Preparation

Mission Planning

Factors to consider during the analysis will include “cover” and “concealment”, fields of view, fields of fire, important routes and terrain features and, if applicable, possible landing zones for helicopters.

“Dead-space” is the name given to regions in your sector of observation that you cannot see. Examples include trenches, the areas behind berms, and dry riverbeds.

A terrain analysis will give you an idea of where such regions will be and allow you to begin thinking about how to compensate for such regions in your scanning plan. Perhaps you will monitor the exits to such regions.

Route Planning

When planning your route, make a list of noticeable landmarks that can serve as navigation aids or checkpoints.

Consider setting up a backstop on certain legs of the route, e.g., “if I reach the clock tower, I’ve gone too far”. Do your best to commit as many of your landmarks, checkpoints, and backstops to memory as possible.

The less you are forced to consult your map during the infiltration phase of your mission, the lower the likelihood of compromise. This consideration is doubly important when navigating at night as even a dim red map-reading light will attract the attention of an alert enemy.

Your terrain analysis should have made clear likely enemy positions, and what the fields of view and fire are from those positions. A route that must go through these enemy fields of view should make use of dead-space.

Attempt to circumvent large open spaces like clearings, parking lots and the like. Traveling on roads and trails increase the likelihood of being spotted. If your route takes you parallel to a road or trail, consider “hand-railing” the road or trail.

Hand-rail a road by maintaining a fixed offset from the road and traveling through a region near the road with good concealment. For example, if there is a road that passes through a wooded area, stay in the forest but keep the road in sight so that you can use it as a continuous landmark and monitor its traffic.

But take care to remain concealed from view by those who would use the road. If you must cross roads, trails, or streams, do so quickly and have a member of your team cover you while you cross. When you reach the other side, return the favor.

For each leg of the route, you should have a plan in place in the event you are compromised. This should include a route to retreat back to a safe area that does not require you to retrace your steps.

It is possible you could be compromised from the rear, preventing you from retracing your steps. The final phase of your route plan should include provisions for gaining access to and clearing your “hide”.

Hide Selection

An ideal hide will offer cover, concealment, excellent fields of view and fire, an easily defensible position, multiple escape routes and an unremarkable appearance when seen from the outside.

In actuality, hides will rarely have all these qualities; some compromises will have to be made between the considerations. For example, the crest of a hill offers the best fields of view and fire, but it is also the most obvious spot to look for a sniper.

Moreover, the sniper would be “sky-lighted”, having only the blue sky behind him showing the enemy a clear silhouette of the sniper. Compromise between these two considerations by moving down the hill from the crest, sacrificing some visibility but gaining concealment. The same applies to the roofs of tall buildings – consider an upper floor, rather than the roof.

Urban hides present a unique set of challenges to the sniper. A hide in an abandoned building will be preferable to one in an occupied building as it reduces the chance of being noticed by the civilian population.

However, if there is only one abandoned building in the mission area, the obvious choice is the most dangerous choice. It might be preferable to accept the risk of being noticed by a civilian in an inhabited building rather than the much higher risk of being spotted by an enemy that knows to look for you in the only abandoned building in the area.

When setting up in a room, the muzzle of your rifle should not breach the plane of the window. In fact, your rifle should be recessed back from the window as much as is possible while still affording you the necessary fields of view to accomplish your mission.

The farther back from the window you are, the less likelihood of any exterior light source shining upon you. Consider placing some camouflage netting up in a window to create an artificial shadow.

An impact with even the lightest object will impart a lateral component to the bullet’s momentum that will stay with it over the course of its f light and deflect the bullet from your point of aim.

But the ballistic loophole need only be large enough to allow a bullet to pass (and, ostensibly, the line of sight through your scope). To that end, windows might be excessive. If you find a building in an advanced state of disrepair, consider using holes in the walls or holes in sloped roofs.

It will be harder to spot you and it is a less obvious place to look for you.