# USMC sniper metes out swift death in Iraq



## syscom3 (Jul 30, 2006)

I bet not even Les is as a good a shot as this guy (and hes a yankee too!!!!!)

RAMADI, Iraq (AP) — He was 5 when he first fired an M-16, his father holding him to brace against the recoil. At 17 he enlisted in the Marine Corps, spurred by the memory of Sept. 11.
Now, 21-year-old Galen Wilson has 20 confirmed kills in four months in Iraq — and another 40 shots that probably killed insurgents. One afternoon the lance corporal downed a man hauling a grenade launcher 5½ football fields away.
Wilson is the designated marksman in a company of Marines based in downtown Ramadi, watching over what Marines call the most dangerous neighborhood in the most dangerous city in the world.
Here, Sunni Arab insurgents are intent on toppling the local government protected by Marines.
Wilson, 5-foot-6 with a soft face, is married and has two children and speaks in a deep, steady monotone.
After two tours in Iraq, his commanders in the 3rd Battalion, 8th Regiment call him a particularly mature Marine, always collected and given to an occasional wry grin.
His composure is regularly tested. Swaths of central and southern Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, are dominated by insurgents who regularly attack the provincial government headquarters that Marines protect.
During a large-scale attack on Easter Sunday, Wilson says, he spotted six gunmen on a rooftop about 400 yards away. In about 8 seconds he squeezed off five rounds — hitting five gunmen in the head. The sixth man dived off a 3-story building just as Wilson got him in his sights, and counts as a probable death.
"You could tell he didn't know where it was coming from. He just wanted to get away," Wilson said. Later that day, he said, he killed another insurgent.
Wilson says his skill helps save American troops and Iraqi civilians.
"It doesn't bother me. Obviously, me being a devout Catholic, it's a conflict of interest. Then again, God supported David when he killed Goliath," Wilson said. "I believe God supports what we do and I've never killed anyone who wasn't carrying a weapon."
He was raised in a desolate part of the Rocky Mountains outside Colorado Springs, "surrounded by national parks on three sides," he says. He regularly hunted before moving to Fort Lauderdale, as a teenager. His brother also serves in the military.
Guns have long been part of Wilson's life. His father was a sniper in the Navy SEALS. He remembers first firing a sniper rifle at age 6. By the time he enlisted he had already fired a .50-caliber machine gun.
"My father owned a weapons dealership, so I've been around exotic firearms all my life," said Wilson, who remembers practicing on pine cones and cans. "My dad would help me hold (an M-16), with the butt on his shoulder, and walk me through the steps of shooting."
Technically, Wilson is not a sniper — he's an infantryman who also patrols through the span of destroyed buildings that make up downtown Ramadi. But as his unit's designated marksman, he has a sniper rifle. In the heat of day or after midnight, he spends hours on rooftop posts, peering out onto rows of abandoned houses from behind piles of sandbags and bulletproof glass cracked by gunfire.
Sometimes individual gunmen attack, other times dozens. Once Wilson shot an insurgent who was "turkey peeking" — Marine slang for stealing glances at U.S. positions from behind a corner. Later, the distance was measured at 514 meters — 557 yards.
"I didn't doubt myself, if I was going to hit him. Maybe if I would have I would have missed," Wilson said.
The key to accuracy is composure and experience, Wilson says. "The hardest part is looking, quickly adjusting the distance (on a scope), and then getting a steady position for a shot before he gets a shot off. For me, it's toning everything out in my head. It's like hearing classical music playing in my head."
Though Wilson firmly supports the war, he used to wonder how his actions would be received back home.
"At first you definitely double-guess telling your wife, mom, and your friends that you've killed 20 people," Wilson said. "But over time you realize that if they support you ... maybe it'll make them feel that much safer at home."
He acknowledges that brutal acts of war linger in the mind.
"Some people, before they're about to kill someone, they think that — 'Hey, I'm about to kill someone.' That thought doesn't occur to me. It may sound cold, but they're just a target. Afterward, it's real. You think, 'Hey, I just killed someone,'" says Wilson.
Insurgents "have killed good Marines I've served with. That's how I sleep at night," he says. "Though I've killed over 20 people, how many lives would those 20 people have taken?"
Wilson plans to leave the Marines after his contract expires next year and is thinking of joining a SWAT Team in Florida — possibly as a sniper.


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## pbfoot (Jul 30, 2006)

Not bad but this is a little further Lilja Precision Rifle Barrels Remember that the Canadians taught you about sniping from the first war up to and including the re-establishment of the US forces sniper teams back in the 70s


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## lesofprimus (Jul 30, 2006)

Any shot over 400 yards is one helluva fuc*king shot man.... I was nominated for sniper training back in 1991, but declined due to the operational tempo of sniper duty, which is rather slow and tedious.... Not my bag...

I have the greatest respect for snipers, be them Marines, Navy or Army sharpshooters... The patience and the ability to judge distances are some of the hardest combat skills to hone....


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Jul 30, 2006)

Used to insert the sniper teams over in Iraq and extract them like a week later. I have a lot of respect for them but not a job for me.


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## P38 Pilot (Jul 30, 2006)

lesofprimus said:


> Any shot over 400 yards is one helluva fuc*king shot man.... I was nominated for sniper training back in 1991, but declined due to the operational tempo of sniper duty, which is rather slow and tedious.... Not my bag...
> 
> I have the greatest respect for snipers, be them Marines, Navy or Army sharpshooters... The patience and the ability to judge distances are some of the hardest combat skills to hone....



Agreed! I knew someone whose father was a Sniper attached to the 24th Infantry at Fort Benning. Manage to kill a few Insurgents in Iraq two years ago and was wounded twice. Recieved the Bronze Star for his bravery.


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## Glider (Jul 31, 2006)

Have a huge respect for them. I have shot in competitions with the army some of whom have been snipers. That said its clear that the shooting is the easy part of it for them, its the mental strength that makes the difference.

I couldn't do it.

Most of them have been like Gallen described above, quiet, calm types.


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## syscom3 (Jul 31, 2006)

Glider said:


> ....
> Most of them have been like Gallen described above, quiet, calm types.



Its always the quiet and calm ones you have to watch out for


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## Soundbreaker Welch? (Jul 31, 2006)

You're right!


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## P38 Pilot (Aug 4, 2006)

syscom3 said:


> Its always the quiet and calm ones you have to watch out for



Exactly.


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## Nonskimmer (Aug 4, 2006)

pbfoot said:


> Remember that the Canadians taught you about sniping from the first war up to and including the re-establishment of the US forces sniper teams back in the 70s


As amazing as it may seem to you, I also knew that. 

I guess maybe because I'm also Canadian, and actually interested in Canadian history and all.


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## syscom3 (Aug 4, 2006)

Nonskimmer said:


> As amazing as it may seem to you, I also knew that.
> 
> I guess maybe because I'm also Canadian, and actually interested in Canadian history and all.



Anything is possible, but do you have any sources to back that up?


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## Nonskimmer (Aug 4, 2006)

Nope, not currently. Ask pb, he might have something handy.

When did you of all people become so interested in backing things up anyway?


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## syscom3 (Aug 4, 2006)

The US army has always had sharpshooters, and to think that they needed a sniper school (in Canada) sounds a little bit far fetched


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## Nonskimmer (Aug 4, 2006)

Most of the world's armies have some sort of formal sniper training. They don't usually just send them off with a precision rifle and hope for the best. There have been some wartime exceptions to the rule, like with the Russians at Stalingrad for example, but it isn't usually done.


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## pbfoot (Aug 4, 2006)

it was a American History Channel documentary on Snipers


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## Nonskimmer (Aug 4, 2006)

pbfoot said:


> it was a American History Channel documentary on Snipers


What, seriously? And they actually admitted that Canadians instructed US Army snipers? Ha, will wonders never cease?


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## 102first_hussars (Aug 4, 2006)

I am shocked, what next?


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## P38 Pilot (Aug 12, 2006)

The French winning a battle for once...


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## Chief (Aug 12, 2006)

Hey, If anything we get it from the english since, we were English before the revolution. And since you saw Snipers on the history channels you would also know there were snipers(sharpshooters then) who got from basic hunting. I also respect them. It's different when you choose when a person dies.

I'm not putting the canadians down. I'm just giving credit where it's due.


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## plan_D (Aug 13, 2006)

I believe the English were the first to use dedicated "sharpshooters" in the English Civil War. But the English didn't actively teach the U.S snipers that often.


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## loomaluftwaffe (Aug 13, 2006)

P38 Pilot said:


> The French winning a battle for once...


stupid comment... ever heard of the fat guy called Napoleon Bonaparte?


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## lesofprimus (Aug 13, 2006)

> But the English didn't actively teach the U.S snipers that often.


LOL, they did as targets during the Civil War...


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## evangilder (Aug 13, 2006)

loomaluftwaffe said:


> stupid comment... ever heard of the fat guy called Napoleon Bonaparte?



Napolean was a Corsican, not French.


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## P38 Pilot (Aug 13, 2006)

loomaluftwaffe said:


> stupid comment... ever heard of the fat guy called Napoleon Bonaparte?



Well have you ever heard of a war called World War II or perhaps French Indochina?


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## P38 Pilot (Aug 13, 2006)

Besides, you should check this out Looma.

Text / The Complete Military History of France


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## plan_D (Aug 13, 2006)

Why would the English be shot at by U.S snipers in the Civil War, Dan? Although, I do recognise some English - and other British nationalities fought on either side in the U.S Civil War. 

While the French have the reputation of being quite pathetic in conflict, in the Middle Ages they were one of the worlds great super-powers. And this was recognised all the way up to the World War II. This didn't come about by pure chance. The French had a strong industrial base throughout the ages, and provided vast armies for the battlefield and vast navies for the sea.
While I can name more dramatic defeats for the French, than I can victories, it doesn't mean they've never won. World War II is _the_ reason that the French are "cowards" these days.


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## pbfoot (Aug 13, 2006)

P38 Pilot said:


> Besides, you should check this out Looma.
> 
> Text / The Complete Military History of France


It doesn't have the loss of North America in the list


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## lesofprimus (Aug 13, 2006)

My bad pD, typo on that one, I meant to say Revolutionary War... The jokes ruined now...


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## P38 Pilot (Aug 13, 2006)

pbfoot said:


> It doesn't have the loss of North America in the list



Wouldn't that be the French-Indian War? If it is, its on there.


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## Nonskimmer (Aug 13, 2006)

I think he might be referring to the fact that the British took control from them of Québec, Acadia (Now Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island), and parts of present-day Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.

Or then again maybe he means something completely different. I'm not Kreskin.


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## Erich (Aug 13, 2006)

I was going to make comment but I shall not. Do not believe for a minute that all snipers are the calm cool and collected types at home or in public. Internal strength is of the utmost benefit and you using your smarts in all conditions whether under pressure or not. Keen eyesight was the must at one time but we have guys in the field wearing protective perscription lenses wqhich if you think about the overall protection is even better .......... in the desert during wind problems and in tropical zones


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## pbfoot (Aug 13, 2006)

P38 Pilot said:


> Wouldn't that be the French-Indian War? If it is, its on there.


Louisburg ,QuebecCity (Plains of Abraham),Niagara the British beating the French for the Northern part of North America


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## 102first_hussars (Aug 14, 2006)

Northern part of North America  what next the Northern part of South America?


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## pbfoot (Aug 14, 2006)

It was directed at P38 same grade as you but he's from the states


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## 102first_hussars (Aug 15, 2006)

PB, you have been making several pokes at me over the last few months, all have which been uncalled for there bud, which i have been ignoring , but to insult me by comparing my education to the likes of of a highschool student is crossing the boundries, I was born and raised in a province which has the highest standards of education in the country and one of the top 10 of the continent, I also attented two years of highschool in Ontario, and let me tell you that you guys are the biggest bunch of illiterate people i have ever seen, so for you to find some sort of foot to stand on and tell me Im an idiot seriously shows the huge *** gap between East and West is still going strong, you dont like me, thats fine i can live with that, but keep your rude f*cking comments to yourself, unless youre just busting my balls thats allowed


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## Nonskimmer (Aug 15, 2006)

I know you well-to-do western boys will find this a tad hard to believe, but when you and I were going through junior high and high school in the eighties huss, the province with the highest grade averages and some of the better universities in the country was - you ready for this? - Nova Scotia. Yup.

What the hell happened since then? A couple of things. A son of a b*tch PM named Jean Chrétien, and another son of a b*tch NS premier named John Savage. That's what.


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## 102first_hussars (Aug 15, 2006)

I do find it hard to beleive, but then again Alberta was pretty broke when we were going to school


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## Chief (Oct 7, 2006)

pbfoot said:


> It was directed at P38 same grade as you but he's from the states



Hey, is yous insinginating wes American types is stupid?


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## evangilder (Oct 7, 2006)

Chief said:


> Hey, is yous insinginating wes American types is stupid?



Apparently so, in your case. It took you 2 months to reply....


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## Matt308 (Oct 8, 2006)

Chief, as my pappy always said, "Son, when the Canadian Titans are throwing rocks, stay outta the way".


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## DerAdlerIstGelandet (Oct 8, 2006)




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## 102first_hussars (Oct 16, 2006)

id laugh but im 2 months after him


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