I do not believe they have changed this philosophy and it is still used today. Some do not hold the US Army school in as high of regard as the USMC school, and I understand why. Three Rivers Press. There was just not enough time in those 5 weeks to cover the required instruction AND provide time for ghillie construction. As the Army began their incorporation of snipers as a fixed part of their infantry units, they not only had to come up with a new sniper weapon system, the M24, but they had to devise a means of training their new sniper corp. The length of the school is for five weeks. NCO Academy. The class I attended was held in August and September of 1997… and as is the norm for Ft. Benning, it was hot and humid. Enrollment was limited to 11 series Military Occupational Specialties (MOS), which was the infantry, and 18 series (Special Forces). It obviously is not on par with the special operations schools that are out there, as that is not the purpose or goal of the school. The Infantry Schooltransforms civilians into disciplined INFANTRYMEN that possess the Army Values, fundamental Soldier skills, physical fitness, character, confidence, commitment, and the Warrior Ethos t… The U.S. military is training and using them in greater numbers than ever before. I consider the school to be in the upper tier of military sniper schools and it holds its own when compared to the others. The first U.S. Army Sniper School was short lived, being established in 1955, but disbanded in 1956 at Camp Perry, Ohio. The facilities at the school, at least when I went through, were also a mixed bag. The classes tended to fill up fast and we had to reserve my slot about a 9 month ahead of time. The use of USMC snipers proved effective in low intensity conflicts in the 70’s and 80’s, and the US Army finally caught on and in the second half of the 1980s they decided to start their own permanent sniper program. It’s continuous existence reflects the longest sniper training course in the history of the US Army and is a testament to the high priority sniper training now enjoys among the Army’s leadership. The Army National Guard Sniper School was established in 1993 at Camp Robinson Arkansas. www.cbsnews.com. Army Sniper school candidates discover the key to lethality is 'a high tolerance for discomfort ... 640 x 425 jpeg 50kB. The length of the school is for five weeks. All of your paperwork had to be complete and correct when you got there and on Day 0 there was a PT Test. The inspection itself was real fun, or not. 1280 x 720 jpeg 129kB. Second round gut shot him. That first week of class set the tone for the rest of the school. But as the need for snipers kept manifesting itself each time the United States found itself in some sort of conflict, the various branches began to change their view on incorporating snipers permanently. Fort Benning and The Maneuver Centerprovide Agile, Trained, Adaptive, and Ready Soldiers and Leaders for an Army at War, while developing Future requirements for the Individual Soldier and the Maneuver Force, and providing a World Class Quality of Life for our Soldiers and Army Families! “Sniper school is one of the hardest schools in the military, not physically, but mentally,” Staff Sgt. There were many good instructors, a few horrible instructors, and a few fantastic instructors. But the US Army has made great strides in their incorporation, equipping, training and use of snipers over the past several decades. After a brief scare during the 2 mile run, I passed and the class begun in earnest, and I mean in earnest! Tweets by FortBenning. We did unconventional shooting positions and familiarization with night vision and the M107A1 SASR (Barrett .50 BMG), though it was an M82 back then and not yet officially adopted. 378. The present U.S. Army Sniper School was established at Fort Benning, Georgia, in 1987. The length of the school is for five weeks. KIMS games were a constant smoke session that I would prefer not to remember. I believe it is still near the 4th RTB and Harmony Church, but I am not positive. This had not yet caught on in the Army when I was in. During the five week school we had many other classes that were taught about various topics and we used all of that training during the FTX. The U.S. Army Sniper School is part of the United States Army 197th Infantry Brigade based at Fort Benning, Georgia. They have progressed to the point where today, along with the Marines, they are considered to have some of the best snipers in the world. These classes included topics such as tracking, E&E, sketches, patrol logs, survival, urban sniper operations and others. This shot is done without the aid of your spotter and you had to make the range estimation, wind call, weather call… essentially everything. Additionally, sometime during these early years a new sniper manual was written and published by the US Army. More than 300 Soldiers each year begin the seven-week Army Sniper School at Fort Benning … only the best make it to graduation. The US Army school was patterned after the USMC school and much of the same training and testing was conducted. Fort Benning, Georgia: Motto(s) "Follow Me" Commanders; Current commander: BG David Hodne: Insignia; Shoulder sleeve insignia : The United States Army Infantry School is a school located at Fort Benning, Georgia that is dedicated to training infantrymen for service in the United States Army. It was always a shock to the system going from cool and crisp Montana air to the hot and muggy Georgia jungle. And you only had 2 minutes. The first U.S. Army Sniper School was initiated in 1955, right after the Korean War cease-fire. COVID-19 conditions create sniper school opportunities for new infantry troops. As is normal in difficult schools, camaraderie and brotherhood typically form fast and we did what we could to help each other out. The ranges were great. They have since moved into their own newer facility and have torn down all those old barracks. Fort Benning by the Numbers Survey MCoE Event Calendar Smoke and Sound HOMMTA Benning MWR Events Post Services. Snapshots from an Army sniper school - … They taught you the sniping skills and you were expected to go back and sure up your basic infantry skills to complement what was needed for being an effective sniper team. long rang sniper rifel i need training and join us army, Your email address will not be published. This is an official U.S. Army Website sponsored by U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE), https://www.milsuite.mil/book/groups/us-army-sniper-school. - YouTube. The course will test a student on; field craft, marksmanship, mission planning, advanced situational awareness, urban operations, complex engagements and building collective lethality to create an unfair fight in favor of the sniper team in support of offensive, defensive and stability operations for the United States Army. hireaveteran.com. At the U.S. Army’s Sniper School at Fort Benning in Georgia, students undergo some of the most grueling training the force offers. sniper school fort benning provides a comprehensive and comprehensive pathway for students to see progress after the end of each module. The present U.S. Army Sniper School was established at Fort Benning, Georgia, in 1987. Required Read Ahead material and required In-processing forms can be found on: https://www.milsuite.mil/book/groups/us-army-sniper-school Required fields are marked *. Finally, the last major change happened to the USASS in the early 2000s when the global War on Terror was in full swing (it still is) and there was a discovered need for much more elaborate training on urban (MOUT) sniper operations. (Yep, I still remember the details, stress will do that). It gave us 4 or more hours of quiet time! Every new student, private first class through staff sergeant, had already met demanding … If you were not infantry or SF, you could not attend the school. Some of the instructors actually told us they believed it should be a gentleman’s course because learning it was so darn difficult. References ^ Campbell, James (2007). Installation. Slightly more than 50% and better than average. The use of snipers was viewed differently in the Army than it was in the USMC. This is near where the 4th Ranger Training Brigade (RTB) is located and the school shared the chow hall with all the Ranger School students. The thing that really killed us that first week was the knowledge that we had a ghillie suit inspection on Friday morning. No re-fires. www.gundigest.com. They have proved themselves in operations, BUD/S, Q-Course, Ranger School and others. I liked that approach. You will not see a lot of photos in this write-up primarily because I did not take any photos while I attended the school for fear I would jinx the course and fail. I passed. Before sunrise in early August, 46 Soldiers reported for the first day of sniper school as part of Class 10-17 at Fort Benning. It worked. Fort Benning est une base de l'US Army située au sud-ouest de la ville de Columbus (Géorgie) dans les comtés de Muscogee et de Chattahoochee en Géorgie et dans le comté de Russell en Alabama. In the 1990s, the organization of snipers in a Mechanized unit consisted of a single two man sniper team per Company that was attached as a part of the HQ Platoon. Building a ghillie for the first time meant we were slower than normal as we learned the ins and outs, and sleep deprivation was real. This consisted of an unknown distance engagement typically from 600-800 meters (655-875 yards). Initially the US Army Sniper School (USASS) was only three weeks long and taught the curriculum out of TC23-14 (TC = Training Circular). Those four main skills were tested extensively with mandatory minimums and overall averages are required. In the heart of the cold war, the Army considered their armored battalions their main source of power and their view of snipers was just a way of enhancing the effectiveness of their dismounted squads, almost like the Designated Marksmen role. Those units really took the benefits of snipers to heart and used them to their full potential. We had eight guys from Ranger Battalions and a RIP instructor as well as guys from 10th Mountain, 25th Light, and other high speed units. Marksmanship, Stalking, Range Estimation and Target Detection. Time on the range began with verifying known distance data versus what was on our BDC knobs on the Leupold M3A scope as well as continued long range marksmanship training. Video: Fort Benning's Sniper School - Gun Digest. There were several different lanes on the unknown distance ranges with targets beyond 1000 meters, even out to nearly 1200. They lived and breathed the stuff and were always doing what they could to make the training and the school better. Several of the very elite Special Operations sniper schools are gentleman’s courses, and it is likely a wise choice, especially in the special operations groups as those guys are legit and do not need any more smoking. During the Vietnam War the 9th Infantry Division Sniper School located in Vietnam went a long way to providing a foundation on which the US Army could build their program. They genuinely wanted you to succeed and they would spend extra time with struggling students to help. My first round went over his left shoulder (meaning I was up and right slightly). The average pass rate for the USASS is about 40% and the school is known to produce excellent snipers. United States Army Sniper Course. Organization. I was the only National Guard guy in the school, perhaps my weakness, but I had a degree in Mathematics so I was able to help a lot of guys out with the technical stuff like range-e and the ballistics. The class culminated with a three day FTX that involved everything we learned through the five week school. But the Army school is patterned after the USMC school and the standards are just as high and it has produced some excellent snipers. For me personally, target detection was a challenge, but stalking was quiet fun and I was able to pick it up quickly due to a couple of tidbits some of the instructors gave me on our first practice stalk. I went through the US Army Sniper School at Ft. Benning in 1997 when the school was five weeks long. United States Army Sniper Course teaches prospective students how to become a force multiplier. L'United States Army Sniper School est une école militaire de l'US Army, située dans la base de Fort Benning en Géorgie [1].Rattachée à la 197 e brigade d'infanterie (en), elle assure la formation des tireurs d'élite et des snipers de l'armée américaine.. La première Sniper School est fondée en 1955 au Camp Perry (en) dans l'Ohio, mais supprimée en 1956. The light infantry units did it differently, they had a squad of snipers as a part of a Battalion Scout Platoon. The graded portion of marksmanship included unknown distance shooting from 300-1000 meters and moving targets from 300-700 yards. As is the case in perhaps all of the main military sniper schools, stalking tends to be the number one event that fails the most students, and for good reason. This proved to be the more effective and flexible way of organizing them. As the global War on Terror took over, the need for effective light infantry units and flexible sniper teams became very apparent and where possible, the Mechanized units switched over to the same type of organization of their snipers as the light infantry units. The Army National Guard Sniper School was established in 1993 at Camp Robinson Arkansas. The instructor cadre, like most every school, was a mixed bag. We also did stress fires that included lots of running and exercise as well as lots of smoke, flash bangs and other good stuff. 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