British Army Sniper Article - written by AA Gill

[Barndoor]

Interesting enough...Pre-war(s) mind
http://www.travelintelligence.net/ph...php?id=1001347
-Just for the record I think AA Gill is a gimp...

Apparantly the Irish are very secretive & not very trustworthy about our business - that's why it's in the national media...Not the first time this type of feeling (understandible in many respects I guess) has come up in national media over the years, just thought it was interesting & nice to know what some think/thought...

"They say this makes orders clear and concise; on paper they’re an ugly Morse code that would make Wilfred Owen sound like the ingredients of field rations – and of course, out loud, DOP has the same number of syllables as drop-off-point. What it really is, is an exclusive gang slang, invented 3,000 years ago when the first Israeli Army said shibboleth to differentiate them from the Philistines (David with his slingshot was the first recorded sniper. The CO (commanding officer), who, by the way, is not the same as the OC (officer commanding), tells me that there’s a sergeant in the Irish Army on the course, and he manages to drop one phrase that resonates: snipers are force multipliers. “He told you about the Irishman?” says Rob. “I didn’t think you were meant to know that”".................................................. ............................................."Look, I venture, I too know who you are, the reference to Hereford was a bit of a clue. An SAS sergeant whose father and grandfather were snipers before him, I've heard about him. He bet Rob a bottle of port (nice officer-teasing touch) that he could hit a man-sized target from a standing shot at 1,000 yards, close on a mile, and he did it. That's mythic shooting. Then he did it again. What do you think about training foreign soldiers? And the Irishman? "I don't like it. It's just money, isn't it? Oh, I'm sure he's fine but I don't know who his friends are. Who he'll pass the training on to. I've lost friends in the border country. They're not snipers now, they're just amateurs with a good rifle, but it would make a difference if they were."

[silverside]

interesting article. thanks for posting it.

[hedgehog]

I always buy the saturday and sunday Times (both Irish and English)

I used to dread AA Gill and thought with out real conviction that he was an insufferable

prick


that article is a load of boring bollox, what a tosser

[mutter nutter]

Was it just me, or was it written in a confusing style?

[hptmurphy]

"They're not snipers now, they're just amateurs with a good rifle, but it would make a difference if they were."


that about sums most of us up..but then again..the object of the current weapon was to improve the shooting standards of the average shot...and the rifle was made by austrians!

[Barndoor]

Yeah, its kinda confusing is he talking about us or the IRA...I figure the AK47/M16 they use(d - forgot about the peace process thingy) aint bad anyways, epecially when considering the SA80...

[ELVIS]

The SA80 or L96 I think is the new rifle is an excellent rifle by all accounts with few problems. At the start it was remarkably sh1t. They threw it at H&K and basically said "make it work". and they did.
The first SA80 had a double shot setting but the first shot went low left and the other went high right.

I thought the article was fairly good. very well written. Dramatises it a bit much but not a bad read.

[mutter nutter]

"They're not snipers now, they're just amateurs with a good rifle, but it would make a difference if they were."


that about sums most of us up..but then again..the object of the current weapon was to improve the shooting standards of the average shot...and the rifle was made by austrians!

I think he was talking about Irish army snipers, not regular infantry, but I may be entirely wrong as usual

[Jim]

I think he was talking about Irish army snipers, not regular infantry, but I may be entirely wrong as usual

When you look at the context, where he says he lost friends in the border country, it sounds like he means the IRA. I hope the PDF hasn't been taking pot shots at the neighbours up there.

What he's really suggesting is that a sergeant in the Irish DF cannot be trusted and might pass along his new sniper skills to the Provos.

Surely that would never happen?

[Barndoor]

To be pedantic I think the only proven cases have been corporals doing that kinda thing...Covert penetration at higher ranks and/or Gardai (not just by the IRA but also SIS & the SS) is not something thats ever been proven fully (though only an idiot wouldnt believe it happened extensively) and if it's true, likely Irish history will do what it usually does and die with the people involved - particularly with the shite journalists our country is blessed with...As bloody annoying as it is, probably in the greater strategic plan of peace, it's better that this be the way...Still doesnt mean I don't think said people shouldnt be locked up and the key thrown away - in Father Jacks underpants hamper...before being shot at dawn - out of a cannon...and into shark infested waters...

[Turkey]

Errr, I read that article in The Sunday Times Magazine around 2000.
I was surprised to see it re-appear.

[Jim]

Errr, I read that article in The Sunday Times Magazine around 2000.
I was surprised to see it re-appear.

You're right! I remember it too. And that timeline would fit better with the apparent paronia on the part of the SAS sergeant. Back a few years ago he probably had lost some friends up in South Armagh.

[Exo1]

When you look at the context, where he says he lost friends in the border country, it sounds like he means the IRA. I hope the PDF hasn't been taking pot shots at the neighbours up there.

What he's really suggesting is that a sergeant in the Irish DF cannot be trusted and might pass along his new sniper skills to the Provos.

Surely that would never happen?

Yes, hes talking about the IRA, and typical to allot of British Soldiers of the 90s and prior who served in Northern Ireland, there very paranoid about the Irish Army. Its just whining over old water under the bridge, and anybody who knows of Border Ops, knows how inaccuarte the article is..