Extreme Sniper Training: One Hundred Crack Sharpshooters Undergo Intense Training in Western District
Thorough camouflage and the human limits of endurance. More than 100 snipers of the western military district have completed an advanced survival course at a training range in the Belgorod Oblast.
Alexander Ivanov followed the exercises.
The recon team's assault takes less than a minute, capturing the opposing force's command. Every soldier has his own role in this military game: shock troops, overwatch team. A shot is the signal to begin the operation. An ambush at a forest road is the final test for this unit. To locate the target, the soldiers had to scout, crawl under barbed wire, climb poles in full kit, jump over a fence despite gunfire and smoke. Man-made obstacles are coupled with natural ravines and slopes. The recon group is trying to blend in, for which the camouflage jacket has special loops.
This recon group's sniper is tasked to be the first to take the best shooting position and blend in. It's quite the task. First, you need special equipment, like this Leshyi ghillie suit, depending on the landscape and season. Then, you find a nice lying position where you can spend up to a week, which isn't for everyone. All this for the sake of one shot. Now only live ammunition. The most experienced unit and sniper team are the first to shoot. Let's complicate their task and affix a 2-ruble coin near the target.
— 5 to the left, 2 up. Fire.
— Understood.
The rifle is like their soul mate, making their wives jealous. Every sniper dreams of Vasily Zaitsev's glory but doesn't want war, preferring to shoot at a paper target.
Vasily Maksimov, sniper: "After a heartbeat and letting out your breath, a moment comes for a precise shot, there's only a split second for it".
Instructors say it can take years to train a top class sniper. But if a person isn't talented, even cutting-edge scopes won't help them.
"A mathematical mindset is a must. It ensures quick calculations and good number memory, which is an important skill for a sniper".
During the field maneuvers at this training range in the western military district, more than 100 snipers have passed the professional suitability test.
Alexander Ivanov, Andrey Kutsov, and Mikhail Shum for Vesti from the Belgorod region.