Hoo-ah: 1st SFG (A) snipers practice techniques

It’s been said that to be a good sniper, it takes good marksmanship skills, determination and patience. It is the last two traits which have helped 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) snipers hone their craft.

During the past few months, members of the unit’s operations detachment have passionately and patiently striven to improve their skills. They do this with a “let’s try it philosophy,” said one of the shooters.

“You can’t just get on a 40-percent grade rooftop and shoot off it,” explained the sniper, who can not be named for security reasons. “So we built one to practice on.”

The miniature rooftop on wheels is just one of several training tools 1st SFG (A) snipers use to perfect their skills. The idea for this training tool originated with trying to solve the problem of accurately shooting on rooftops.

It is this realistic approach to solving problems that produces the greatest results for the shooters.

A 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) Green Beret displays a method of camouflage that can be used by snipers at an urban training site on Fort Lewis, Wash. The snipers continue to develop their talents through training and incorporation of real-world lessons.

“You don’t know what you don’t know,” explained the sniper, who has 13 years of reconnaissance and sniping experience. “We use the same rifles and ammunition that have been in use for the past 40 years and are hitting targets that are twice the distance away from what snipers were hitting back then.”

Old technology paired up with the new makes a more capable shooter, said the sniper. He further explained that arithmetic is vital to making a successful shooter.

“A lot of what we do here is really simple,” said the sniper of the techniques that 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) uses. “The math doesn’t change; it’s just learning how to use it to our advantage.”

New formulas to compute the path of a bullet are in use by 1st SFG (A) snipers. These formulas have allowed shooters to “reach out and touch the enemy” from further distances, drastically increasing previous limitations.

A 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) Green Beret displays a method of camouflage that can be used by snipers near an urban training site on Fort Lewis, Wash. The snipers continue to develop their talents through training and incorporation of real-world lessons.

The operations detachment snipers recently practiced their craft at an urban training site on Fort Lewis called Leishi Town. They conducted the training to “verify techniques” and “make sure current methods are solid,” said Maj. Michael Haber, 1st SFG (A) operations detachment commander.

Haber added that new methods of shooting have been proven in combat, and the methods’ effectiveness passed the tests at Leishi Town.

The sniper said current methods used by 1st SFG (A), along with the dedication and experience of the Green Berets in the unit, will put 1st SFG (A) at the forefront of the sniper community.

“It’s important to be humble to learn new things, but we’re not scared to try new things,” said the sniper. “We’re trying to shoot as far as we can. If (a new method) works and there is a combat application for it, we will use it. We owe it to America to be the best.”