Forging the Sniper Squad pt. II
Like most people in a new position, I had to learn things through trial and error. Fortunately, reference materials such as Army manuals and publications give a great starting point. Anecdotal suggestions from others are helpful, but those should not be the only source of information. "It was like that when I got here" is one of the worst things anyone can say or follow suit. That contentment will not allow you or a sniper squad to be successful. Training will draw your leadership’s attention, and your fellow soldiers will see snipers doing incredible things. I'm not saying go out of your way to take photos and make it seem like an amazing job. However, people will recognize your hard work and efforts by doing what you are supposed to do. With that, I have established the top ten recommendations to make a successful sniper squad.
1. Allow your leadership to have trust and confidence in the snipers. Even if in passing, you need face-to-face interaction to build familiarity. Our social skills are diminishing in a digital age of emails, text messages, and social media. Having a face-to-face conversation will establish a bond and put a face to a name. Another method is having the same sniper team support the same rifle company. This will build rapport, trust, and confidence, especially if soldiers are initially from that company. Working with the companies should not be the first choice, as snipers are battalion assets. Snipers, like scouts, enable the rest of the companies to execute their mission.
2. Dress for the job you want. Consider yourself on the same level as the scout platoon leader and platoon sergeant. This means that we need to do things we do not want to do, which is being present at all battalion-level meetings and planning events. The SEO serves as "mom" and will forecast training needs and requirements. Planning, resourcing, briefing, and coordinating can sometimes be a long process but pays dividends in the long run. The sniper squad leader serves the role of "dad" and drives training. In addition, the sniper squad leader is in charge of executing the training that is planned by the SEO. In most cases, sniper squads will not have an SEO, and that sniper squad leader will fill both roles. Show your confidence and carry yourself as an equal member of the team.
3. "Selling" your skills through briefing capabilities and limitations. The majority of leaders do not know what snipers bring to the fight. Remember, you are the smartest sniper in the room. Snipers are enablers that help shape the battlefield. The SEO needs to convey what snipers can and can't do. Provide a course of action and options for your command. If you have a limitation, find a way to fill those limitations and capability gaps through training, schools, or equipping snipers. By knowing your capabilities and limitations, you can better collaborate with commanders by keeping their expectations realistic and attainable.
4. Have the battalion and companies incorporate snipers in training events. As previously mentioned, the sniper squad leader needs to be present for all training meetings. You will see the company command teams, scout platoon leadership, and the mortar section leader there. These meetings will allow you to understand the battalion and company training objectives. After the meeting has been convened, meet with the commanders, and offer ways to enhance their training objectives. Most people assume snipers only go out and shoot. Snipers offer more through offense, defense, and reconnaissance tasks.
5. Understand the Military Decision-Making Process (MDMP) and Operations Order (OPORD). Being a battalion-level asset means that you need to understand battalion-level planning. Battalions utilize the MDMP, and by understanding each step, you can best present the employment of snipers. A good starting point is after warning order (WARNO) two, as the S2 delivers courses of action. Snipers need to be very close with their battalion S2. They have questions, and snipers provide answers. The S2 will advocate and recommend the use of snipers as long as the SEO can convey a plan. Through sniper employment, you will need to brief your operation order and scheme of maneuver. FM 6-0, FM 3-55.93, and TC 3-21.76 have excellent OPORD formats. You will brief your plan to leaders that know and understand these doctrinal tools. With that, the sniper squad leader needs to teach and train the soldiers how to think, talk, and brief the officers in your organization. Snipers need to continually seek employment and need to be used in every phase of an operation. If the sniper teams are attached to a company, the team leader is expected to brief and convey their plan just as well as a rifle platoon leader.
6. Train your soldiers every week and in more areas than just shooting. Each organization usually has a "Big 5" that is emphasized for training and proficiency. These are great places to start when looking for training ideas. Another approach is to look at what a sniper does as a whole and determine what skills you should focus on. Visualize a sniper mission and what steps are needed to be successful. Mission planning, insertion, infiltration, execution, and extraction are the five phases of a mission. Using these five areas will help shape your training calendar. Make an honest assessment of where the sniper squad currently stands, both individually and collectively. Then, decide on the desired end state. More than likely, the desired end state will be at a higher level. The next step is to find the areas to train on so that the squad can meet that end state.
7. Seek additional skills. Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) such as Raven, Puma, and Sky Raider drones have become incredibly useful for reconnaissance. UAS was shunned by most during its debut. Drones are seen in the Russo-Ukraine war with great success. “Patterns of life” or advanced situational awareness training will help develop areas of observation. Taking it upon yourself to learn photography will amplify the information delivered to your command. There are several military schools and courses that are beneficial, but two that stand out are Reconnaissance Surveillance Leaders Course (RSLC) and the Battle Staff NCO (BSNCO) course. RSLC will elevate your squad’s mission planning and help prepare snipers for the previously mentioned five phases of a mission. BSNCO course will prepare the sniper squad leader to integrate into battalion-level planning and help for future career progression. To be successful at home station, begin to understand the Total Ammunition Management Information System (TAMIS). TAMIS is a real-time, fully web-based application, which is used to request ammunition for training and combat. The Range Facility Management Support System (RFMSS) is equally as important as this site allows the SEO or squad leader to view training locations. This helps with scheduling and eases long-range planning. There is only one person who can schedule in RFMSS, and that is usually the land and ammo NCO. This is how and why I developed a good working relationship with my land and ammo NCO.
8. Network with the other sniper squads in the brigade and on your installation. Not every squad will be fortunate enough to have a range scheduled two to three times a month. Also, the squad has ten personnel and it becomes difficult to fulfill all range requirements set by range control. When you collaborate with other sniper squads in your area, this will allow for more training opportunities and eases the burden of managing a range. Joint ranges will strengthen the squad’s skills and will establish common techniques and applications among all snipers. This is useful at higher levels as they can have familiarity with sniper employment. The connection to brigade and division gets established by networking with the Master Gunner NCO at each level. The Master Gunner NCO is often overlooked by snipers and vice versa. Through the Master Gunner NCO, snipers can work on refining their weapon surface danger zones (SDZ). A selling point or capability is the ability to provide a precision support-by-fire (P-SBF). Range control considers a bolt-action M2010 to have the same SDZ as a .50 caliber machine gun. Sniper effects exceed the .50 caliber SDZ but the sniper alone cannot convey this to range control. The Master Gunner NCO will help you get approval to perform P-SBF at the company, battalion, and brigade live-fire training events.
9. Every position is open during tryouts. Soldiers often think that because they made it into a sniper squad, they have job security. In order to be the premier asset that is boasted about in doctrine, snipers need to perform at a higher level than soldiers in rifle companies. As stated before, snipers are the most technically and tactically proficient soldiers in the battalion. Expectations are placed higher on these specially selected soldiers. The soldiers that compose the sniper squad all want to be there. It is better to be understaffed with high-quality soldiers as opposed to fully staffed with mediocre soldiers. This will ensure that snipers will be an asset and not a liability.
10. Be an asset, not a liability. At the end of the day, the snipers are there to provide a service. Snipers are present to deliver long-range precision fire on targets. Snipers provide “Death from afar” by various means. Direct fire engagement, controlling indirect fires, or reporting information. Finding, fixing, and finishing is a group effort and snipers, past and present, prove to be an asset. Snipers will never be a decisive operation and we should accept that. Snipers will always be a shaping operation as snipers are enablers. Demonstrate the skills you bring to the team by doing what you are paid to do.
A previous leader, who was my Squadron Executive Officer, would make this statement. “No one cares about what you did yesterday. What have you done today?” That question has been with me for several years now, and I will ask myself time and time again. What have I done today? How am I being an asset to this organization? I finish this series with a question for you. What are you doing to be an asset to your organization? Snipers need to be the premier soldiers within their organization. Thinkers before shooters is another saying that has floated around the US Army Sniper Course. Snipers understand the big picture better and can convey that information to leaders. If you are not an asset to the organization, then the only other option is to be a liability. Be an asset by being the Sniper you need to be.
