Dragunov (SVD)

The Dragunov Sniper Rifle (Russian: Снайперская винтовка Драгунова, Snayperskaya Vintovka Dragunova, abbreviated SVD, GRAU index 6V1), is a semiautomatic rifle designed by Evgeniy Fedorovich Dragunov in the Soviet Union between 1958 and 1963. It is basically a battle rifle with a scope. The SVD was the world's first purpose-built military precision marksman's rifle, and is common (along with several variants) throughout the former Eastern Bloc. The Dragunov SVD is one of two rifles made by Dragunov, the second being the Dragunov Tiger.

History

The need for a new precision platoon-level, semi-automatic rifle became apparent to Soviet military leadership in the 1950s, and in 1958 a contest among Soviet arms designers was opened for the creation of such a rifle. The winner of the contest was a rifle designed by a team headed by Evgeniy Fedorovich Dragunov. In 1963, the Dragunov Sniper Rifle was accepted into the arsenal of the Soviet Army.

Ballistics

The SVD is chambered for the 7.62 x 54R rimmed cartridge, with a muzzle velocity of about 830 meters per second. The rifle can accept the older Mosin Nagant M1891/30 cartridge, but a more accurate 7N1 round was designed specifically for it. The 7N1 was the original load developed by Russian armorer Sabelnikov in conjunction with the development of the SVD back in the late 1950s. It has a steel jacketed projectile with an air pocket, steel core, and a lead knocker in the base for maximum terminal effect. The 7N1 was replaced in 1999 by the 7N14 round. The 7N14 is a new load developed for the SVD. It consists of a 151 grain projectile which travels at the same 2723 ft/s, but it has a lead core projectile and is supposed to be the more accurate of the two. Nikolai Bezborodov, head of R&D at Izhmash, stated that it was the most accurate load for the SVD. However, the Soviet Union never offered this ammunition for export, and it is very rare outside of Russia. This ammunition can be identified by its packaging which has Russian: "Снайперские" (Sniper) stamped on its crates, cans, and paper wrap to prevent it from being wasted in other weapon applications.

Although the rifle is lethal at ranges above 1000 m, it is not really intended or designed for ultimate accuracy and can only reasonably engage targets at up to 600 m with standard ammunition, achieving 2 Minutes of arc at that distance. This range and accuracy can be improved upon with the specialty ammunition. Inaccuracy in this weapon is primarily due to the effects of the semiautomatic action of the SVD on the barrel harmonics; the accuracy of the rifle suffers at greater ranges. However, the weapon handles easily for its size, and is designed to be very durable; the gas system and bore are chrome lined to resist against corrosion and it is easy to clean. The rifle also has a bayonet lug for close-quarters combat, although the mounting of a bayonet will cause a slight change in center of gravity, affecting the handling qualities of the rifle, and possibly accuracy.

Equipment

The SVD comes standard with a PSO-1 scope, a 4×24 device which includes a battery-operated reticule and a passive infrared filter. At the time of its development, the PSO-1 scope was considered one of the most advanced sniper scope designs ever fielded. Its reticule consists of multiple aiming points (chevrons) which are used for distances beyond 1000 meters. There is also a range finder built in to the reticule which allows approximate distance calculations based on the height of an average human (which the Soviets felt was 1.7 meters tall). Many other conventional and night-vision optics are available. In case of scope failure, the rifle has non-detachable iron sights, a feature that does not exist on most sniper rifles. The SVD also came with a bayonet identical to that of the AK-47, a cheek rest, a carrying strap, magazine pouch and basic cleaning utensils and maintenance tools.

Battlefield Usage

While the Soviet army was in operation each squad was issued one SVD. Soldiers issued an SVD typically are specially trained for the weapon. They move with their squad and are intended to increase the range of their infantry squad up to and above 600 m (without an SVD, the effective range of a squad when the rifle began production would have been 300 m due to the limitations of the AK-47). As such, it is not a sniper's rifle in the sense used by, among others, the U.S. military, but the first example of what is today known as a designated marksman's weapon.

Designed with the simple purpose of extending a squad's range, the weapon is rugged and durable. This shows in the fact that it is designed to have a mounted bayonet and has backup iron sights in case the scope fails. The rifle's reliability is still recognized, and the weapon is still fielded by the Russian army and Russian law enforcement agencies.

Russian small arms are generally regarded as very sturdy and this has led to widespread use and long "careers" for particular Dragunovs. The rifle has been used in numerous conflicts around the world such as the Vietnam War, the Lebanese Civil War, Chechnya, Operation Desert Storm and in the Iraq War to name only a few. As seen in the picture, guerilla forces may adopt considerably more informal tactics than used by professional armies: this insurgent may make up to some degree for a lack of a spotter by adopting positions on the fly.

Modernization

In the 1980s, Evgeniy Fedorovich Dragunov developed the SVDS (Snayperskaya Vintovka Dragunova Skladnaja), a version of the SVD with a folding metal stock, shortened (590 mm) but heavier barrel, and a shortened flash suppressor, intended for paratroopers and motorized infantry. The bayonet lug has also been removed.

Initial versions of the SVD were manufactured with wooden furniture (stock, pistol grip and handguard). Today the SVD is made with polymer furniture to decrease weight and manufacturing costs and increase ergonomics.

Variants

USSR/Russian: SVD, SVDS, SVU (a bullpup version of the SVD with a shorter (520 mm) barrel, bipod and a flash/sound suppressor), SVU-A (SVU with selective fire capability).

VSS vintores is a silenced and shortened version of the Dragunov SVD.

Chinese: Type 79 and Type 85 (military designation), Norinco NDM-86 (commercial export in .308 Winchester).

Polish: SWD-M, a modernized version with heavier barrel, detachable bipod, new side mount and PCO LD-6x42 scope. About 70 were created in ZM Lucznik for Polish Army and Ministry of Internal Affairs units before the project was canceled in favour of buying new 7.62 mm SAKO TRG-21 rifles.

Civilian version of the rifle is called Tigr (Russian: Тигр, Tiger). It is also available in a variety of large game hunting calibers including .308 Winchester.

Πηγή

SpecWar Sniper: One Shot, One Kill

Sniper instructors tell their students that their duties should come as second nature, especially when it comes to taking another man’s life. If you asked Navy SEAL Lt. j.g. Michael Sandino, an Iraq war veteran and sniper, if he thought he was a killer or assassin, he would scoff at the idea. His efforts are focused on the teammates’ lives that he saves, not on those of enemies that he takes. The mission precedes all, including his identity.

Sandino is an alias used by one West-Coast based SEAL team sniper to protect his identity and future missions. At the same time the alias allows him to tell the NSW story, his story.

“I deploy to do a job for our country,” Sandino said. “We have successfully accomplished the missions that we set out to accomplish and that is something that is absolutely necessary to ensure the continued freedom of the United States.”

SEAL snipers undergo a robust training pipeline designed to provide candidates with the tools and skills necessary to successfully maneuver behind enemy lines, gather reconnaissance or put bullets down range in expert marksman fashion. Having the right candidates with dissecting experiences and interests is helpful.

“Sniper was the primary qualification that I was interested in pursuing when I came in the Navy. I grew up hunting, fishing and doing outdoor activity back home,” Sandino said. “Sniper work was work that I felt like I was well suited to do, so I requested to go to the school and was lucky to be allowed to attend.”

Depending on where SEALs are stationed and when classes are available, students attend training at Naval Special Warfare Center’s Advanced Training Command (ATC) in San Diego, or Camp Atterbury Joint Maneuver Training Center in Edinburgh, Ind. Training includes a two-week photo intelligence course (PIC), four weeks of scouting/stalking training and a six –week shooting course.

According to Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Thomas Shea, leading chief petty officer of ATC’s west coast sniper cell, photography skills learned at this specialized course are nothing like you’d see on display in a Sears portrait studio.

“PIC is learning how to use the technologies of the computer system, how to take a picture, how to integrate that into a digital file, how to submit your reconnaissance information and push it forward to another unit,” Shea said. “It takes some effort and time in order to do that.”

PIC is like the calm before the storm. After successfully completing PIC, shooting proficiency of each sniper candidate is evaluated using a 200-yard test and a test for marksmanship on the M-4 rifle. Both tests qualify SEAL sniper candidates for scout reconnaissance and sniper courses.

The M-4 qualification test is a grouping test that requires students to shoot a certain amount of bullets in one area of a target. If students can group their bullets in one area, they move on to the second qualifier, which is a marksmanship test. According to Shea, the M-4 test is very difficult and cause of course attrition.

“What it proves to us is that he can hold a group of shots. So that lets us know that this guy can at least be trained further,” he said.

A scout reconnaissance and sniper class will start with about 40 men fighting for 32 slots. After the M-4 and marksmanship tests are complete, an average of 11 students is usually sent home. However, if a student passes the tests, he reaches the point of the course where a sniper candidate is motivated and rewarded by displaying patient perfectionism and level headed decision making in order to stay in the two courses.

“We teach them how to hide and how to be patient,” Shea said. “We teach a sniper how to use all of his tools, so he can’t be detected and ultimately, to take that shot and get out of there without getting caught. Those are the things that make you a sniper.”

Shea said that a sniper has to display fortitude and vigor, operate and move under the cover of his surroundings or night. For these silent warriors, patience is more than a virtue, it is a survival tool and way of life – especially when snipers are forced to stay completely still for hours or even days at a time to avoid discovery, waiting for the right moment to deliver that one shot.

Sandino agrees and believes the recreational hunting he did while growing up helped him successfully complete the course. 

“I think part of the mindset is similar, as far as the patience required to successfully participate in hunting and sniping,” Sandino said. “You have to be patient as a hunter and you have to be patient as a sniper. The biggest difference is hunting is a recreation and the work that we do is mission oriented. The patience that’s required for sniper work exceeds that.”

Part of the patience Sandino references is achieved through mental management, which is a critical skill honed during training.

“The instructors and students are taught methods to control both the physiological and cognitive effects of stress and adversity,” said Cmdr. Eric Potterat, Naval Special Warfare Group 1 command psychologist. “Specifically, the focus is on learning and reinforcing techniques to minimize the human stress response and to optimize their mindset and ultimately, their performance. Some of these mental training techniques entail focus and concentration, visualization, breathing and heart rate control, compartmentalization and emotional control.”

Mental management also includes emotional control, which is paramount in suppressing Buck Fever, or the nervous excitement felt by an inexperienced hunter as he approaches his game.

“What we do is give the guy so many scenarios, that by the time it becomes real, his body doesn’t know the difference between the thousand hours he spends in training, to this one second in time where he’s actually pulling the trigger on a live target,” Shea said. “So with more training and more experience, all the Buck Fever dies away.”

Sniper training also demands versatility. SEAL snipers learn a great deal about technology and must be trained to expertly use four different weapons systems.

“We have a different feel for what we want our snipers to do,” Shea says. “The Army course is a two gun course, the Marine Corps course is a one gun course. But we have a four gun course. The other service courses are eight weeks long. Our courses are 10 weeks long, to incorporate the different tactics that we’re trying to teach, plus the number of gun systems that they have to learn. They have to meet the Special Forces common qualification standards, and then exceed it, if you will, to get the guys up to a level where we want them.”

Once a sniper meets his qualification standards and passes all of his courses, he can receive more training from NSW Group 1 Training Detachment (TRADET), where advanced training in technology, land and urban warfare are available.

“We’re a pretty dynamic cell,” said Chief Special Warfare Operator James Byrne, leading chief petty officer of NSW Group 1 TRADET sniper cell. “We tailor the training to the guys who are coming to TRADET.”

Byrne says that TRADET’s sniper cell also augments other TRADET departments, such as the land warfare department, by facilitating training scenarios that will help further enhance the SEAL sniper’s skills.

While a sniper’s skill set is vast, the one proficiency he has to take with him and apply to his everyday life is discipline. In the book “On Killing,” a study of techniques the military uses to overcome the powerful reluctance to

kill and how killing affects soldiers, Lt. Col. Dave Grossman asserts that no matter what, a sniper must always maintain his discipline, even while he’s at peace and there is no war.

Sandino agrees with Grossman’s statement and recalls how he maintained vigilance and discipline after a monumental event in his operational career - the day he killed his first bad guy.

“The first kill that I had was actually on a machine gun,” he reflected. “The drive to continue to work and accomplish the dismantling of an insurgent network - the drive to take those guys down remained the same without having a significant effect on my self-discipline or focus.”

Self-discipline, mental management and training have combined to keep snipers like Sandino alive and have helped send bad guys to their graves. In recent years, the sniper has become revered as one of the most vital battlefield specialists – and for good reason. Sandino and his peers are expert marksmen, intellectual, resourceful, patient and they practice common sense. The sniper is a master of his craft – both in training and on the field of battle, where his ability to make decisions must be quick and exact. His mental toughness and maturity help him manage the psychological toll associated with deliberately delivering death.

With growing concern from increased air strike civilian casualties in southern Afghanistan, snipers are playing an increasingly critical role there. Weighing collateral damage caused by air strikes and the cost-effectiveness

of sniping, the stock of men like Sandino is on the rise

Πηγή

Advanced Sighting System

Military snipers may only get one chance to hit their target. The One Shot program seeks to enable snipers to accurately hit targets with the first round, under crosswind conditions, day or night, at the maximum effective range of the weapon.

To achieve this, the One Shot system provides a measured profile of downrange crosswind and range to target. This information is then used to compensate the bullet trajectory to offset crosswind effects and range-related bullet deviations, substantially increasing the probability of first-shot hit.

One Shot XG Phase represents the next-generation of the One Shot system. In previous phases, the program has conducted two development cycles through numerous field tests, government field test verifications and demonstrations to military services. The program should complete Phase 2E in June 2012, which will reduce system size, weight and power and extend the engagement range. The Phase 2E system will mount on a conventional spotting scope, and prototypes are expected to be available for field evaluation in mid-2012.

Because of interest expressed by services, One Shot XG is being initiated to create a significantly smaller “field-ready system” that can be “clipped-on” directly to the weapon, eliminating the need for a spotter/observer in future sniper operations.

This next-generation One Shot envisions a compact observation, measurement, and ballistic calculation system mountable on either the weapon or spotting scope. The system developed will measure all relevant physical phenomena that influence the ballistic trajectory and rapidly calculate and display the offset aim point and confidence metric in the shooter’s riflescope. The system will provide the ability to see the aim point on the target in either day or night to enable rapid target identification, weapon alignment, measurement of range to target and the crosswind profile. The XG system seeks to exploit new technologies to operate over a range of visibilities, atmospheric turbulence, scintillation and environmental conditions.

If successful, One Shot XG would lead to limited rate production with the military services taking on the requirement and acquisition role for future procurement

Source

Becoming A Sniper

"It takes extreme perseverance to graduate with the title of SEAL sniper"

The cold morning air hung thick in the Afghan valley. Each warm exhale of breath would briefly fog the outside corner of my riflescope as I waited and maintained a clear view of my target. I could make out a middle-aged man, in traditional Afghan dress, with a crook in his step, perhaps a wound and story from another conflict. Intense training in the elite US Navy SEAL Sniper course had taught me to be patient, wait for a perfect shot, control my breathing and then execute.

At that moment in time I reflected internally, I alone held this man's life in my hands. Firing long range it is critical to account for all environmental and ballistic factors, wind, temperature, barometric pressure, degree of latitude, bullet velocity and the deviation caused by the earth’s rotation (known as “the Coriolis effect”).

Every detail of this shot had been programmed into my handheld computer, which then gave me a firing solution. My scope was adjusted and in sync with my environment. With a one centimeter movement of my right index finger, I was about to deliver this man's death. I would come to learn that every kill would be burned into memory like frames in a movie. Breathe, focus, squeeze. As I stared at his lifeless body, steam was slowly rising from the bullet hole in his chest. The shot was more than a kilometer away; he was gone without ever hearing the report of the rifle. 

As a former Navy SEAL Sniper, sniper instructor and eventually course manager (head master) of the secretive US Navy SEAL sniper course, I am intimately familiar with the patience and skill required to simultaneously execute the three pirates who held a US shipping captain hostage off the coast of Somalia. It took the SEAL sniper team less than 10 hours to deploy, get half way around the world and complete their mission, start to finish. Another day at the office...

The 21st Century Sniper is a mature, intelligent shooter who leverages technology to his deadly advantage. He has spent thousands of hours honing his skills. He is a master of concealment in all environments, from the mountains of Afghanistan to the crowded streets of Iraq. He is trained in science and left alone to create the unique art of the kill. To the sniper, the battlefield is like a painter's blank canvas. It is his job to simultaneously utilise tools, training and creativity to deliver devastating psychological impact upon the battlefield. And it is he alone that is left with the intimacy of the kill. 

What does it take to make a Navy SEAL sniper? The SEAL course is arguably best in class. It is the most challenging and technically advanced course in the world. Just looking at the accomplishments of the course graduates is justification enough. Few people outside of US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) know this of course. What you will not read about on Wikipedia or anywhere else, is that the Navy SEALs currently have the most accomplished sniper in SOCOM, with over one hundred confirmed kills to his credit. 

We seek out a special breed of man; a man who is willing to crawl over the hot desert floor for hours, as slow as a snail, through his own bodily waste to set up on his target. A man who will then wait hours and more for that perfect shot. A man with the will and patience of a sniper. 

The US Navy SEAL course is divided into three phases over 90 days, and tests to the highest standards in the world.

In the first phase, the candidate learns the latest in digital photography techniques, computer image manipulation/compression and satellite radio communications. Historically the sniper would sketch a target in detail and record notes with pencil and paper. In the 21st century the sniper leverages technology to his advantage, he uses the most advanced digital SLR camera systems, small handheld computers, and the most advanced ballistic software in the world to record target information and produce an accurate firing solution.

Phase two is the Scout portion of training. The name of the game is stealth and concealment. In this phase the sniper learns the art of camouflage, small unit tactics, patrolling techniques and most importantly how to get in and get out of hostile enemy area undetected, without leaving behind the slightest sign he was there. We often fail candidates who leave behind the slightest trace; a bullet casing left behind will get you sent home.

Towards the end of this phase we introduce advanced marksmanship fundamentals and a system of mental management utilized by the top athletes in the world. Mental management gives the students the tools (whether or not they use them is up to them) to cope with adversity and also a system to rehearse and practice their skills perfectly through mental visualization techniques.

To prove the value of mental management and rehearsal I would often relate a true story related to the topic. A Navy fighter pilot was shot down in Vietnam, captured and imprisoned for years in the famous prisoner of war camp the "Hanoi Hilton". The pilot was an avid golfer back home and to get through the extremely demanding situation he would shoot rounds of golf in his head.

For years he would play his favorite courses perfectly in his mind. Eventually liberated and back on US soil, the first thing this pilot did was jump out of the military ambulance and onto the golf course. After explaining away his ragged looks (he was tall man and extremely skinny from malnutrition) he shot nine holes of golf at 1 under par. This was shocking to those that witnessed the event and when questioned about how this was possible, the pilot replied "Gentlemen, I haven't hit a bad shot in 4 years!” 

Phase three is the sniper portion. We spend hours in the classroom learning the science behind the shot, ballistics, environmental factors, human factors and calculating for wind, distance and target lead, later putting the knowledge to practical application on the shooting range. The student’s train and test with moving and pop-up targets in high wind conditions out to 1000 meters.

As part of the training we put the shooters in the most stressful and challenging situations imaginable. We look for signs of high intelligence, patience and mental maturity. Then we intentionally (often unknown to the candidate) place the shooter in adverse and unfair situations to test their mettle.

An example of this would be the "edge" shot. Individual trainees are lined up on the shooting range and are told they have four minutes to run 600 meters set up on the firing line and wait for their targets to appear sometime between four minutes one second and an hour. We always send a target up right at three minutes, usually right when the shooters are just getting set up on their lanes and identifying their fields of fire. Often times a shooter will take his eyes away for a split second to wipe sweat from his brow, then drop down on his scope to see his target disappear and his opportunity gone.

The peer pressure is intense and shooters often breakdown in frustration at a missed shot. They eventually learn to control their feelings or they don't move on. As instructors we keep detailed student records and document everything. A large percentage of SEAL candidates don't make it through the course and just getting a billet is extremely competitive. No one wants to go back to his SEAL Team a loser having failed out of the course.

However, this course is one of the few courses you can fail as a SEAL and not be looked down upon by your teammates. This is because the SEAL course is renowned as one of the toughest and most challenging courses in the world. Over three months and seven day 100-hour workweeks go into the training. It takes extreme perseverance to graduate with the title of SEAL sniper. To this day, and even in comparison to my combat tours, it was one of the most stressful events of my life. It is the main reason I decided to chronicle the experience in detail in my upcoming novel.

The SEAL snipers who took those fatal shots deployed from the eastern coast of the United States, flew across the Atlantic and parachuted with full kit into darkness at 12,000 feet, into the deep warm waters of the Indian Ocean. Once in the water, they then rendezvous with US Naval forces off the coast of Somalia.

Once aboard ship, the SEAL officer in charge (OIC) took command of the scene; then hours later under cover of darkness, on a moonless night, shooting from large ship to a small moving lifeboat, the snipers took three lives with three shots. In a split second it was over, with the flawlessness and ease that comes with prior experience, countless hours of training and rehearsal. We have a creed in the SEAL Teams that I continue to live by to this day. "The only easy day was yesterday".

Brandon Webb is a former Navy SEAL who spent his last tour of duty as the Naval Special Warfare Sniper Course Manager. He spent over a decade with the SEAL Teams and saw action in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. He left the SEAL Teams to found the Wind Zero Group, Inc. (www.wind-zero.com). He is under contract to write his memoirs and is also working on a signature sniper game for the next generation gaming consoles. For more information visit www.brandontylerwebb.com.

Πηγή

«Σίριαλ κίλερ» στο Ιράκ

Επισήμως, ο πεζοναύτης Κρις Κάιλ σκότωσε 160 ανθρώπους στη διάρκεια της θητείας του στο Ιράκ - τους περισσότερους που έχει σκοτώσει ποτέ ελεύθερος σκοπευτής στην ιστορία των αμερικανικών Ενόπλων Δυνάμεων. Ανεπισήμως, πιστεύεται ότι έχει σκοτώσει περισσότερους από 250. Δεν έχει την παραμικρή τύψη - το αντίθετο μάλιστα: «Ηταν οι καλύτερες στιγμές της ζωής μου» δηλώνει. Και για να μοιραστεί αυτές τις στιγμές, έγραψε ένα βιβλίο που κυκλοφόρησε πρόσφατα στις ΗΠΑ με τίτλο «American Sniper», «Αμερικανός ελεύθερος σκοπευτής».

Οι εξεγερμένοι ήταν γι' αυτόν «ζώα», «άγριοι», «απάνθρωποι» φανατικοί. Επειτα από δέκα χρόνια θητείας στις Ενοπλες Δυνάμεις, λέει πως δεν μετανιώνει ούτε για έναν πυροβολισμό, πως καθένας απ' αυτούς τους ανθρώπους, τους οποίους είδε για πρώτη και τελευταία φορά από το σκόπευτρο ενός 300 Winchester Magnum, «άξιζε να πεθάνει». «Σκοτώνεις ξανά και ξανά μέχρι να μην υπάρχει πια κανείς για να σκοτώσεις» γράφει. Μπορεί να σχηματίζει κανείς την εικόνα ενός τέρατος, ενός φονιά εν ψυχρώ και κατά συρροή, όμως ο στρατός βλέπει τα πράγματα διαφορετικά. Ο Κάιλ, που φέτος κλείνει τα 38, έχει γεμίσει τιμές και παράσημα, είναι ένας αμερικανός ήρωας.

Το 2007, στη διάρκεια της αιματηρής μάχης στο Ραμάντι, βρέθηκε στην καλύτερη φόρμα του. Τις πρώτες ώρες της μάχης, σκότωσε 24 Ιρακινούς. «Επεφταν ο ένας μετά τον άλλο. Κάθε φορά που περνούσαν από το σκόπευτρό μου, πατούσα τη σκανδάλη» γράφει στεγνά και νηφάλια. Οι εξεγερμένοι τον επονόμασαν «διάβολο του Ραμάντι» και τον επικήρυξαν για 20.000 δολάρια.

Είναι υπερήφανος γι' αυτή την επικήρυξη, διότι «ήταν η απόδειξη πως έκανα καλή δουλειά», όμως είχε εκνευριστεί επειδή πλήρωναν περισσότερα για να δουν νεκρό έναν επίλεκτο σκοπευτή αντίπαλου τάγματος... «Ασφαλώς και ήθελα να είμαι ο καλύτερος» υπογραμμίζει καθώς, στη διάρκεια του πολέμου στο Ιράκ, οι αμερικανοί κομάντος είχαν κάνει τους φόνους ένα είδος σπορ στο οποίο ανταγωνίζονταν.

Ο Κρις Κάιλ μεγάλωσε σ' ένα ράντσο του Τέξας και μικρός ήθελε να γίνει καουμπόης - όμως άλλαξε προσανατολισμό όταν τραυματίσθηκε σοβαρά σ' ένα ροντέο. Εγκατέλειψε το σχολείο και κατατάχθηκε στις Ενοπλες Δυνάμεις. Αραγε σήμερα δεν τον στοιχειώνει το αίμα όλων αυτών των ανθρώπων που έχυσε στο Ιράκ, τους οποίους μάλιστα έβλεπε πολύ καθαρά μέσα από το σκόπευτρό του και, σε μερικές περιπτώσεις, τους παρακολουθούσε επί ώρες; Ο ίδιος δεν θέλει ούτε να ακούσει για μετατραυματικό στρες, όμως η γυναίκα του και μητέρα των δύο παιδιών του λέει πως πετάγεται συχνά από τον ύπνο του τις νύκτες• και πως μια φορά παραλίγο να της σπάσει το χέρι όντας ακόμη κοιμισμένος. Εστω κι αν δεν το παραδέχεται, φαίνεται πως του είναι δύσκολο να αφήσει εντελώς πίσω του το παρελθόν του ως «σίριαλ κίλερ» στο Ιράκ.

Πηγή

NATO used its forces to the maximum to take Tripoli

Italy's L'Espresso daily publication wrote that NATO's special forces played the key role when taking Tripoli, the capital of Libya. A participant of the operation shared his impressions with the publication. According to the author of the article, the man, whose story the newspaper published, was struggling with the butchers of Muammar Gaddafi, foreign snipers and killers, who had come to Libya from all over the world. According to him, all of them came to Tripoli to make money by aiming their guns at rebellious people.

The man, who introduced himself as a member of the Italian special forces, said that the secret weapon had been aimed against inexperienced rebels for months. "Those snipers stopped the first groups of the rebels, who entered the Libyan capital," the man said.

The author of the article admitted that bombs and missiles were useless against them. The residents of Tripoli did not struggle with them to avoid massacre in return. "There was only one way to remove them - to challenge them to a duel: a shooter vs. a shooter. This is exactly what NATO did. They gathered best snipers of the alliance under the conditions of extreme secrecy and brought them to Libya to get rid of the regime there. It was their weapons that contributed most to the fall of the dictatorship. It was them who opened the road for the rebellion. There were Italian servicemen among them too," the article said. 

L'Espresso published the story told by Ale - a serviceman of the special forces of the Italian navy, who supposedly took part in the taking of Tripoli. According to the author of the article, Ale and his partners were working in the south-east of Tripoli. The men were equipped with Ar 15 guns with silencers of the new generation and state-of-the-art sniper rifles for high-precision gunfire for the distance of up to a thousand meters. Their equipment also included comfortable shoes and clothing: body armor with extra protection on the chest, cartridges, containers for water, medications and medical equipment neatly packed in the uniforms, etc.

"When Ale and his men arrived to the front, they took perfect positions. They could control the whole square from the height that they had taken. The snipers had to be removed before daybreak. Ale's men had already detected two enemy snipers with the help of electronic devices. Ale determined the target and said that he was ready. The enemies were quiet. They would make several shots before changing positions. That was a lethal mistake for them to make. The night was drawing to its end. It was time to move to another bunker of Gaddafi's supporters to open the door for the revolution wider."

Stories like these make one think about the real participation of NATO troops in the Libyan war. According to the official information from the alliance, NATO conducted bombings, restricted arms shipments, and assisted in training the forces who were struggling against Gaddafi's troops.

There is also unofficial information, which was exposed by the British media. According to British publications, Britain, for instance, went far beyond the framework set by the UN. The country supposedly participated in at least restricted operations in which it suffered considerable losses.

The above-mentioned article in the Italian newspaper also said that Ale was a member of the special team in which there was also a French legionary, a Briton from SAS and two US marines. All of them were veterans, whose skills were far better than that of Gaddafi's mercenaries.

According to the author, the use of those snipers became a critical element like a nuclear bomb in 1945, which changed the course of the conflict.

NATO sources said that there were as many as 4,000 US marines deployed near the Libyan shores during the operation. White House officials say that those marines did not take part in the Libyan "revolution." Was it really so?

It is worthy of note that there were reports saying that Gaddafi's soldiers downed helicopters with NATO commandos on board. It was also reported that the Libyan army had captured European mercenaries during the standoff.

The West uses professionals against unwanted regimes. However, the above-mentioned stories also mean that the West is ready to use its pros against other regimes as well - in Syria, Iran, etc. Foreign special services reportedly continue to sound out the possibilities for the Libyan scenario to repeat in Syria. There are also reports saying that mysterious snipers attack demonstrators and policemen to provoke armed clashes. Will Teheran and Damascus be able to set anything against mercenaries and commandoes who are capable of changing the course of any conflict?

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