FORT STEWART, Ga. – Five sniper teams from 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, demonstrated their expertise during the Vanguard brigade’s sniper competition, Oct. 16-17, on Fort Stewart, Ga.

Sgt. 1st Class Corey P. Hawkins, a platoon sergeant for Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, said, “The three-man sniper teams were composed of one team from HHC, 3-7 Inf. Regt; two teams from HHC, 3-15 Inf. Regt., and two teams from Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment.”

The two-day competition began with an Army Physical Fitness Test followed by team drills that consisted of 100 meter tactical vehicle tire flips, a 100 meter 180-pound litter carry, a 100 meter 180-pound Sked litter drag, a 300 meter buddy carry, a 100 meter water jug carry and a 900 meter run. The teams then conducted a memory exercise during a fast paced 3-mile foot march to a firing range where they qualified with their M4 rifles on a modified range. The memory enhancement exercise involved the sniper teams memorizing objects during their speedy foot march.

On the second day, the sniper teams began by conducting stalks, where they tactically moved 50-75 meters to s strategic shooting position and sketched their objective. Spc. Seth A. Lemacks, a sniper with HHC, 3-15 Inf. Regt., said, “Commanders can use sketches to plan an operation against a high value target.”

After the stalks, the teams used the M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System to engage targets at unknown distances, 700 to 1,200 meters away. Hawkins, the sniper competition non-commissioned officer in charge, said, the distance was not revealed to the teams in order to have them use their respective sniper equipment to successfully engage the targets.

Following the SASS qualification, the sniper teams fired the M107, a .50 caliber semi-automatic long range sniper rifle, to engage a target 1,500 meters away. The sniper teams also conducted M9 pistol qualification on the second day.

Staff Sgt. John A. Nichols, a sniper section leader for HHT, 6-8 Cav. Regt., has three years of sniper experience. He said, “Being a sniper is physically and mentally demanding, everyone on the team has to be proficient. Snipers operate independently and we are good at gathering intelligence.” Nichols added that one sniper can change the outcome of a war.

Hawkins praised the effort and hard work of all the competitors. However, the sniper team from 3-7 Inf. Regt. took first place in the competition.

Sgt. Lucas D. Cifka, an Olympia, Wash., native, and a sniper team leader with HHC, 3-7 Inf. Regt.; Sgt. Justin M. Fellows, an Atlanta, Ga., native, and a sniper team leader with HHC, 3-7 Inf. Regt; and Spc. Cameron A. Pope, a Hickory, N.C., native, and a sniper shooter with HHC, 3-7 Inf. Regt., won the competition by scoring 1,691 points.

Sniper team 1 from 6-8 Cav. came in second place with 1,651 points.

Connected Media