Sniper team

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For other uses see Sniper (disambiguation).

A U.S. Army sniper team from Jalalabad Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT)

Sniper teams are used in military doctrines of the United States, Canada and United Kingdom in sniper warfare, as well as in the police forces. A sniper team consists of two people, a sniper and a spotter. Both of them are usually fully qualified as a sniper, but they have different duties. These duties are often rotated for various reasons, for example to reduce eye fatigue of the spotter during observation and to reduce arm fatigue. Sniper and spotter are also referred to as marksman and observer; however, a sniper is not a marksman, which has a different role in the military. A marksman operates within a unit and is usually called upon when accurate shooting is needed while a sniper normally operates individually in a sniper and spotter team and are often deployed with a specific tactical, or possibly even strategic, objective.

A Dutch Sniper Team, with the "spotter" at left with binoculars

The main duty of the sniper is to take the shot, detailed in the sniper article. The spotter tells where the enemy target is and communicates with adjacent units.

The spotter detects, observes, and assigns targets and watches for the results of the shot. Using his spotting scope, he will also read the wind by using physical indicators and the mirage caused by the heat on the ground. Also, in conjunction with the shooter, he will accurately make calculations for distance, angle shooting (slant range), mil dot related calculations, correction for atmospheric conditions, and leads for moving targets.

He also provides the team security, therefore he is usually armed with an assault rifle. It is often the case that the sniper rifle is assigned exclusively to a single person, therefore in the case of rotation the spotter carries two weapons.

The spotter is also usually tasked to ensure proper communication with adjacent units, adjusting how the indirect fire and close air support will work for the team.

Some Militaries have a third man, known as the Flanker. His task is to have eyes on what the Sniper and Spotter cannot see. Maintaining Security from the teams 3 O'Clock to 9 O'Clock, and call out targets.