Authored by John J. Waters via RealClear Wire,
Scout Snipers have a mantra.
I discovered that mantra years in the past once I was assigned to steer a platoon of those Marines. My chief scout within the platoon, a title held by essentially the most skilled Scout Sniper, was Damon.
After we met in 2012 on Camp Lejeune, Damon was in his late twenties. His guys had been at-home within the woods and with a load on their backs; they not often complained about being soiled, drained or uncomfortable. I discovered rapidly that Scout Snipers had been the perfect within the battalion, common squaddies who had began out carrying an assault rifle or lobbing mortars however aspired to one thing sleeker, freer and extra elite. Earlier than graduating the arduous Scout Sniper Fundamental Course to earn his new, coveted title, Damon himself had carried a machine gun on a deployment to Anbar province. I keep in mind the entrance of his uniform was lined in ribbons and medals earned on fight excursions. On his again had been the phrases “Scout Sniper.” They had been branded into his pores and skin.
Just like best individuals, Damon didn’t like following guidelines, together with the rule that required him to buckle the chinstrap on his Kevlar helmet. Like a child who refuses to placed on a helmet earlier than using his bicycle, I couldn’t get him to pay attention. Each time we went to the sphere for coaching, I’d see that nylon strap dangling off his sideburns. “I do know, sir,” Damon would say. Till the subsequent time it occurred, and the time after that. If solely he hadn’t been so good-natured (and good at his job), I may need been extra insistent that he fall in line.
However I wasn’t.
Not too long ago, the Marine Corps determined its infantry battalions no longer need Scout Snipers. The ultimate class graduates right this moment from the Scout Sniper Fundamental Course. Quickly, Scout Sniper platoons will disband and remodel into so-called “scout platoons.” They are going to observe the enemy, however not shoot him. Some argue the lack of formally-trained precision marksmen will make infantry battalions less lethal. Others, together with army brass, say the cuts will assist construct a lighter, extra “commando-style” infantry.
Both means, that they had this coming.
After 20 years of steady deployments within the Conflict on Terror, Scout Snipers had grown boastful and independent-minded. They flouted the strict uniform and grooming requirements demanded of different Marines. They stubbornly insisted there was a distinction between “subject Marines” and “garrison Marines,” that their talent within the bush greater than compensated for his or her unwillingness to evolve to requirements of look or habits when again at headquarters. And, as the principles of engagement in Afghanistan grew to become more and more convoluted, Scout Snipers confronted risk-averse officers and argued for larger authority to establish targets and hearth their weapons—to guard their brothers-in-arms.
In brief, Scout Snipers mistakenly believed they had been impartial.
And so, after right this moment’s commencement ceremony, for the primary time in a long time, school-trained Scout Snipers will discover themselves with out platoons to name residence. They’ve no less than two choices to bide their time, whereas they watch for our nation and Marine Corps to as soon as once more name upon younger males with the spark and spirit to embark alone on harmful missions: mix again into common infantry platoons, or proceed their pursuit of latest challenges in reconnaissance or particular operations models.
Regardless, and whereas they wait, Scout Snipers would do nicely to comply with the mantra I first noticed printed onto the again of a T-shirt Damon wore beneath his camouflage utilities, which learn:
“Undergo Patiently; Patiently Undergo.”
John J. Waters is the creator of the postwar novel River City One. He lives in Nebraska, the place he was born.
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