"military" "education" ".org." Okay, militaryeducation.org, what say ye about snipers? Militaryeducation.org has a list of the Top Ten Deadliest Snipers. Numero Uno is Simo Häyhä who I have always thought was particularly hot:
"Nicknamed “White Death” by the troops of the Red Army — whom he tormented, dressed in his snow camouflage...he preferred to use iron rather than telescopic sights, which ensured he presented less of a target to enemy gunmen."
It didn't work one time.
I don't know what Michael Moore had in mind when he said snipers were cowards but there is that "hiding" aspect, "dressed in snow camouflage...iron rather than telescopic sights...presented less of a target to enemy..." Don't all soldiers dress in camouflage? Yes, they do. Isn't, like, the point to present less of a target? Yes, it is. I am not articulating well. I use analogy.
If Osama bin Laden had been killed as he was walking on a dusty road from Afghanistan to Pakistan by Bryan Sikes, Sniper, would there have been a movie or documentary or book, would it have resonated the same way with the public? I don't think so. The raid that killed bin Laden was a made-for-retelling drama. Not much drama in "I saw this tall gray-bearded guy walking along the road and shot him in the head."
The sniper is not exposed to the same danger as the raider. That's a big part of the drama of course but a bigger part of courage. That was a dangerous mission the Navy SEALS were on, good God. Helicoptering in to Pakistan, to a military area, under radar, without Pakistan knowing--that's dangerous. If OBL had been killed by a sniper the sniper could have been posting on Facebook the moment before he saw the tall gray-bearded figure walking on the road.
Lee Harvey Oswald was a sniper. He was not a hero to anyone, not courageous, but not a coward either.
The Confederate sniper who drilled General Reynolds, the best U.S. general, on the first day of Gettysburg--anonymous. Nobody knows who the sniper was.
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain epitomized Hemingway's definition of courage, "grace under pressure." The Confederate sniper, not so much.
In any other area of life a sniper is called a murderer.
Charles Whitman, sniper.
Before coming across Selma Hayak on "militaryeducation.org" I had read of the most decorated Soviet sniper during World War II. I felt only revulsion toward that guy. The Soviets were the only army that specifically trained snipers. The other nine guys on militaryeducation.org's list are Soviets.
On the other hand, I've seen Captain Phillips, that movie portrayed the Navy SEAL snipers as heroes! I felt they were heroes! That was dramatic! Then there was just silence. The crisis had reached its apex, the pirates were panicking, everybody was yelling and screaming and then "three green lights!" the shots, and then silence. There is a strange anti-climax to a sniper operation.
Snipers have all the advantages. Their targets have none.
I have hunted. That is not a hero, that is not courage. Nor cowardice. That's a sniper. A hunter of men and beasts.
What is Bryan Sikes going to do when the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq end? What is he going to do when he has to return to the U.S., when he doesn't have live targets to kill? The advantages he had as a sniper he will not have in a civilian job. What skills does he have that will translate? The job he would be suited for best would be a cop.
"Nicknamed “White Death” by the troops of the Red Army — whom he tormented, dressed in his snow camouflage...he preferred to use iron rather than telescopic sights, which ensured he presented less of a target to enemy gunmen."
I don't know what Michael Moore had in mind when he said snipers were cowards but there is that "hiding" aspect, "dressed in snow camouflage...iron rather than telescopic sights...presented less of a target to enemy..." Don't all soldiers dress in camouflage? Yes, they do. Isn't, like, the point to present less of a target? Yes, it is. I am not articulating well. I use analogy.
If Osama bin Laden had been killed as he was walking on a dusty road from Afghanistan to Pakistan by Bryan Sikes, Sniper, would there have been a movie or documentary or book, would it have resonated the same way with the public? I don't think so. The raid that killed bin Laden was a made-for-retelling drama. Not much drama in "I saw this tall gray-bearded guy walking along the road and shot him in the head."
The sniper is not exposed to the same danger as the raider. That's a big part of the drama of course but a bigger part of courage. That was a dangerous mission the Navy SEALS were on, good God. Helicoptering in to Pakistan, to a military area, under radar, without Pakistan knowing--that's dangerous. If OBL had been killed by a sniper the sniper could have been posting on Facebook the moment before he saw the tall gray-bearded figure walking on the road.
Lee Harvey Oswald was a sniper. He was not a hero to anyone, not courageous, but not a coward either.
The Confederate sniper who drilled General Reynolds, the best U.S. general, on the first day of Gettysburg--anonymous. Nobody knows who the sniper was.
Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain epitomized Hemingway's definition of courage, "grace under pressure." The Confederate sniper, not so much.
In any other area of life a sniper is called a murderer.
Before coming across Selma Hayak on "militaryeducation.org" I had read of the most decorated Soviet sniper during World War II. I felt only revulsion toward that guy. The Soviets were the only army that specifically trained snipers. The other nine guys on militaryeducation.org's list are Soviets.
On the other hand, I've seen Captain Phillips, that movie portrayed the Navy SEAL snipers as heroes! I felt they were heroes! That was dramatic! Then there was just silence. The crisis had reached its apex, the pirates were panicking, everybody was yelling and screaming and then "three green lights!" the shots, and then silence. There is a strange anti-climax to a sniper operation.
Snipers have all the advantages. Their targets have none.
What is Bryan Sikes going to do when the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq end? What is he going to do when he has to return to the U.S., when he doesn't have live targets to kill? The advantages he had as a sniper he will not have in a civilian job. What skills does he have that will translate? The job he would be suited for best would be a cop.
