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This seven week long course provides training on general sniping topics, marksmanship, urban and rural fieldcraft, technical surveillance equipment, stalking, camouflage, concealment, use of screening, use of natural vegetation, shooting technology, sniper weapon systems, and practical application. Trains students in Level 1 special operations sniper skills and operational procedures that are necessary for them to engage selected targets with precision fire from concealed positions at long ranges and under difficult conditions.

Level II Sniper Courses are run at home-station by the respective Special Forces Groups. Those that excel at the Level II training are sometimes selected for the SFSC.

PDA. Special Forces has always integrated technology to allow the SF snipers to perform to the highest of levels. The PDA has been introduced to improve the capability of the sniper. The PDA helps compute the range, windage, and shooting techniques allowing snipers to hit targets in excess of 800 meters. The PDA, which allows to the storage of gun data, provides for a more accurate shot in a quicker response.

A student at the Special Forces Sniper School fires at targets on
Fort Bragg, NC range. (photo by SGT David McLean, 22nd MPAD)

Reference Publications about the Snipers

TC 3-22.10, Sniper, December 2017. U.S. Army Sniper Training Circular. The intent of this training circular is to create uniformity within the sniper community, and to align sniper training and employment with current U.S. Army doctrine. Available at www.armypubs.army.mil.

FM 23-10, Special Forces Sniper Training and Employment. The manual is available on Amazon.com at the following link. Special Operations Sniper Training and Employment

Books about Snipers

Martin, Chris. Modern American Snipers: From the Legend to The Reaper - on the Battlefield with Special Operations Snipers. New York: St. Martin's Press, 2014.

Kyle, Chris. American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History. New York: William Morrow and Company, 2012.

Books and Resources - Sniper Central.
www.snipercentral.com/all-about-sniping/books-resources/

Other Websites with Info on Sniping and Snipers

Israeli Special Forces Sniping Guide. Provides info on weapons systems, schools, gear and accessories, coordination systems and photos. Access the website here on isayeret.com.

Weaponsman.com. "What does it take to be an SF Sniper?" Web page that is full of information about the SF Sniper Course. View here.

Sniper Country. "One Shot - One Kill!". Access the website here. The web site also has a listing of online articles about sniper here.

Marine Corps Scout Sniper. Wikipedia has a detailed web page on the Scout Sniper (MOS 0317) that you can view here.

AmericanSnipers.org. A 501(c)(3) organization composed of "Snipers Supporting Snipers in the Global War on Terror". Access here.

American Sniper Association. An online sniper community with links, events, products, and news. Access here.

ShadowSpear Forum. Shooters and Thinkers: The Special Forces Sniper Course.  Access here.

Department of Defense. Art of the Shot. An in-depth look at the role of a sniper. What does he think about before taking that shot? Explore the mindset, the rifle, the role, how a sniper hides, technology, and more. (January 2020).
https://www.defense.gov/Experience/Art-of-the-Shot/

Books about Snipers and Sniping

Click here for a listing of books about sniping and snipers.

Videos about the Sniper Course and Snipers

March 23, 2018. International Sniper Competition, USAJFKSWCS, March 23, 2018. A short video of the International Sniper Competition held by USASOC at Fort Bragg, NC.
www.facebook.com/jfkcenterandschool/videos/10150915765894943/

September 5, 2017. Sniper Waldo, U.S. Army. 3 minute long video with info on the Army Sniper Course. www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8qLKgyLdnw

Video of the Special Forces Sniper Course (SFSC) by DVIDS. Produced by SFC Teresa Coble, DVIDS. Access the 9 minute long video here. August 2011.

Video about Army Snipers.  "Surviving the cut: Army sniper".  A 45 minute long video about the Army's five week long sniper course.  Access the video here.

"Special Forces compete in sniper competition". Video about SF Snipers competing in Colombia. Click here to see the video.

"Soldier Shares Sniper Skills with Afghan National Army". YouTube video.  Click here to view.

MARSOC snipers battle with a Taliban sniper.  See the video here.

"Sniper: Deadliest Missions". A History.com video posted on YouTube about snipers. (1.5 hrs). See the video here.

"Sniper: Bulletproof". A History.com video posted on YouTube about snipers. (1.5 hrs). See video here.

Army Special Forces sniper sights in his MK 12 sniper rifle
during OIF in Iraq in September 2007 (photo PO Eli Medellin)

Sniper Weapons and Equipment

M110 Sniper Rifle. One of the more common sniper weapons is the M110 Semiautomatic Sniper System - a 7.62 mm gas-operated rifle.

M25 Sniper Rifle. The M25 was a rifle designed for Navy SEALs and Army Special Forces. Learn more about the rifle here at Wikipedia.

Soviet Mosin-Nagant Rifle. The U.S.S.R. sniper weapon found in the Soviet Army and exported throughout the world, beginning in WWII, for many years is the Mosin-Nagant rifle.

Ghillie Suits. Apparel worn to help the sniper blend in with his environment. There are many different types of ghillie suits based on terrain, location, unit, and mission.

Precision Sniper Rifle (PSR). A Wikipedia web page about USSOCOMs program for a bolt action sniper rifle chambered fro a .338 Magnum. Access the web page here.

Barrett M95. A Wikipedia web page aobut the bolt-action sniper rifle chambered for .50 BMG and manufactured by Barrett Firearms Company. Access the web page here.

Sniper Rifles. Wikipedia has a detailed web page about sniper weapons.  See the page here.

History of Snipers

Sniper Alley. The term refers to the main boulevard of Sarajevo during the Bosian - Serb conflict in the 1990s. The conflict had its own character and sniping was a huge part of that. Learn more here on Wikipedia. Also visit "Face of Mercy, Face of Hate: Sarajevo Survival Map" for more info on Sarajevo snipers on the Minnesota Public Radio web site.

Top 10 Snipers in History. ListVerse.com has compiled a list of the top ten snipers in history - list can be seen here.

SOITC. The SFSC was at one time called the Special Operations Target Interdiction Course or SOITC. The name change occurred in early 2007 along with an increase in length of training, change in the course content, and increase in the prerequisites for attendence.

A member of 19th SFGA takes a high angle shot with an MK13

at Camp Williams, Utah (photo by Army National Guard)

News Articles And Other Postings about Snipers

Spring 2020. "Closing the Gap: USASC Refines POI to Better Prepare Snipers for Modern Fight", Infantry Magazine.

March 19, 2017. "Book Review: 'White Sniper: Simo Hayha' by Tapio Saarelainen", Guns.com.

September 28, 2016. "This spec ops sniper rifle fits inside a 'granola-eater' backpack", We Are The Mighty. News report on the Remington Defense 'Concealable Sniper Rifle' or CSR.

October 25, 2014. "Special Forces team wins International Sniper Competition". Stars and Stripes. A team from the 1st SFGA won the 14th annual International Sniper Competition at Fort Benning, GA.

November 19, 2012. "Silent but Deadly: Special Forces Seek Quiet, Subsonic Bullets".  Danger Room Wired.com.

November 7, 2012. "Soldier team wins world sniper competition". Army Times.

October 26, 2012. "Marine scout snipers use 'murder holes' in Afghanistan". Marine Times Battle Rattle.

March 5, 2012. "Special Forces Sniper Team cleans up at the International Sniper Competition". SOFREP.

September 27, 2011. "8 Longest Sniper Shots in History". Guns & Ammo.

May 2, 2011. "Guns of the Special Forces". Shooting Illustrated.

September 24, 2010. "Recovery in his sights: Amputee graduates from Special Forces Sniper Course". Army.mil.

May 2, 2010. "Sniper kills Qaeda from 1 1/2 mi. away". New York Post.

February 2010. "The Distant Executioner", Vanity Fair, by William Langewische.
www.vanityfair.com/news/2010/02/sniper-201002

May-June 2008. "Shooters and Thinkers: Special Forces Sniper Course Revised", Special Warfare Magazine, Volume 21, Issue 3, pages 30-33, accessed on IrregularWarfare.org at the following link.
www.irregularwarfare.org/files/OperationalizingIntel.pdf

February 19, 2010. "Range 37 at Fort Bragg tests skills of even the most experienced Green Beret".  Army.mil.

November 2003. "Special-Ops Sniper Training Stresses Control, Discipline". National Defense. An indepth news article about the various military sniper schools, weapons and sniper training.

August 24, 2001. "Transcript of a presentation by John Simpson at the CTS Virtual Expo Seminar on Sniping entitled "Selection of Sniper Personnel" accessed here on snipercountry.com.

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