This video includes 2 training films: Snipers Field Training: Masters of Camouflage and Deception, Training film for the German Air Force High Command (38 min) and Snipers in action: the Unseen Weapon, Training film of the German Army High Command No 668, Spring 1944 (30 min). German narrator, with English subtitles. http://www.allworldwars.com/videos/German Snipers/German-Sniper-Training-1944.html
Good read. Sniping in France by Major H. Hesketh-Prichard With Notes on the Scientific Training of Scouts, Observers, and Snipers FOREWORD BY GENERAL LORD HORNE, G.C.B. >" IT may fairly be claimed that when hostilities ceased on November 11th, 1918, we had outplayed Germany at all points of the game. Perhaps as a nation we failed in imagination. Possibly Germany was more quick to initiate new methods of warfare or to adapt her existing methods to meet prevailing conditions. Certainly we were slow to adopt, indeed, our souls abhorred, anything unsportsmanlike. Had it been left to us, "Gas" would have taken no part in the Great European War. But, however lacking in imagination, however slow to realize the importance of novel methods, once we were convinced of their necessity, once we decided to adopt them, we managed by a combination of brains and energy, pluck and endurance, not only to make up the lost ground, but to take the lead in the race. In proof of this statement I would instance Heavy Field Artillery, High Explosives, Gas, Work in the Air, etc., and many other points I could mention in which Germany started ahead of us, including Sniping Observation and Scouting. And for our eventual superiority we owe much to individuals, men who, like the author of this book Major Hesketh-Prichard, combined expert knowledge with untiring energy, men who would not be denied and could not recognize defeat..."< continue reading -> http://www.allworldwars.com/Sniping in France by Major Hesketh-Prichard.html
OP, do you have an opinion on the topic? Thread seems to not have a point other than to be informational?
My opinion on snipers, I'm not a big fan of snipers be they enemy snipers, Marine Scout snipers, Army or SF snipers or Navy SEAL snipers. Over the decades snipers have been deployed or used differently. Japanese snipers during WW ll went after officers and Navy corpsmen or Army medics. During the Vietnam War, NVA snipers went after anyone who was wearing a M-1911 A1 pistol believing they must be important or anyone who had a PRC-25 on his back. Why do you think the whip antenna was always tied down ? On the eastern front during WW ll it was sniper vs. sniper. The same was true in Nam where Marine snipers were used as counter snipers on fire bases and base camps. But the best counter sniper weapon wasn't the sniper but the ONTOS. NVA and VC snipers avoided operating in any area where there was an ONTOS. The Marine designated rifleman is a sniper but he snipes alongside with his other riflemen in his unit, he's exposed to the enemy just like the rest of the grunts in his unit. From the American Civil War to about 1967 of the Vietnam War, American snipers were not held in high esteem until the development of the Marine Scout Sniper and this is when the military and America in general started looking at the American sniper in a different way. This has more to do with the exploits of Marine Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock, 93 confirmed kills and over 300 unconfirmed kills. ( In the Vietnam War, kills had to be confirmed by an acting third party, who had to be an officer, besides the sniper's spotter. Snipers often did not have an acting third party present, making confirmation difficult, especially if the target was behind enemy lines, as was usually the case.) It's probably closer to the truth that Carlos Hathcock, not Chris Kyle who has killed more of the enemy as a sniper. There were four books published about Carlos Hathcock after the Vietnam War. This is when the American public opinions on snipers changed and when you saw young Americans wanting to become snipers in the military. Books: Hathcock is the subject of a number of books including: Chandler, Roy F. (1997). White feather: Carlos Hathcock USMC scout sniper : an authorized biographical memoir (1997 ed.). Iron Brigade Armory Publishing. ISBN 978-1-885633-09-5. - Total pages: 277 Henderson, Charles (2001). Marine Sniper: 93 Confirmed Kills (2001 ed.). Berkley Books. ISBN 978-0-425-18165-2. - Total pages: 315 Henderson, Charles W. (2003). Silent Warrior (2003 ed.). Berkley Books. ISBN 978-0-425-18864-4. - Total pages: 336 Sasser, Charles; Roberts, Craig (1990). One Shot, One Kill (1990 ed.). Pocket Books. ISBN 978-0-671-68219-4. - Total pages: 288
Never wanted to be one, myself. It's pretty boring stuff on the day to day level, about the level of refueling trucks or something similar. I never got what was supposed to be so glamorous or awesome about it.
I can't speak for the Army but the most highly respected MOS, actually a Navy rating is the Navy corpsman. Not a glamorous job but the Navy corpsman is highly respected in the Marine Corps. I'm sure soldiers feel the same about combat medics.
Any military needs a certain number of support troops to field soldiers who actually do the fighting. Of course books about running a supply depot or fixing a broken HMMWV transmission, typically don't garner the same sort of audience as those about fighter pilots and snipers. From my perspective the unsung heroes, are those who maintain aircraft. You'll never see a movie entitled "American Maintainer" in theaters anytime soon however or any Call of Duty video games about the subject.
I have to concur. An excerpts from the article below. The needs of the Corps >" Gunnery Sgt. Tommy Smith, who worked as a recruiter in Texas for a three-year period that ended last year, said about 85 percent of prospective recruits who walked into his office had dreams of becoming a Marine grunt that were fueled by the portrayal of infantry Marines they'd seen in movies and television and a "gun club" mentality common to the state. Smith's job, he said, was to reconcile these dreams with the reality..."< >" "You're never going to see a Marine Corps movie about an admin shop," he said. "It will always center around the infantry."..."< The article: Don't call me 'POG': The push to end the Corps' most damaging divide >" Gunnery Sgt. Hector Vicente has 20 years of Marine Corps experiences under his belt, but what he heard one morning from his junior Marines made him wonder how well he knew the Corps. While at the barracks aboard Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, one weekend, a group of his junior Marines from the entry-level school for personnel administration stopped by on their way to the beach. "Gunny, we were out last night at Buffalo Wild Wings and some Marines walked by and called us 'boots' and 'POGs,'" one private first class said. "Why would a fellow Marine do that?" It wasn't the name-calling itself that bothered Vicente, who, as a career support Marine, knew that the terms were often thrown around within the Corps as part of its coarse culture. It was the fact that one group of Marines was trying to belittle and humiliate another group of Marines in public. "It truly saddens me when a group of PFCs ask me why they would be called 'boot' and 'POG' while they are dining at a restaurant," Vicente said. "That act to me is truly disheartening." The service rivalry between infantry Marines, or grunts, and support Marines, sometimes called "persons other than grunts" or "POGs" for short, is a ubiquitous part of Marine Corps culture. It's fed by grunts' pride in their elite training and dangerous work — and the perception that support Marines enjoy better living conditions and easier work, particularly when deployed to combat zones. Many Marines take the name calling and friendly jabs in stride, but some worry that the increased popularity of social media over the last few years has given rise to an uglier and less well-intentioned form of mockery that is especially hard to navigate for the most junior Marines. And while grunts and support Marines have often served side-by-side in equal danger outside the wire over the last 13 years of combat operations, earning mutual respect, the dynamics of rivalry could change as the Marine Corps enters what may be a period of peacetime. Some are calling on Marine unit leaders to address the rift before it intensifies..."< Combat-tested continue -> http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/sto...orps/2014/11/17/pog-vs-grunt-marine/18905805/
The same dynamic persists in much of the military. There are those who are in combat operations, and all the rest. Clearly defined lines are established in terms of the pecking order of respect. You do have rank of course, this largely determines pay and status regardless of the actual job. There is no doubt that those involved in direct combat operations maintain a swagger and a certain disdain for those who aren't. It's a darn shame, but it is part of military culture. Hey, we're all on the same team ultimately. Some jobs are just deemed more cinema worthy, than others. There is no doubt being a sniper is near the top of the list for a perceived sense of excitement and danger.
My favorite WW ll war movie is "Mister Roberts" starring Henry Fonda and James Cagney. Based upon a naval officers experience during WW ll while serving on a small Navy cargo ship. No battle scenes, no combat. Just sailors carry cargo in the back waters of the war in the Pacific. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mister_Roberts_(1955_film) Background: >" Heggen based his novel on his experiences aboard the USS Virgo (AKA-20) and the USS Rotanin (AK-10 in the South Pacific during World War II, and began the book as a collection of short stories. It was subsequently adapted as a play circa 1948, a feature film, a television series, and a live television movie. Sadly, Heggen did not live to enjoy the success and profits of his creation, as his life was ended, by accident or suicide, before the age of 30. The character Mister Roberts was based on the Rotanin Executive Officer, Donald House. Contrary to the story in the book, he was not killed in action, but continued as a career Naval officer until retirement, and lived until early 1998. Initially, Ensign Ralph (changed to "Frank" in the book) Pulver threatened to sue Heggen for using his actual name. Pulver was, in reality, an officer who took his Naval career very seriously. Pulver was still an active-duty officer at the time the book was published, and was concerned that having his name in the book and play might be detrimental to his career."< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mister_Roberts_(novel)
Not to ruin your thread completely, but was McHale's Navy based on Mister Roberts? Also, I recall a movie, years ago, about a pink boat based in the Pacific during WW2, or at least at some point in the movie the boat was painted pink. It was more of a comedy, as I recall, than a serious movie.
McHale's Navy wasn't based upon "Mister Roberts" but was based upon a television hour long drama called "Seven Against the Sea," broadcast on April 3, 1962. "Seven Against the Sea" >" Academy Award-winning dramatic actor Ernest Borgnine first appeared as Quinton McHale, in a one-shot drama called Seven Against the Sea, which aired as an episode of Alcoa Premiere in 1962, an ABC dramatic anthology also known as Fred Astaire's Premiere Theatre and hosted by Fred Astaire, who introduced television audiences to the Quinton McHale character. It is considered the pilot show for the series. Plot During World War II, Lieutenant Commander Quinton McHale (Borgnine) is the commanding officer (CO) of the U.S. Navy PT boat, PT-73, stationed at the Pacific island base Taratupa. In the late spring of 1942, the Japanese heavily bomb the island, destroying the base. Only 18 of 150 Naval Aviators and Marines on the base survive. With Japanese patrols in the region too heavy for a Navy rescue mission, McHale and his men survive by hiding on the island. Assisted by the native tribes whom they befriend, the sailors live a pleasant island existence. After months of leisurely life, strait-laced, by-the-book Annapolis graduate Lieutenant Durham (Ron Foster) parachutes onto the island. His job is to assume duties as McHale's executive officer (XO) and help him get the base on Taratupa back into action. Durham faces an uphill battle: The men have gone native. One man has started a native laundry service, and McHale operates a still, making moonshine for the men and the natives. In addition, McHale is friendly with the native chief and even bathes with him. When Durham informs McHale of his orders, McHale refuses to follow them. It is clear that while McHale is as loyal as any American, following the devastation the Japanese rendered on the island attack, he is reluctant to risk losing more men. His concern now is for their survival until they can be rescued, which creates friction between Durham and McHale. When they get word that a Marine battalion is pinned on a beach, and an enemy cruiser is planning to attack the beachhead in the morning, McHale's attitude changes. McHale is ordered to use all their boats to protect the beachhead and the Marines; but McHale has no boats, since the Japanese sank them all. However, McHale manages to capture a Japanese PT boat patrolling the island. Surprising the men and Durham, McHale does not plan to use the boat to evacuate his men or the Marine battalion. Instead, he will attack and destroy the Japanese cruiser. He estimates that since they are on a Japanese boat, flying a Japanese flag, that they can move in and torpedo the cruiser twice and send it to the bottom..."< http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McHale's_Navy FYI: The real PT-73 during WW ll was a loss. PT 73 Grounding Philippines 15,January 1945 http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/pt/losses.htm The pink "boat" you are thinking of was in the comedy movie "Operation Petticoat." A U.S. Navy submarine that was painted pink. Historical accuracy of "Operation Petticoat." Some of the plot points of Operation Petticoat were based on real-life incidents, such as: The evacuation of one Navy nurse and several Army nurses from Corregidor to Australia by the submarine USS Spearfish; The sinking of the submarine USS Sealion at the pier at Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines; The torpedoing of a bus by the USS Bowfin; Commander Sherman's letter to the supply department on the inexplicable lack of toilet paper (based on an actual letter to the supply department of Mare Island Naval Shipyard by Lieutenant Commander James Wiggins "Red" Coe of the submarine USS Skipjack); The need to paint a submarine pink due to the lack of enough red or white lead undercoat paint. The heat from the burning Sealion also scorched off the black paint of the nearby USS Seadragon and for a time this submarine fought with only her red lead undercoat visible. This led Tokyo Rose to disparage American "red pirate submarines." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Petticoat
