Originally Posted by
Gil Boyd
Bombdoc,
Interesting as this applied to nearly ALL units leading up to the Falklands War as well it wasn't unique to yours.
There seemed to be a large "hole" surrounding the term Sniper up to and including that war, and a lot of smoke and mirrors surrounded it. Many units CO's didn't understand the full capabilities of men trained in this area of soldiering, but nevertheless sent them on the courses as they appeared on available courses to attend. Colonel H 2 PAR CO was one of them sadly..
The struggle continued on their return from the Falklands, but I can confirm EVERY unit's boss that went on Op Telic and more importantly Op Herrick (Afghanistan) learnt very quickly the absolute benefits of sniper trained personel at FOB's up country.
So much so, that they have a renewed vigour in Infantry Units and hopefully long may that continue.