So You Want to Be a Marine Corps Sniper Quiz

Answer: Join the US Marine Corps.

Exactly 100 percent of all the Marine Corps snipers there are, or ever have been, have been members of the United State Marine Corps. They are very clannish that way. So the first thing you have to do is enlist. You will be sent either to Recruit Depot San Diego in California or Recruit Depot Parris Island in South Carolina.

You may also want to swear off coffee. I am sure they have some kind of aptitude test before you can get into sniper training. Jittery hands would be a definite handicap in taking that test.

Answer: MCB Quantico, Quantico

In addition to the scout/sniper school, Marine Corps Base Quantico also houses the FBI Academy, the Drug Enforcement Agency training school and the Presidential helicopter squadron.

If you said El Toro, the answer is no. El Toro was a Marine Corps Air Station until it closed in 1999. Parris Island is where new recruits are sent. Camp Lemonier is a USMC camp, but it is in Djibouti.

Answer: Reconnaissance

The Marine sniper is not just about shooting people. He or she also does reconnaissance of enemy positions, targets, etc.

Answer: Targets of opportunity

An experienced sniper, given a target of opportunity mission, will pick a likely vantage point overlooking a road, trail or enemy camp, and wait until a good target presents itself. The experienced sniper can pick officers out of enemy troop concentrations by their actions. An officer, for example, would not be involved in putting up fortifications, digging defensive trenches or peeling potatoes.

Answer: Spotter

The spotter has two functions. First, he/she identifies the target, checks the wind and other factors that would affect the shot, and watches the target while the shot is being taken to give the sniper corrections in case the shot misses. Secondly, the spotter protects the sniper. While the sniper carries a sniper rifle, the spotter is armed with an automatic assault rifle, which is better for fighting.

In the USMC the sniper is the senior member of the team. In the US Army the spotter is the senior member.

Answer: M-40A-3

The M-40A series is based on the Remington 700. M-40A's are built by Marine Corps armories of the Weapons Training Battalion at Quantico. It has an effective range of 1000 yards.

The Browning automatic rifle is a .30 caliber automatic rifle used extensively by the US Army in World War II. In its last version it could be set for slow automatic or fast automatic fire. In the 1960's TV show "Combat" Little John, who was the biggest person in the squad, always carried their BAR.

The Walther PPK is a handgun. James Bond favored the PPK.

The "Red Rider air rifle...thing that tells time" is what Ralphie wanted for Christmas in the book and movie "A Christmas Story" by Jean Shepherd. Everyone, and I mean everyone--his mother, his teacher, the department store Santa--told him he would shoot his eye out. Of course when he did get the Red Rider BB gun for Christmas he did NOT shoot his eye out. Luckily he wore his glasses.

Answer: Ghillie suit

To make a ghillie suit the sniper starts with an old uniform, poncho, or burlap sack. He/she reinforces the belly with canvas for comfort while lying in wait and protection while crawling through the brush. They also attach a net to which they add local foliage, grasses, etc. Sometimes the ghillie suit will include a material that lessens the "heat signature" of the wearer so they are harder to detect with infrared scanners.

Some even make ghillie suits for their rifles, radios and other gear.

Answer: Gravity.

Gravity affects a speeding bullet just as it affects everything else. If you want to test this some time, take two bullets. Put one in a gun and hold the other in your hand. Point the gun straight out. Drop the bullet from your hand the exact same time you pull the trigger. Both bullets will strike the ground at the same time. (Although the one you shoot may be too far away to see. So I guess you will have to trust me on this.)

The longest purported kill shot on record was by a Canadian sniper from the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, operating in Afghanistan in 2002. He killed someone 2600 yards away. That is almost 1 1/2 miles. He had to adjust for a gravity drop of the bullet of about 150' to hit his target.

Answer: No--they also shoot to disable equipment.

Snipers may also be employed destroying enemy radios, fuel tanks, aircraft, trucks and other equipment. The Marine Corps sniper, like a sniper from the other services, is a special weapon an army can use in war because the sniper is not only adept at demoralizing the enemy and killing enemy soldiers, but can reconnoitre enemy positions, strength and movement and protect the movement of the sniper's own company.

(By the way, for clearing trees an army would use a lumberjack. See my quiz "So You Want to Be a Lumberjack" for more information.)

Answer: Terrorize a thousand.

This proverb is on a plaque at Marine Corps Camp Pendleton.