is such a perishable skill.”
The day that had started nearly 15hours earlier, ended under the same brilliance of billions of stars and the Scout Snipers boarded military vehicles and headed back to camp.
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