Two Royal Marines Scout Snipers from A Company, 40 Commando, recently distinguished themselves by finishing 3rd and 5th out of 33 students at the US Special Force Level 1 Sniper course held at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, according to a tweet from UK Commando Force Operations.

The young Commandos achieved the highest scores in the field, precision, and hostage rescue shoots, showcasing their elite skills and training.

The competition, part of the 15th Annual U.S. Army Special Operations Command International Best Sniper Competition, saw elite sniper teams from around the world gather at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School from March 18th to the 22nd.

Participants included special operations units from the U.S. Special Operations Command, the Department of Homeland Security, and international partners.

Over 23 demanding stages, sniper teams faced challenges designed to replicate the intensity of modern ground combat. These events were crafted by instructors from the US Army Special Forces Sniper Course. Lieutenant Colonel Scott Elliott, commander of the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Special Warfare Training Group, noted, “Snipers faced simulations mirroring the intensity of modern ground combat. The events, crafted by instructors from the US Army Special Forces Sniper Course, pushed the three-person teams to their limits, testing their collaborative prowess.”

The outstanding performance of the Royal Marines highlights their exceptional training and skill, reinforcing their reputation as some of the best snipers in the world.

George Allison
George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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13 COMMENTS

  5. BZ Royal. No mean feat considering the pool the other students came from.
    I am thinking this is fruit all be it belatedly from something a guy called Tom Sands started back in the early eighties. At the time shooting in the Corps was awful. The standard being the APWT which was an Army doctrine from the School of Inf in Warminster. Tom so shooting as an art. The army as a skill, hence Skill at Arms. Tom developed a rump of rifle coaches who were scattered through the Corps to assist in their troops and Companies.
    The PW3 course which was the sniper course then was improved. The funny thing about that course was more people failed than passed on average, not for shooting but stalking. Another irony was he was assisted at the time by an exchange USMC Gunny who was sniper trained.

    • Many a good bloke failed the course, usually on a quarter or half a point, I recall the failures were more often than not on Obs . The course has evolved a lot since Tommies day, he definitely bought about a different attitude to shooting in the Corps.Im not 100% sure whether he was a badged sniper tho? I maybe wrong on that that. The course now is closely linked to the Scout Sniper course in the US, they have some fantastic ranges out there.
      I am slightly biased, but just by the amount of other organisations that attend the RM Sniper course, it is very definitely held as a bit of a ‘bench mark’ in the U.K. armed forces👍

      • Yes shooting was kind of the easy part for most I think. You did not go on the course if you did not have that skill in the bag so to speak. Combination of Obs and or Stalking where most guys failed. Ironic that you could take the nuts of a Gnat at 1000 Metres, yet fail on the stalk. All part of the course though and it was laid out at the start.

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