# Support a Sniper



## D-n-A (2 May 2004)

I came across this on another forum


 http://www.adoptasniper.com/donate.htm  

This site is for donations towards snipers who are in combat zones, and in need or want of equipment to help them carry out their service.


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## Sh0rtbUs (2 May 2004)

Interesting? Why not support the medics? Or how about the sappers? Are the snipers short on supplies or something?


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## chrisf (2 May 2004)

Yeah... I must say... that is pretty messed up...


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## Cpl. Williamson (2 May 2004)

Support a Sapper Has a Nice ring to It


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## brianksain (12 Nov 2004)

Hello,

Brian K. Sain here from the adoptasniper program.

I must respectfully disagree with the man above.

While the S4s often times CAN get what their people need, often times they just will not. If it is going to bring heat on them for buying it they just won't do it.

Indeed, the S4s and higher ranking officers are often exactly the problem our snipers face. Often times misunderstood and misused (by S4s and Officers that have never been to sniper school and who do not know what their snipers do) the snipers need gear that is not normally used by everyday infantrymen. Often the S4s and Officers will shut them down when they ask for or request sniper specific gear and the snipers have no further recourse or way to get what they need through normal channels and chain of command. Yet, they are still expected to do the job by the very people hamstringing them from doing it.

Snipers are being used in numbers now more than ever in modern history. Every kid that shot "Expert" in boot camp is now the "Company sniper" whether he has had formal training or not. However, being blessed as such is a curse if he is expected to do the job of a sniper but has a mechanic's MOS. He might be able to get a Crescent wrench from supply but a request for a laser range finder will make his S4 laugh in his face and tell him to get the heck out of his store room.

Please visit the www.adoptasniper.org site and read the letters sent directly from theater on these matters. They can be found under "sniper letters" on the homepage and "letters to Brian" on the forum. There is also an interesting thread entitled "What we are dealing with" that explains even more.

We have been investigated by CENTCOM / JAG and we have been contacted by the DLA, AMU, the Infantry school at Ft. Benning, SOTIC at Ft. Bragg and the Land Warfare Center requesting information FROM US on what gear our snipers have been requesting to do their jobs.

The problem does not lie with the government having or supplying the money. The problem lies directly with the snipers immediate supply people and officers either not knowing what their people need, how to procure it, what monies are available for them or more commonly simply refusing to get it for them out of ignorance, ambivalence, jealousy or just being asinine because someone below them might know a little more than they do. If the S4s admit there is a problem, then they will receive heat for not doing their job. It's called plausible deniability and this mentality causes people their lives. I know this to be true because police snipers face the same mentality every day here at home.

I have been running this operation for 1 year. I have been a sniper for 16. My program is currently supporting 75 Sniper PLATOONS of the United States military. I can vouch for every dime and I know every sniper by name, rank and APO address and I can supply a list of (high ranking) references as long as you wish. The integrity of this program and the operational snipers running it will stand on it's own and is beyond reproach.

The Canadian Army are our friends. God bless their snipers (Especially Princess Pats). If any of them need a hand, we will do whatever we can to get them what they need.

Please visit our booth at SHOT SHOW 2005 # 9541 just outside the main firearms entrance.

Respectfully,

Brian K. Sain, Advisory Board
American Sniper Association
Police Marksman Association

WWW.ADOPTASNIPER.ORG


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## Crazy_Eyes (12 Nov 2004)

Just a Sig Op said:
			
		

> Yeah... I must say... that is pretty messed up...



I have to agree, this is kind of odd if you think about it....I'm by no means insulting the snipers or their capabilities, but there's other factors of the army that i'm sure could use waaaaay more support then the snipers


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## brianksain (12 Nov 2004)

Everyone needs support bro. The snipers however, are a force multiplier. One, two man sniper team has, and can turn entire battles. It has always been that way. They deserve all the help we can give them. They are our brothers.

God bless the Canadian Army.

Brian K. Sain
www.adoptasniper.org


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## muskrat89 (13 Nov 2004)

> I have to agree, this is kind of sick if you think about it



Helping any soldier that is on "our" side can hardly be called sick..... maybe you should limit your comments to the Cadet Forums  :


Brian - I've printed off the list. My wife and I will pick some stuff up and get it going in your direction.....


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## pappy (16 Nov 2004)

To the comment about the US Army just whipping out thier Visacard and buying what they want.

Having been in the US Marine Corps I wish it was so easy...    The US Marine Corps has always been sucking the hind tit of Uncle Sam's cash pig.  
Even in Todays Corps.  For years the Congress threatened (and from time to time still threatens) to disband the Corps, being part of the US Navy, the Navy got the bulk of the budget.  To remain off the chopping block the Corps made a habit of doing the most with the least, sometimes that comes back to hunt us. Some years they even gave money back to the budget to keep our beloved Corps alive. 

The entrie Marine Corps is around 180,000, that's a drop in the bucket compared to the Air Force, Navy and Army.  Big ticket items like Helios, LAV-25's, M1A2's can eat a small budget fast.  The bean counters find is easy to forget the Marines at the bottom.  Marine Scout/Sniper units were left to beg borrow and steal what they need.  Some of the M40 rifles used today by our snipers are older then they are.  If these guys didn't need help they wouldn't be asking.  And if they didn't need it they would take it either.


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## m_a_c (1 Dec 2004)

This program looks great, I will be supporting it.  Thanks for the information.

m_a_c


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## brianksain (8 Dec 2004)

Our credentials are easy to verify if neccessary. No scams, no stealing no "administrative fees".

God Bless the smart people of Canada.

BK
www.adoptasniper.org


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## brianksain (8 Dec 2004)

Regarding the government's support or perceived lack thereof: 

I cannot speak for the entire military. However, in the US sniper's cases it kind of goes like this. 

The snipers are specially trained and should be specially equipped and indeed, some units are exactly that. The school trained snipers that have actually graduated sniper school and that have been snipers a good while often buy their own gear OUT OF CHOICE or are VERY WELL equipped by their units. This is especially true with the special ops guys. 

However, what we have found is that the US military is using snipers in numbers not seen since the Vietnam conflict. Iraq and Afghanistan are ideal locations for sniper deployement. However, this fact has been forgotten after every war since the American Revolution. When war breaks out, we then find that we are behind the curve and are then scrambling to train up enough qualified marksmen because all of a sudden we now need people that know how to shoot. Plus, the emphasis on marksmanship training has been steadily decreasing in the US military, whereas it used to be a priority. This, I believe is due to too much reliance on smart bombs and technology. 

That said, a sniper is pretty much the smart bomb of the infantry, firing one shot and obtaining one kill with no collateral damage to innocents. We simply cannot rely on the air force to do everything at all times. 

Furthermore, the sniper schools have a high attrition rate because only the best of the best can make it through. Only the coolest thinking, smartest, strongest, fastest, non quitters in the military can stand up to the stress and discipline required to become a sniper. Likewise, only the best policemen make decent snipers in law enforcement. To lower the standards would cost lives and the sniper schools run a very high operational tempo program. This is because the snipers may have to shoot right beside or over their friends heads to stop a threat and the soldiers and marines must have explicit trust in the sniper's abilities to do this. In additon the snipers are often operating in two to four man teams and must be as totally self sufficient as possible, often times behind enemy lines. 

Our soldiers and marines are currently not in a static battle, in the middle of nowhere, with a clearly defined enemy and desolate surroundings for a backstop. They are fighting an enemy dressed as the rest of the populace, that uses women and children as shields, who are often on the move, within the civilian population of huge urban environments. Their shooting has to be surgical in nature and there can be no collateral injury of innocents as a result. This is the same type of environment that the police sniper in the US and UK lives in everyday. They simply cannot miss because to do so means that the wrong person dies or their friends are killed. 

That said ... most of snipers are issued body armor and helmets. But it is just too cumbersome to wear and shoot with to the degree of precision demanded of the sniper. However, the sniper's Commanding officers have often times never been to sniper school themselves and do not Understand what it takes to do the job of the sniper. A sniper is just one of many troops the CO must look after and he may view the snipers as not any different than any of his other troops when they really do have specific equipment needs. The COs often misuse the snipers because they either do not know or care about the capabilities their snipers can provide them. 

In the sniper's cases, it is not that the snipers need body armor per sey as they are issued it. But rather that the snipers need different CARRIERS (specific clothing that holds the ballistic panels) than the regular troops. This is so they can shoot on the move and in cramped shooting positions. The issue helmet hurts one's neck in the prone position and is also cumbersome. If the snipers use the standard armor, they either have to take it off or try and shoot with it on. 

If they take it off, their vital organs are exposed to enemy fire and then they must quickly don the armor or try and carry it with them if they have to quickly change locations. If they try and shoot with it on, it adversely affects their shot placement and we have already established the ramifications of that. 

Furthermore, the armored divisons and Stryker brigades are also seeing the value of having snipers with the convoys as they can engage the enemy with one shot and end the threat. However, here again, the COs know TANKS and vehicles and NOT snipers ... and often the budget is spent on the vehicles and not on the needs of six or eight snipers. These are the voids that adoptasniper tries to fill. 

Every soldier or marine that shot "Expert" on the range is now being assigned as the "Company sniper" although he probably has not had a chance to go to sniper school. He has a rifle but often times no scope or training to go with it. When he trys to get these things from his supply officer, his unit probably has not ever been issued this type of special gear and getting approved is a mountain of beurocratic red tape. If the soldier or marine's request gets shut down by his CO or supply then he cannot usurp the chain of command or suffer disciplinary action for doing so. 

Adoptasniper works because we are not in anyone's chain of command. We know exactly what the snipers need when they ask for it. We know where to get it cheapest and we have the same address for these guys that their momma has. All of this because we are snipers ourselves. The items go from AAS shipping sites to the snipers tents in 2.5 weeks. Done deal. No red tape, no disciplinary action, no charge. Just that simple ... 

Furthermore, when units deploy overseas; they are allotted funds that they do not receive here in the States. Many supply personnel either do not know this or the funds are spread elsewhere. 

In my own very limited experience, it seems that the problems lie more with the individual unit commanders and supply officers either not understanding or caring what their snipers need; moreso than the fact that the government is not providing the funds to adequately supply the armed forces. 

This is not a political forum. However, it seems to me that the cutbacks in military spending from the previous administration seem to have affected our military far more than anything the current administration may have done or has failed to do in that regard. 

I hope this clears some of the common misconceptions up. I believe our program is working and I believe we are making a difference. 

Regards, 

Brian K. Sain 
www.adoptasniper.org


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## QY RANG 2 (9 Dec 2004)

I was wondering what you guy's think about the Canadian McMillan tac 50 compaired to the US army Beretta M82.
I have heard the McMillan Tac 50 can engage targets from a further distance but is bolt action
The M82 is semi automatic and i have heard jams quite often!


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## Q.Y. Ranger (9 Dec 2004)

The McMillian Tac-50 is a much better rifle!


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## QY RANG 2 (9 Dec 2004)

THANK YOU QY RANGER,
i wasen't expecting a fellow cadet to anwser..


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## Ex-Dragoon (10 Dec 2004)

SHERMAN-2799 said:
			
		

> I was wondering what you guy's think about the Canadian McMillan tac 50 compaired to the US army Beretta M82.
> I have heard the McMillan Tac 50 can engage targets from a further distance but is bolt action
> The M82 is semi automatic and i have heard jams quite often!



First off its a _Barrett M82 _ vice Beratta M82
Second off unless you have personal experience with something going off heaarsay only shows you have no idea what you are talking about.


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## aesop081 (10 Dec 2004)

I'm with ex-D on this one.....i know nothing about sniping and would like to hear useful comments about it thank you very much.

Maybe stick to the cadet forums kids............


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