| Submit your comments on this article | ||
| Iraq | ||
| Ramadi bad boy sniped from 1.25 km | ||
| 2006-01-02 | ||
His quarry stood nonchalantly in the fourth-floor bay window of a hospital in battle-torn Ramadi, still clasping a long-barrelled Kalashnikov. Instinctively allowing for wind speed and bullet drop, Shadow's commander aimed 12 feet high. A single shot hit the Iraqi in the chest and killed him instantly. It had been fired from a range of 1,250 metres, well beyond the capacity of the powerful Leupold sight, accurate to 1,000 metres. "I believe it is the longest confirmed kill in Iraq with a 7.62mm rifle," said Staff Sgt Gilliland, 28, who hunted squirrels in Double Springs, Alabama from the age of five before progressing to deer - and then people. "He was visible only from the waist up. It was a one in a million shot. I could probably shoot a whole box of ammunition and never hit him again."
The insurgent was one of between 55 and 65 he estimates that he has shot dead in less than five months, putting him within striking distance of sniper legends such as Carlos Hathcock, who recorded 93 confirmed kills in Vietnam. One of his men, Specialist Aaron Arnold, 22, of Medway, Ohio, has chalked up a similar tally. "It was elating, but only afterwards," said Staff Sgt Gilliland, recalling the September 27 shot. "At the time, there was no high-fiving. You've got troops under fire, taking casualties and you're not thinking about anything other than finding a target and putting it down. Every shot is for the betterment of our cause." All told, the 10-strong Shadow sniper team, attached to Task Force 2/69, has killed just under 200 in the same period and emerged as the US Army's secret weapon in Ramadi against the threat of the hidden Improvised Explosive Device (IED) or roadside bomb - the insurgency's deadliest tactic. Above the spot from which Staff Sgt Gilliland took his record shot, in a room at the top of a bombed-out observation post which is code-named Hotel and known jokingly to soldiers as the Ramadi Inn, are daubed "Kill Them All" and "Kill Like you Mean it". On another wall are scrawled the words of Senator John McCain: "America is great not because of what she has done for herself but because of what she has done for others." The juxtaposition of macho slogans and noble political rhetoric encapsulates the dirty, dangerous and often callous job the sniper has to carry out as an integral part of a campaign ultimately being waged to help the Iraqi people. With masterful understatement, Lt Col Robert Roggeman, the Task Force 2/69 commander, conceded: "The romantic in me is disappointed with the reception we've received in Ramadi," a town of 400,000 on the banks of the Euphrates where graffiti boasts, with more than a degree of accuracy: "This is the graveyard of the Americans". "We're the outsiders, the infidels," he said. "Every time somebody goes out that main gate he might not come back. It's still a running gun battle." Highly effective though they are, he worries about the burden his snipers have to bear. "It's a very God-like role. They have the power of life and death that, if not held in check, can run out of control. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. "Every shot has to be measured against the Rules of Engagement [ROE], positive identification and proportionality." Staff Sgt Gilliland explains that his Shadow team operates at the "borderlines" of the ROE, making snap judgements about whether a figure in the crosshairs is an insurgent or not. "Hunters give their animals respect," he said, spitting out a mouthful of chewing tobacco. "If you have no respect for what you do you're not going to be very good or you're going to make a mistake. We try to give the benefit of the doubt. "You've got to live with it. It's on your conscience. It's something you've got to carry away with you. And if you shoot somebody just walking down the street, then that's probably going to haunt you." Although killing with a single shot carries an enormous cachet within the sniper world, their most successful engagements have involved the shooting a up to 10 members of a single IED team. "The one-shot-one-kill thing is one of beauty but killing all the bad dudes is even more attractive," said Staff Sgt Gilliland, whose motto is "Move fast, shoot straight and leave the rest to the counsellors in 10 years" and signs off his e-mails with "silent souls make .308 holes". As they prepare to leave Iraq, Staff Sgt Gilliland and his men hope that they have bought a little more time for the country's politicians to fix peace and stability in their sights. | ||
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #12 USNC, I reload, I know about bullet sizes and powder charges, thanks anyway. I use Sierra and Hornady mostly. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2006-01-02 22:42 |
| #11 there's a good book out on a US sniper in Iraq: "Shooter" - I read it and my boys have as well |
| Posted by: Frank G 2006-01-02 21:26 |
| #10 Thank God for men like him. And piss on the islamo-pig"s grave. |
| Posted by: anymouse 2006-01-02 21:11 |
| #9 Just like they ruined Saving Private Ryan by having a scene with a coward pissing in his pants while his countryman was being stabbed with a bayonette. Why do they do this, you ask ? So that they can pretend that even in the real world, little gay fag boys like the Hollywood elite can participate, can make a difference, can play some vital role. Fortunately, there were no such assholes in Band of Brothers. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2006-01-02 21:09 |
| #8 So you're saying Munich stinks? Darn, I was planning to see it. |
| Posted by: Rafael 2006-01-02 20:42 |
| #7 If Hollywood were to make this movie, it would be all about the soul-crushing guilt that ruined the snipers for the rest of their lives -- think of how Spielberg played it in Munich. I'll stick with the truth, if you don't mind. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2006-01-02 18:55 |
| #6 55-65? No problem sarge, excellent work, don't stop till you get to 1,000,000 or so. Unlike Alabama squirrels, there isn't any daily limit on these pieces of kak. Be careful soldier, they'll have a bounty on your head by now. |
| Posted by: LarryTheCableGuy 2006-01-02 16:53 |
| #5 Redneck Jim, .308 Winchester is the same as 7.62 NATO. The 7.62 NATO rounds and all FMJ (full metal jacket). If you load with .308 Winchester, you have your choice of hunting bullets with superior stopping power. Think of little holes going in and big exit wounds. The AK47 fires 7.62X39, the same diameter bullet backed by a shorter cartridge with less powder. The same confusion exists when .38 rounds are fired in a .357 magnum, or that .38ACP pistol round is sometimes called 9mm Kurz (short). |
| Posted by: usmc6743 2006-01-02 15:54 |
| #4 I love sniper stories. Something about prcision killing that excites me. It's like training, practice, preparation, honed skill, and chance crossing in a nano-second. It's like a game of tag being played on an airport sized school yard. TAG, you're it. It's the poetry of the second amendment. |
| Posted by: wxjames 2006-01-02 14:17 |
| #3 Minor nit to pick, .308 is .30 caliber, 7.62 is .311-.312 Not quite the same. (Yes it does make a difference) |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2006-01-02 13:47 |
| #2 said Staff Sgt Gilliland, 28, who hunted squirrels in Double Springs, Alabama from the age of five I won't say "Routine Shot" but remember us Rednecks been shootin for enough time to get really, really good at it. Good shot, do it again. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2006-01-02 13:40 |
| #1 If Hollywood made a movie about guys like this they maybe able to get their number out of the trash can. But I guess they are more worried about important things of the day like gay cowboys emotianal 60' gorillas and comic book heroes of bygon past and of course the occational rewriting of history. |
| Posted by: C-Low 2006-01-02 13:10 |