Re: Military Fakers - Fake Snipers
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: captrichardson</div><div class="ubbcode-body">"Poser Busting",
Per above, most people who have been there and done that, don't run their mouths about it, "Quiet Professionals" was the motto. That used to hold true, but there are obviously some people now days who are publicly cashing in on their military experience for a number of reasons. As such now days, you just never know. I have seen plenty of “Poser Hunters” wasting a lot of time and resources to ultimately get no where, so unless it comes down to money changing hands, appointment to a position, or something very serious and formal, then you are probably better off to spend your time and efforts elsewhere. I wish some of the guys, who spend hundreds of hours "hunting posers", would make a positive effort that really impacts veterans. What really matters, you spent 8 hours doing research so you can bust the guy at work who runs his mouth at lunch about being a legendary sniper, or you spend that 8 hours helping out some vets by doing some form of charitable work with them? Most posers who run their mouths long enough will ultimately cross patch with someone who can and will call them out.
“Sniper Title, Qualification, or Whatever You Call It”
Sorry but I have to disagree with the argument that ONLY School Trained, MOS Carrying, DD214 Documented, military members are “Snipers”. I would make those arguments based on (as it relates the Army, sorry I am not 100% up on the USMC, USAF, USN sides, but I am sure there are similar arguments):
Timeline – the Army Sniper School at Ft Benning was not up until 1987, so are you going to tell anyone who served as a “Sniper” prior to then, sorry you are just a “wanna be”? Needless to say, there are plenty of trained, equipped, and acting “Snipers” with confirmed kills in combat way prior to that date.
MOS – the only members in the Army who can hold a B4 ASI (not an MOS) are someone in the 11 and 18 career fields. There are actually a number of members outside of those career fields (MP, Cav Scout, etc) who have attended school and/or served as “Snipers”, but they have not necessarily received the B4 qualifier.
Schools / Training – prior to, and even after the school opening in 1987, there were a number of “Sniper Schools” conducted at the local level (Division or Unit) which accomplished the same objectives as the formal school program. Individuals satisfactorily completing these schools were as capable as any other “Sniper”.
DD214 Documentation – anyone who has served in the Military knows a DD214 may or may not be worth the paper that it is printed on. For various reasons (clerical error, lost records, poor management, etc) it is very common for a veteran's DD214 to be missing information. Personally, about 1/3 of my schools, training, or qualifications are missing from my DD214.
In addition to all of that, you can also throw out the argument, who is more of a “Sniper”:
Individual A – attends a formal sniper school, gets the appropriate MOS or ASI, spends 2-3 years after school training with his unit, but never deploys, never fires a shot at the enemy, and never has a confirmed kill.
Individual B – gets his sniper training at the local level, never gets a formal MOS or ASI, spends the next 2-3 years after school on multiple deployments where they are equipped and acting as a sniper and actually end up with a confirmed kill.
I know plenty of individuals who meet the criteria for both A and B, and the Bs are just as much if not more of a “Sniper” than the As in my book though they have no official documentation, qualifier, or title.
It would be great if there was a real simple, clean, easy, and definitive way to identify a “Military Sniper”, but IMHO that is not the case.
Best of Luck,
M Richardson </div></div>
Well said.
I tried out for the scout platoon in my BN and made it. Got assigned as A S/O an later went to a school put on by the AMU in which I earned the B4 ASI
ASI=additional skill identifier
11B was and always will be my MOS...the alphenumeric codes that follow the numeric skill level are ASI's
