thedrifter
07-07-05, 08:19 AM
For sharpshooter, taking aim at armed teen 'just the way it is'
09:26 PM CDT on Wednesday, July 6, 2005
By RICHARD WHITTLE / The Dallas Morning News
QUANTICO, Va. – The question many people want to ask military snipers is the one most don't want to answer: What's it like to kill someone in cold blood?
Many snipers refuse to discuss it, said Sgt. Dagan Van Oosten, a sniper school instructor at Marine Corps Base Quantico, because they know that "a lot of people have problems with it." They think "you're cowardly, or whatever," he said.
Sgt. Van Oosten said he was willing to talk about his profession because he wants others to know that he and other military snipers do what they do, and suffer the psychological stress, to save lives – those of their comrades.
"With a sniper, it's not always 'me or him'; it's usually him or some other Marines that are unsuspecting or unknowing," Sgt. Van Oosten said. "You're always going to have remorse because you're taking a human life."
But that comes after the fact, when the day's battle is over. And it goes with the job.
Sgt. Van Oosten cited as an example one of his kills in Baghdad, Iraq: "a teenage kid who instantly became a combatant when he picked up a weapons system." The teenager put his hands on an AK-47 assault rifle and a chest bandolier of ammunition left behind after Sgt. Van Oosten shot the man carrying them and other Iraqis removed the man's body.
As the teen approached the weapon, Sgt. Van Oosten watched through his scope and talked to him under his breath in a scolding tone: "I said, 'Don't do it. Don't do it.' "
Sgt. Van Oosten tells the rest of the story this way:
"I was on the roof of one of the palaces. There was a staff sergeant up there. He was like, 'You're not going to do it, are you? You're not going to do it, are you?'
"I said, 'If he picks up that weapons system, I'm going to put him down.' He knew right where we were at. We weren't hidden by any means, and it was a bad position for a sniper to be in. ... He looked right up at us – looked right at us – and picked it up. Looked at us again, and as soon as he put it in both hands, you know ..." – Sgt. Van Oosten clicks his tongue – "I squeezed it off."
Sgt. Van Oosten said the staff sergeant with him said, "I'm sorry, man."
"And I was like, 'Hey, there's no sorry about it.' As soon as you pick up a weapons system against Marines, he's no longer a teenage boy; he's now a target.
"That's just the way it is."
HOW TO BECOME A SNIPER
Few men make it into the Scout Sniper Basic Course at Quantico or three other bases where Marines train new snipers. (Women are barred by law from such combat specialties.) Applicants must meet several prerequisites:
Attain a rank from lance corporal to gunnery sergeant, meaning they have been Marines for at least a couple of years and served as infantrymen
Score the highest Marine Corps rating for physical fitness
Qualify as an "Expert Rifleman," the highest of the three marksmanship levels
Possess vision correctable to 20/20 – meaning eyeglasses are allowed
Have no history of mental illness
Have no disciplinary infractions on their records
Possess an above-average score on the military's intelligence test
"Possess a high degree of maturity, equanimity and common sense"
SOURCE: Scout Sniper Instructor School, Marine Corps Base Quantico
Ellie
09:26 PM CDT on Wednesday, July 6, 2005
By RICHARD WHITTLE / The Dallas Morning News
QUANTICO, Va. – The question many people want to ask military snipers is the one most don't want to answer: What's it like to kill someone in cold blood?
Many snipers refuse to discuss it, said Sgt. Dagan Van Oosten, a sniper school instructor at Marine Corps Base Quantico, because they know that "a lot of people have problems with it." They think "you're cowardly, or whatever," he said.
Sgt. Van Oosten said he was willing to talk about his profession because he wants others to know that he and other military snipers do what they do, and suffer the psychological stress, to save lives – those of their comrades.
"With a sniper, it's not always 'me or him'; it's usually him or some other Marines that are unsuspecting or unknowing," Sgt. Van Oosten said. "You're always going to have remorse because you're taking a human life."
But that comes after the fact, when the day's battle is over. And it goes with the job.
Sgt. Van Oosten cited as an example one of his kills in Baghdad, Iraq: "a teenage kid who instantly became a combatant when he picked up a weapons system." The teenager put his hands on an AK-47 assault rifle and a chest bandolier of ammunition left behind after Sgt. Van Oosten shot the man carrying them and other Iraqis removed the man's body.
As the teen approached the weapon, Sgt. Van Oosten watched through his scope and talked to him under his breath in a scolding tone: "I said, 'Don't do it. Don't do it.' "
Sgt. Van Oosten tells the rest of the story this way:
"I was on the roof of one of the palaces. There was a staff sergeant up there. He was like, 'You're not going to do it, are you? You're not going to do it, are you?'
"I said, 'If he picks up that weapons system, I'm going to put him down.' He knew right where we were at. We weren't hidden by any means, and it was a bad position for a sniper to be in. ... He looked right up at us – looked right at us – and picked it up. Looked at us again, and as soon as he put it in both hands, you know ..." – Sgt. Van Oosten clicks his tongue – "I squeezed it off."
Sgt. Van Oosten said the staff sergeant with him said, "I'm sorry, man."
"And I was like, 'Hey, there's no sorry about it.' As soon as you pick up a weapons system against Marines, he's no longer a teenage boy; he's now a target.
"That's just the way it is."
HOW TO BECOME A SNIPER
Few men make it into the Scout Sniper Basic Course at Quantico or three other bases where Marines train new snipers. (Women are barred by law from such combat specialties.) Applicants must meet several prerequisites:
Attain a rank from lance corporal to gunnery sergeant, meaning they have been Marines for at least a couple of years and served as infantrymen
Score the highest Marine Corps rating for physical fitness
Qualify as an "Expert Rifleman," the highest of the three marksmanship levels
Possess vision correctable to 20/20 – meaning eyeglasses are allowed
Have no history of mental illness
Have no disciplinary infractions on their records
Possess an above-average score on the military's intelligence test
"Possess a high degree of maturity, equanimity and common sense"
SOURCE: Scout Sniper Instructor School, Marine Corps Base Quantico
Ellie