Marine Scout snipers are among the deadliest
warfighters in the world. They serve a variety of purposes and often far away from friendly units
that could accidentally blow their cover or alert enemies. Scout snipers often work in pairs with
one actually pulling the trigger while the other partner spots and collects vital data. They can
be employed in multiple roles on the battlefield. The most common one that people might think comes
to mind would be overwatch. That is when snipers provide top cover to advancing infantry units
to identify major threats like machine gunners or other snipers. Taking these dangerous units
out enables the infantry to move forward safely. Snipers are more commonly given reconnaissance
missions where they must go deep into enemy territory simply to observe and take
notes of enemy movements and positions. Lastly, and the most dangerous mission, is when
snipers perform surgical strikes on selected high-value targets. A high-value target could
be a top officer, terrorist leader, bomb maker, or any number of individuals who might have a
lot of security around them. Heightened security measures would make conducting a regular attack
risky and if they are surrounded by civilians it would avoid unnecessary suffering. A scout sniper
must be able to get in close enough, undetected, to make an accurate shot then slip away
all while being hunted by the enemy. Because of these incredibly dangerous mission
sets, Marine Scout snipers only choose a select handful of people to ensure the best Marines
are put in these kinds of harrowing situations. The process for a Marine Scout sniper starts
all the same for thousands of eager recruits every year: enlisting in the Marine Corps. While
there are certainly many hurdles that go into just joining the military, the basic principles
of being physically and medically fit, a clean criminal record, and the ability
to pass a drug test is standard for entry. Another initial hurdle is doing well
on the ASVAB (pronounced as-vab) exam. The ASVAB or Armed Services Vocational Aptitude
Battery is a common exam given by all the armed forces to see what areas you are naturally
good at. To become a Marine Scout sniper, as of right now, you must become an infantryman
first. Contrary to popular belief it is rather difficult to obtain an infantry contract since
the competition is fierce meaning that those interested need to score well above the
minimum requirement to be competitive. So after studying well for the ASVAB, staying in
shape, and keeping your nose clean, you head off to boot camp. Marine Corps boot camp is no joke
and is designed to break you down mentally and physically only to rebuild you as a member of the
world’s greatest Marine Corps. While at boot camp, it is best to learn every bit of knowledge
from the Drill Instructors as possible, especially for marksmanship, since this will form
the foundation for your Marine Corps career. One of the minimum requirements to even attend Scout
Sniper school is to shoot at an expert level. The Marine Corps marksmanship test is an annual
event that recruits must first pass in boot camp. Marines fire a total of fifty rounds at targets at
200, 300, and 500 meters away from the standing, kneeling, sitting, and prone positions. The
test is scored between 250 to 350 points with three different levels. Those wanting to be
a Scout Sniper need to get a score of at least 305 to obtain the Expert level of marksmanship.
After completing boot camp, infantry Marines must now complete one of the two School of Infantry
Courses. The School of Infantry course is one of the most punishing courses that any enlisted
Marine can go through. Over the course of 59 days, newly-minted Marines will build on the
knowledge they learned in boot camp and apply it to real-life scenarios. During the
course, they will learn techniques of patrolling, defending a position, and identifying
improvised explosive devices. Marines here will also learn to use more advanced
weapons like grenade employment and machine guns. After the first several weeks of training,
Marines branch off into whichever infantry specialty they were assigned after boot camp.
Riflemen, mortar men, machine gunners, and light armored scouts all receive job-specific training.
Upon graduation from either the School of Infantry East or West, Marines can now hit the fleet
into their first operational infantry unit. During the next several years, Marines
could serve anywhere in the world. Whether it be in the jungles of Okinawa, the deserts of
southern California, the woods of North Carolina, or the combat zone of Afghanistan, Marines
everywhere should expect a not so easy lifestyle. It is during this phase of an aspiring Scout
Sniper’s timeline that Marines must wait several years biding his or her time. That is
because of the rank requirements and often unit specific requirements. To even be eligible for the
Scout Sniper course, Marines must attain at least the rank of Lance Corporal. Obtaining this rank
might take several years for some depending on what rank they enlisted at and how many people
get promoted each year. Most people take about two years to reach this rank after enlisting.
But while you are waiting to meet the minimum rank requirements, you still have to stay
in shape and refining your shooting skills learned in boot camp. This is necessary since
a First Class physical fitness test score, the highest level, must be achieved at the
date of the course convening as well as having a current expert rifle qualification.
During this time you must also stay out of trouble and avoid getting into large amounts of
debt since snipers are required to hold a minimum of a Secret security clearance. Getting in
trouble with the law as well as owing too much money are common issues that would prevent
you from obtaining a security clearance, and a spot as a Marine Scout Sniper.
There are a variety of other prequalifications that must be met before even stepping onboard
one of the three Scout Sniper courses. You must have at least one year remaining on your contract
to attend the school which means if you did not make the rank needed fast enough you might have to
reenlist just to attend the course. You must also have correctable vision to 20/20 and color blind
applicants are discouraged. You also cannot have any history of mental illness in your medical
record, and you must be a volunteer. While that may be surprising, with such a tough school and
a great need for snipers on the battlefield, more than one command might be tempted to force people
to go to fill this desperately needed quota. If you can manage to meet all of
these requirements, there is still one last obstacle remaining before
being allowed to attend the course. While not officially required, the Scout Sniper
school highly recommends attending a variety of additional courses before reporting to the
schoolhouse. Some of these courses include things like Land Navigation, Calling for Supporting
Fires, and Reconnaissance Marine. Additionally, the school also recommends that Marines become
proficient at some of the core tenants of sniping such as marksmanship, stalking, field sketches,
and range estimation prior to attending as well. Why they highly recommend all of this additional
training before attending Scout Sniper school is because of the traditionally high
attrition rate. In recent years, it is not uncommon for more than half a class
to fail the course for one reason or another. The instructors and Marine Corps leadership
realize that the current 59 day course is not enough time to develop most people
without prior preparation from infantrymen into some of the world’s deadliest marksmen.
Because of these stringent recommendations, often screeners and training evolutions are
held at the divisional and regimental level to best prepare interested candidates
for selection. Those that perform well at these unit-level training evolutions
will be recommended by their chain of command to attend the course since they only want to send
people who have the best chance of succeeding. So after finally waiting and training
for two to three years, multiple schools, and possibly seeing combat, you are finally ready
to enter the final stage of Scout Sniper training: the Scout Sniper course. There are three
Scout sniper courses with one on each coast as well as one at Quantico, Virginia to
take over the extra overflow of students. Soon after arrival at the course, you are
quickly reminded that scout snipers live in the areas that no one wants to go to make
their shots. One of the very first events after students make their ghillie suit is to completely
submerge their bodies in the pig pit, a muddy, mosquito-infested hole in the woods. After
doing this, the students are ready for training. Throughout the course, physical fitness is a large
part of the daily routine. While certainly tough, there is no Hell Week equivalent to BUD/S here.
Rather, the crux of the course focuses on a series of four must pass events. The very first one comes
a month into the school. It is the known distance qualification course. On this course of fire,
Marines must hit at least 28 shots on a range with targets at 300, 500, and 1000 meters.
Failing the official range twice means you fail. The next hurdle is the stalking course. Stalking
is a traditional sniper method of matching their ghillie suits to a surrounding territory and
then crawling within distance of the enemy undetected to get their best shot. The course is
incredibly difficult and one of the main failure points for many students. Students are often
forced to do what is called skull dragging which keeps the body perfectly level with the
ground and they drag their faces in the dirt. The students must do this until they get to
within 300 meters of the instructors undetected and fire a blank shot at them. The instructors
then hold up a series of cards to make sure that the Marine is actually within the
required distance to reading them, which simulates being in range for an accurate shot.
After firing, a Marine instructor known as a walker walks within ten feet of the student who
fired. If the instructors still cannot see him, he fires again, and the instructors look to
see if the shot disturbed anything around him. If they still cannot see the student,
the Marine passes with a perfect score. Every Marine Scout sniper must obtain at
least one perfect score to pass stalking. After passing these two first phases, the
Marines then focus on their most difficult shooting hurdle: the unknown distance range.
The unknown distance range is slightly different than the known distance range in both how
it's conducted and scoring. The students practice for weeks on the known distance
range before the final qualification event while at the unknown distance range literally
every shot matters over the next two weeks. This is because the scores from each day are averaged
and Marines need an average of 80 percent to pass. The range is difficult as there are ten targets
from several hundred up to 800 meters away all at random intervals. Marines must quickly
assess not only the range but the environmental conditions as well to get a shot off in less
than five seconds. This skill is vitally important since Marines in combat will rarely
have known distances at which to fire at enemies. After passing this evolution, Marines must face
their final test. As in real life, Scout snipers might be operating far behind enemy lines. If
one of them gets hurt, no one is left behind meaning they are going to have to be carried,
sometimes for miles, for medical help. Instructors simulate this by making the class carry four dummy
casualties weighing 200 pounds each along with all the other Marines’ gear for a brutal 23 miles.
The march takes over eight hours and usually starts late at night with Marines finishing in the
morning. Upon the completion of this last event, they officially move from their
previous title of Professionally Instructed Gunmen to Hunters of Gunmen.
The path to becoming a Marine Scout sniper is not easy and takes years of preparation and
training. Because of the strict requirements to even enter the course, Marines must perform
at their best day in and day out for years. Even with all of this preparation that Marines
have before arriving at the school, every skill they have ever learned is put to the test.
Mentally, physically, and emotionally Marines will have to perform under stressful and difficult
circumstances. But if they have what it takes, they can join an elite group that only several
thousand Marines in US history have ever joined.
