The right equipment in the right hands...

Machine guns and precision sniper rifles are two entirely different firearms used by two entirely different breeds of operatives...A sniper (military or civilian) uses as his main weapons his ingenuity, stamina, experience, stealth and self-confidence to reach the desired position before he even thinks about his rifle...Those same tools will help get him back to safety before his next mission...

I've personally known two men whom I consider to be the finest snipers ever set afield...The one still living once told me he's killed men at ranges anywhere from two feet out to 1,000 meters...He still uses what he calls his "work gun" for long range, a Hart barrel in a Hart single shot action chambered in .300 Hart in a McMillan A-5 stock that he built and maintains himself using ammo he produces himself sighting through a 3.5-10X40 Leupold Mk 4 riflescope...If I was ever in serious trouble, and could wish for anyone on the planet to back me up, it would be him...

Effective sniper work is the result of training and discipline...The equipment is secondary, but I agree with others it should be the finest available, not just the most expensive...Factors other than accuracy and range come into play also...

The .30 caliber projectile, in various lengths and strengths, has been the military's choice since 1892 in part for it's inherent accuracy...A good place to begin one's education is "Hatcher's Notebook"...Julian Hatcher knew as much about ballistics and trajectories, and their effects on the humans at the terminal ends, as any man who ever lived, and is still the go-to source for data and theory 50 years after his death...You'll thank me for having his book in your library...

The question of late has become, is bigger better?...The .338 (Win Mag or Lapua) often mentioned is a magnum length case, requiring a magnum length (and strength) action...This adds considerable weight to the firearm and the ammo burden...The rifle's extra weight is welcome to absorb the recoil when it goes off, but carries a penalty when the shooter has to slog through miles of unfriendly terrain to reach his target...

Its extra weight just gets heavier as the day (or night) progresses, and a lighter weapon system might have allowed him to carry extra ammo, rations or any other needed equipment...But, it certainly has its place if the target is farther away than the effective range of a smaller caliber, or if the projectile is expected to pass through any brush, armor or other obstacles on its way to the target...

If the shooter thinks he can approach the target undetected within range of a smaller caliber cartridge, then there is no need to tote anything heavier...An experienced, well-trained assassin will choose the right tool for the job...Sometimes it's an icepick or a silenced .22, sometimes it's an F-15 or a nuclear weapon...It takes more than one firearm to build an arsenal, and all this time, the trained, willing operative behind the trigger is still the most essential part of the system...

When Tiger Woods plays golf, does he carry only one club?...The .50 BMG and the .338 Lapua or .300 Win Mag all have their place, but the .308 Winchester, the .45 and the knife will still be used dependent on the range expected...A winning player has already played the game in his mind, and knows which instrument will serve him best...

Above all, the sniper's most feared weapon is the knowledge in the back of the enemy's mind that death can visit him from that one man who got close enough to end his career and his life with one shot, and then withdraw to do it all over again tomorrow...The sniper's mission is not just to kill the enemy, but to instill enough fear in him to keep him off-balance and expend an inordinate amount of time and resources to keep the sniper at bay...

If you're thinking, why spend all that time getting close enough for a shot with a smaller caliber, when you might have stood off an additional 800 or 900 yards and killed him with a .50 or a .338, bear in mind all the extra conditions that come into play at further distances...Wind speed and directions which can be changeable several times between the shooter and the target, smoke, haze and glare that increase with distance, the shooter's own heartbeat which is amplified exponentially with distance, the flight time of the projectile, possible deflection by a blown dandelion bloom, even the curvature of the earth all have to be calculated in the shooter's mind at the instant of trigger pull...

If he's right, the job is done and he can withdraw...If not, all his work was in vain and his own life is in increased danger as he sets up for another opportunity before leaving the field...One shot, one kill is his goal.

This is an edited-for-clarity version of thoughts I posted earlier in another media...

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Lessons Learned Late In Life...

• Always have a backup plan...Compare it to the original plan, then choose the one that looks best...

• For every action there is a linear inaction, which may or may not be equal...Both have their consequences...Be sure you're on the track you wanted...

• You will likely get some blame for whatever goes wrong...Make sure your profit level is high enough to absorb the criticism...

• Put your trust in God...Demand cash from all others...

• The perfect mate comes along once in a lifetime...It's usually the lifetime of someone else...

• Friends come, and either go or stay...So do enemies and apathists...Try to recognize the differences...

• Write down the name of the celebrity you admire most today...In twenty years, show that name to somebody twenty years younger than you, and ask who that person is...

• Smile at someone this morning in case afternoon never arrives...

• Save your cynicism for your twilight years...It's expected of you then...

I'll add more as they occur to me...

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Book review (Fourth reading)...

I have a new appreciation for the work of William Shirer each time I re-read "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich"...Even with his unhidden contempt for all things Nazi and his low but accurate opinion of the weak-willed German people of the era, his voluminous research leaves little room for argument against his conclusions...My copy of his book was bought new by me in the sixties, but shows its age now with the dust jacket worn into two pieces...

My interest in mid-twentieth century warfare, its causes and effects on the world of that time, and even today's and future worlds, began in studies of world history in grade school, plus the obligatory comic books and movies of that time...Upon enlistment in the USAF, and assignment to what was then West Germany, my interest grew as I met people who survived that time, and saw for myself the land over which so many battles were fought, and in which so many damaged structures had yet to be rebuilt...

The older ones I met had little interest in remembering an era of their own history doomed to failure, and the younger ones could only provide sketchy accounts of what they had been told by the older members of their families...My own realization of the importance of the events of the times did not dawn on me until I found and bought a new copy of Shirer's newly published book in the base exchange, and later a copy of William Manchester's "The Arms of Krupp"...

An overview of Shirer's experiences reveals his unique qualifications to write this history...As a reporter for printed news sources and wire services, and as a broadcaster for Edward Murrow's burgeoning network of journalists, he watched and learned firsthand in the 20's and 30's how a set of solitary circumstances could align themselves to create an atmosphere of discontent and unreasoned hatred which would spawn the National Socialist Party in Germany...

Escaping Germany at the beginnings of the war to prevent his own internment and possible execution at the hands of the Gestapo, he continued to report the events from France and then Switzerland where he made his home...Returning as a journalist to cover the Nuremberg trials, he had access to captured war documents, and interviews with both victims and the accused...Together with his own notes and diaries smuggled out of Germany, and his skills at reading the various shorthand notes taken by Hitler's own translators and generals, he was well equipped to write on the subject, and to provide a mountain of documentation...

Shirer was on hand to listen to speeches given by Hitler, Goebbels and others in the Reichstag and in the beerhalls as he was fluent in the German language...He was able to read the various Nazi newspapers, books, pamphlets and posters in their distorted views presented to the German public...He then talked to people in the streets, stores and restaurants to gain their interpretations of the current events...

It may be accurately said that the derailment of Shirer's career as an on-air journalist by those at the top of CBS management directly resulted in this assembly of his documentation, memories and thoughts into this monumental history...CBS' loss was the publishing world's gain as no other writer has come close to this production, even with Shirer's slant toward the abilities and decisions of the players in his recollection...

More or less arranged in chronological formation, he chronicles the events as he sees their importance and relevance, but often refers back to an earlier description to underscore his current sub-topic...The reader (at least this one) can become bewildered attempting to keep all the actors on this stage in perspective...This, I believe, is why I gain new insight on this era as each time I re-read it, I have read many other books focusing more on single events, giving a clearer view of how the puzzle pieces fit together into a single picture...

Shirer never pulls a punch when describing any of the villains or protagonists in his account of this drama...My personal favorites are his many depictions of German Foreign Minister von Ribbentrop as arrogant and dull-witted, or his portrayals of Italian dictator Mussolini as a strutting, costumed buffoon in public, while still an indecisive, introverted and yet eloquent man otherwise...Bernard Montgomery's opinions of his own self-importance and Dwight Eisenhower's emergence as more of a politician than a military leader are also accurate in the opinion of this student...

Anyone with the idea of reading this volume should do so with the intention of reading it again in the future...At 1,200 pages of very small print and no picture breaks, it is not a task to be taken on in an afternoon at the beach...The insight gained on the web of political and military intrigue, and its effects on the lives and futures of entire populations make each revisit time well spent...

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Immigrants...

Click here for Part II...

When new immigrants first arrive in a land where they were either previously unknown, or looked on as oddities because of the sketchy information available, they must accept the fact that they are the new ones...They might arrive in desperation, fleeing from the cruelties of an oppressor, or may wonder if this is just another respite after being driven from one point in the world to another after another as their culture is shunned by those already established...

Some may disembark with a look of defiance as they challenge the inhabitants to try to bend their will to a different way of life...Many may have been forced to relocate after failure to comply with laws they could not live under; others may have accumulated a ponderous weight of debt, and been involuntarily sent to a foreign land where they have little chance of repaying their obligations...

There are always the crafty ones who arrive eager to increase their wealth by trade and commerce, ready to ply their skills in business to circulate what is plentiful among those who find it scarce...The well-meaning and honest among them know that fair bargaining and good treatment will increase their wealth over time as their reputations grow...Those who will choose the shorter path to riches may have problems escaping that same reputation, and find it difficult to conduct business anywhere...

The ones to be most feared by the watchful are those who enter a world uninvited, expecting the established residents to accept their own laws and be governed in a way unknown to those already there...They might worship in rituals completely unacceptable to those already rooted there, and may try to force acceptance of strange and repulsive customs onto an unwilling populace...

The wiser and more patient among this last group might prefer building tolerance slowly by trying to blend into an entrenched society...The less accommodating will attempt to force their beliefs unwanted on a people unwilling to accept, thus inviting war and bloodshed...Their actions may be so fearsome and terrifying that even the calmer heads among their believers will stand silent in full knowledge of the carnage...

Elders among the established population might try to reason with the newcomers in an attempt to assimilate them and resume peaceful, if tension-filled lives...The less tolerant among those already settled want command of their own land returned, and try to gather others to their cause by talk of violence and war...

The scenes described above may seem fresh in the memories of anyone who keeps abreast of news and current events, but should also be very familiar to students of history as the scenes have been played out many times on the world's stage, most recently and well documented in the American experience of the past few centuries...How our present chapter in this book will be written depends on how well the current players recall and apply the lessons of history...

Sadly, no matter who writes of these times in the future, the names that will be remembered are those who assumed leadership of the warring factions supported by those who failed to demand a peaceful solution from either side, while the victims, as usual, will be those of every faith and every culture who only wanted to conduct their businesses and raise their families alongside others...

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