Snipers, Mr. Sarno!

Mike: The mechanism of openshifting fire die means the sniper is more
likely to get spotted the further he is from the enemy.... very odd
that.

So far, everyone has spoken about snipers (well lots of folk anyway)
and have all been right in a sense.

As far as I can see, the use of snipers (what I'd call a sniper - a
specialist asset assigned at battalion level) is widely varied between
forces the world over. Heck, in the Vietnam era, even within the US
forces, sniper usage was very different - some divisions had none,
others had some guy with an M14 who was a good shot, and some had guys
with 18 weeks of training on a specialist range with accurized weapons
and match ammo. So you really have to put it in context.

Los and Owen have characterized their experiences with such folk in
their militaries. In the Canadian military, I've met guys who were
sniper qualified, and our reserve unit had a rifle team which had some
darn scary people on it (one won a Queen's medal at Bisley) but we
didn't have "snipers" per se. They were just grunts like all the
others. In combat, I don't even think anyone would bother giving them
a special tasking despite their skills. However, I also know that some
of the units (I'm sure JTF, SSF, and the former airborne) had formally
trained snipers - trained in escape and evasion, sneaky movement,
musketry, etc. Often these are part of a scout/sniper platoon attached
at battalion level, though sometimes as low as company.

Part of the historical reason this situation of varied use has come to
pass is that sniper success is highly debatable on a large scale
(unlike in SG2 where I think its pretty notable!). Yes, snipers have
brought down targets way out of proportion to their rounds fired as
compared to the rest of the forces, but even in Vietnam their usage
was limited enough due to often being commanded by B'n or Divisional
officers who had no idea how to implement a sniper doctrine (and oft
times, neither did the snipers). But were they really effective war
winners? Who can say? Not I. Some snipers got 93 kills (Gunny Hatcock)
or 103 (Sgt. Waldron) and others got 1 or 2.

Snipers have done all sorts of missions - but often they were escorted
by infantry for security of their firing point. Sometimes they were
called up to help the point formation of infantry clear a dug in
enemy. Sometimes they flew river patrols at night prone in the back of
a slick followed by two snakes. The sniper would fire tracer and if he
saw what he thought was a valid target on the river and the snakes
would watch where he shot and go in guns blazing. One story I read
relates to this type of work - the sniper fired, didn't here snake
cannon-fire, and asked the snake driver when they got back to base
"why didn't you fire?". The snake driver was heard to reply that the
sniper had hit the suspected VC in the chest with the tracer, knocking
him off the boat dead as a doornail, while flying in a helicopter at
night from a range of at least two hundred feet.

In SG2, I try to differentiate between snipers and marksmen. (Adrian
got me started on this difference). Snipers I let do the "go hide"
thing. I also let them move hidden (at risk of revealing themselves).
I let them get double range AND pick their targets. Marksmen I treat
in a more limited fashion like a specialized support weapon. I let
them fire with or apart from the squad. If with the squad, they add
their die. If separate, they get their dice *and* the doubled range
bands. I'd only let these guys pick their targets IFF they make a
'spot target' check first (spotting roll). They just aren't quite the
same as normal snipers, but are often more ubiqutious. These guys I'd
put in my SF teams (if I didn't have a real sniper), in my FSE
infantry sections (saw this in Bosnia), and at least one per platoon
in most modern forces. Sometimes (because they can shoot further),
they replace one SAW in a platoon. I also penalize snipers without
spotters (and marksmen) 1 downshift on FP - the spotter should help
their efficacy. It also helps make them  bearable to have on the
field. The spotter (if with a hiding-sniper) just moves and hides with
the sniper. He helps the sniper by spotting, by carrying him out if he
is hit, and by carrying a silenced SMG or some such close in weapon in
case the sniper position gets overrun while they are sniping or
hiding.

I'd say I wouldn't let snipers fire out beyond their maximum range...
They don't waste rounds. They tend not to draw fire to themselves if
they can avoid it. They wait, then kill someone. That's usually a
pretty effective way to stop a unit. Los recalled his SF story about
his sniper mowing down enemy targets (did he get smoked by this heroic
reargaurd?) and a book I read about Vietnam illustrated where a single
vietnamese sniper held back a company leading an infantry battalion.
The whole battalion was held up. Every time they'd try to move
forward, he'd kill someone else. It took them a long time to get an
idea where he was, and he may have moved. They used artillery,
airstrikes, etc. etc. They were tied up for an entire day. AND THEY
NEVER GOT HIM. And he was using some ancient bolt action rifle from
some many-years-previous war. Imagine what he'd have done if he'd had
a modern weapon - he'd have smoked the battalion! (I'm exaggerating -
nonetheless it was staggering to see how effectively one guy held up
an entire formation, and by doing so, held up a larger formation.

My 0.02. Back to work.
Tom

Thomas Barclay
Software UberMensch
xwave solutions
(613) 831-2018 x 3008