Your training schedule can make all the difference

Sniper skills get dull quickly. Make sure you are actively sharpening the saw.

Training tenants to live by

Leaders of sniper sections are tasked with ensuring that all training is rigorous and realistic.

It is strongly advised that performance reviews of snipers be carried out, and any areas of weakness should be discovered and improved upon.

It is incumbent for the SEO to be familiar with the capabilities and constraints of his shooters.

When training, it is essential to emphasize the most catastrophic outcomes; doing so will make the other tasks much more straightforward.

In line with the regulations set out by the military, both situational training exercises and field training exercises must be carried out.

• Physical Training

• Cognitive function assessment| Keep in memory(KIM), Pattern Recognition, or Spacial Awareness games

Daily training priorities

Physical fitness is critical for an operational sniper. Fitness matters regardless of your affiliation, military, or the law enforcement community. Every day should have some variation of intense physical exercise with progressive overload. Generally, snipers are considered problem-solvers, able to make pragmatic on-the-spot decisions that benefit an organization or situation. A Sniper’s overall cognition can quickly become the team’s greatest strength. Therefore a daily improvement in their ability to think should be implemented.

Weekly training goals

You will see that there are eight different training priorities for a work week consisting of five days. Many of the weekly exercises may be completed in a short amount of time and work very well in conjunction with one another. Working in pairs and combining training objectives provides a setting that is more organically realistic. This allows the proteges to learn the ropes and apply the basics to more than one idea.

This may look lie:

• Target detection from a panoramic sketch they drew

• Terrain,Vegetation, Structures, Tactical importance(TVST) analysis from sector sketch in a concealed location

• Observing patterns of life and logging that information from a concealed location

• Range Estimation while executing drawing a range card

This training should get more extensive and produce better results faster. The only limit is the Sniper Section leader’s imagination.

Dry fires on at least one platform need to be done weekly

Monthly training requirements

Once a month, a Sniper Section Leader should prioritize training that requires outside resources. Ensure that each training exercise in this category has incremental progression and ties in with some of the weekly tasks you have worked on thus far. Weapon systems must be looked over in an effort to ensure mission readiness. Specialty equipment should also be serviced once a month with the appropriate documentation filled out. Finally, make sure your senior snipers know how to plan and prepare for their next sniper mission.

Ideas for training:

• 50% Land Nav Training/ 50% Tracking after a 30-minute buffer

• 100% Night Land Navigation

• Night into day land navigation

• 300m Stalk

• 1km Infiltration lane with roving patrols

• Infiltration to a Hide site(Rural or Urban) and document what is being observed

• Call for indirect fire simulators

• Call for close air support simulators

Semi-Annual Training Evaluations

This training should be an evaluation of critical tasks that rotate quarterly. Use this time to perform a GAP analysis on your team members. Hopefully, these evaluations will highlight the areas you have focused your training efforts around and the skills they may have lost in the last quarter. You’ll begin to notice trends (Either positive or negative). These trends may show you what information your team members are not grasping or what your teams naturally excel at.

The training in this category should be the most realistic training you perform. Randomize the variable that you are assessing, Such as:

• Equipment Troubleshooting/Malfunctions

• Downed Personnel While requiring mission completion

• Equipment needed to cross rivers while conducting land nav

• Confidence levels on weapon platforms (know your limits)

Yearly Training evaluations

Once a year, your section needs to be given guidance from the people that you are supporting. For a team in the Military, that usually looks like Platoon and Battalion Leadership. This opportunity allows you to showcase the talents of your team. Use this time to impress both the capabilities of your sniper teams, and the value that your element holds.