To all the guys out there that have experienced it first hand or have accurate information please fill me in. I PCS the 4th of January and after I qualify I'm gonna try and pick up a slot to TDY to benning for the school. So I understand that you will leave your unit and go to sniper school. Upon completion and graduation of the school you will return back to your unit. So my question is how would you go about transferring into a strictly sniper unit/detachment to be attached to other line units? Or would you just pickup the role of a sniper for that unit? If I am wrong about anything please let me know. Any and all help is greatly appreciated!!!!!
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After army sniper school..
- Thread starter Battlebacon308
- Start date
If you are an 11 series MOS in a infantry unit, each company has sniper billets. You will have to show your mettle there and then get a unit commanders recommendation to attend. You should have some sort of prior training before you go. Go to the range with as many sniper school grads as you can. This counts against the units schools allocation, so you will have to want it bad, show by experience after you have been in a unit for some time. Get to know the battalion schools NCO and talk with other snipers school graduates. This is usually a TDY and return type school. I never had the opportunity to attend sniper school. I was a tanker until SSG, then became a Scout, so I was never in the correct MOS and grade to attend. Go look up the Benning site and find the Sniper schools requirements and look up the Army reg on Sniper School. Now retired, I am a closest wannabe and focus on just me a shooting beyond 1000 meters/yards for fun.
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I assume you are in basic at sandhill?
If so the only true fire way to get a B4 slot is to have a 300 APFT, run 5 miles in under 40min's. 12 mile ruck march with a 45lbs pack in less then 2 hours 45 mins.
If you can do that, when in processing in your new unit ask for a interview with the scout plt.
It might take a while but get in scout plt.
If so the only true fire way to get a B4 slot is to have a 300 APFT, run 5 miles in under 40min's. 12 mile ruck march with a 45lbs pack in less then 2 hours 45 mins.
If you can do that, when in processing in your new unit ask for a interview with the scout plt.
It might take a while but get in scout plt.
As others have pointed out typically units select and send soldiers to the school house based of two major considerations. 1.) Is there a sniper billet to be filled? Units with out sniper billets don't send people to sniper school...normally, there are always exceptions. 2.) If a open billet has been identified, then who is the mostly likely candidate to succeed? I you're a new guy straight out of basic, with mediocre APFT scores and shot mid 30's on the qual range...its probably not going to be you.
So are you going to a unit that has sniper billets? If yes then you need to start building your self as a candidate that your platoon sergeant is going to recognize as an obvious choice. If your a new guy, then you should start trying to standout with tangible things like APFT and Qual scores. A 300 on the APFT and 40 on the qual is the standard but even then those things are just to get you recognized. You'll need time to build and demonstrate your proficiency in infantry skills to levels that exceed your peers. How long it takes to get to that position where your platoon sergeant/commander will recognize your potential as a sniper, depends on a lot of things, many of which are still going to be outside your control.
For me, I wanted to be a sniper from day 1 but it took me 8 years and a service change to get a school slot. As a young infantry Marine I almost alway delivered in the 270-300s on PFT scores, from basic training to ETS my average rifle scores where in the 240s and most of my peers will account for the fact that while I was filled with piss and vinegar I always demonstrated a proficiency and fondness for scouting. However, my leadership never particularly showed much appreciation or concern for filling sniper billets. This is actually a common thing with the infantry (Marines or Army) and it is not so much due to any animosity but rather that snipers/sniper platoons tend to be out of mind and out of site. It wasn't until I was recruited over to the Army and 3 years later when my team sergeant said "Rudy, you should go to SOTIC..." and only then did I actually end up as a sniper, and a "pretty not bad one at that." as my team sergeant would say.
Bottom line is if you want to be a sniper, it is going to be along road. How long its going to be, will be based of your skills and maturity but also the needs of the Army and the whims of those placed over you. For every school trained sniper out there, there is probably 99 others whose dreams were crushed or abandoned along the way.
v/r Rudy
So are you going to a unit that has sniper billets? If yes then you need to start building your self as a candidate that your platoon sergeant is going to recognize as an obvious choice. If your a new guy, then you should start trying to standout with tangible things like APFT and Qual scores. A 300 on the APFT and 40 on the qual is the standard but even then those things are just to get you recognized. You'll need time to build and demonstrate your proficiency in infantry skills to levels that exceed your peers. How long it takes to get to that position where your platoon sergeant/commander will recognize your potential as a sniper, depends on a lot of things, many of which are still going to be outside your control.
For me, I wanted to be a sniper from day 1 but it took me 8 years and a service change to get a school slot. As a young infantry Marine I almost alway delivered in the 270-300s on PFT scores, from basic training to ETS my average rifle scores where in the 240s and most of my peers will account for the fact that while I was filled with piss and vinegar I always demonstrated a proficiency and fondness for scouting. However, my leadership never particularly showed much appreciation or concern for filling sniper billets. This is actually a common thing with the infantry (Marines or Army) and it is not so much due to any animosity but rather that snipers/sniper platoons tend to be out of mind and out of site. It wasn't until I was recruited over to the Army and 3 years later when my team sergeant said "Rudy, you should go to SOTIC..." and only then did I actually end up as a sniper, and a "pretty not bad one at that." as my team sergeant would say.
Bottom line is if you want to be a sniper, it is going to be along road. How long its going to be, will be based of your skills and maturity but also the needs of the Army and the whims of those placed over you. For every school trained sniper out there, there is probably 99 others whose dreams were crushed or abandoned along the way.
v/r Rudy
With all the hoops you have to go through, like any other Army school getting a slot and actually attending doesn't guarantee passing.
Your unit (either current or projected) is going to look at candidates with the eye to assigning him to the scout platoon - sniper section on qualification.
Your unit (either current or projected) is going to look at candidates with the eye to assigning him to the scout platoon - sniper section on qualification.
The school is TDY so you will return to your unit when you finish (hopefully as a graduate). From there, you will typically make an inter-unit transfer to the sniper section or platoon, depending on the type of unit you're in. Its not anything super formal, just a set of orders and an adjustment to a unit's roster.
You didn't mention what type of unit you're in (Cav, Airborne, Stryker, mech, etc.). Each of these units have organizational differences when it comes to sniper sections. Some maintain a larger section at the battalion HQ level only and will task out sniper teams to support company ops as needed, and some have small sniper sections at the company level (and battalion level as well) that are organic to that company. SF does things differently, they are typically cross trained in a variety of different skills and will support their team as they are needed.
I will echo the other sentiments on this post. Sniper school has small class sizes only a handful of times per year. Its a competitive school with a pretty high attrition rate. If you want it, you have to be a top performer in your unit, not just your company, but your battalion. They are only going to pay to send guys they know can make it so they aren't wasting slots, but even then, the school can still eliminate even the most qualified candidate. They also aren't going to send you to the school until you are competent in the basic tasks of your unit (whether it be infantry or cav). Volunteering for schools (even if they aren't shooting related) will also hep establish you as someone who can go to military schools and perform. Shoot expert on your assigned weapon consistently. High PT scores and performance during unit PT and on rucks/runs. Look at trying to get an intermediate shooting school such as SDM or LRM. See if the sniper section and your leadership will let you tag along to a range day. Trying to get into a specialized platoon (recon, RSTA, pathfinders for example). But in the end, you will likely be competing with several other people for slots, so you have to set yourself apart without putting your boot in your mouth. Many units may hold some sort of selection or tryouts open to the entire unit.
Above all, patience. For that type of school, you may have to wait years before you get a slot, if ever.
You didn't mention what type of unit you're in (Cav, Airborne, Stryker, mech, etc.). Each of these units have organizational differences when it comes to sniper sections. Some maintain a larger section at the battalion HQ level only and will task out sniper teams to support company ops as needed, and some have small sniper sections at the company level (and battalion level as well) that are organic to that company. SF does things differently, they are typically cross trained in a variety of different skills and will support their team as they are needed.
I will echo the other sentiments on this post. Sniper school has small class sizes only a handful of times per year. Its a competitive school with a pretty high attrition rate. If you want it, you have to be a top performer in your unit, not just your company, but your battalion. They are only going to pay to send guys they know can make it so they aren't wasting slots, but even then, the school can still eliminate even the most qualified candidate. They also aren't going to send you to the school until you are competent in the basic tasks of your unit (whether it be infantry or cav). Volunteering for schools (even if they aren't shooting related) will also hep establish you as someone who can go to military schools and perform. Shoot expert on your assigned weapon consistently. High PT scores and performance during unit PT and on rucks/runs. Look at trying to get an intermediate shooting school such as SDM or LRM. See if the sniper section and your leadership will let you tag along to a range day. Trying to get into a specialized platoon (recon, RSTA, pathfinders for example). But in the end, you will likely be competing with several other people for slots, so you have to set yourself apart without putting your boot in your mouth. Many units may hold some sort of selection or tryouts open to the entire unit.
Above all, patience. For that type of school, you may have to wait years before you get a slot, if ever.
As an Instructor over 15 years ago, U.S. Army Sniper School (USASS) had 32 slots per class and about 10 classes a year. Slots were very hard to come by as ATARS was booked out sometimes a year in advance and graduation rates were bad (my class ended up with 11 graduates). The only time you could get a "walk on" spot is if one of the guys assigned to the class did not show up. I saw times when we had other service members go through (Marines and Foreign Armed Forces) not sure how they got the slots, but it happened. Slots are filled by the units with unqualified soldiers assigned into the B4 positions within each Battalion first, all others take a back seat. Talk of expanding to overlapping classes was discussed to increase the amount of qualified Snipers, but I don't think that ever happened. Better have plenty of pre-class training as the school shows no remorse for the unskilled.
Hey! Thanks for allowing me to add another post to get to my 100 posts... I'm glad to see you are working on yours too as you posted back. Did you attend a school? Sniper send it!
Is that why you are necroposting, so that you can sell stuff on here? I went to a few schools, though none of them related to the military.
No, wrong again... I was trying to get to 100 so I could post a wanted add for M24 trigger. As you " have been to a couple of schools" maybe you have crossed one at some point. I'm hoping to put together a Veteran PTSD program centered around meditation and precision shooting in the PNW. Not all the chatter on here is useless. So if it doesn't pertain to your liking, maybe you shouldn't post dribble about it. Sorry for my 5 cents, but you can keep the change...
For a minute I thought you meant Vancouver BC, until I looked up it was the WA one.
I was thinking "why the fuck would anyone start up anything to do with shooting around that shithole?", but wrong Vancouver
Nope, sry bro. I have not come across any M24 triggers in pre-school, elementary school, Jr High School or High School.
I find some open State land toward Silver Star Mtn. Sometimes in the Gifford Pinchot. Distance is hard to get in the GPNF but sometimes out to 300 or so. My hope is to get a group of guys to invest into a plot towards Klickitat Co or Central OR for a shooting complex. 1500m is the goal.
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