A Scout Sniper Platoon is a United States Marine Corps unit used primarily for information-gathering. Taking out hard targets and enemy personnel is not their main priority, although it is a secondary option. Surveillance and Target Acquisition (STA) Platoons, very similar units, existed until shortly after the Gulf War.
A Scout Sniper Platoon is composed of 8-10 Scout Sniper teams, some of which are specially suited for night operations and fully capable of operating in complete darkness through use of night vision scopes and infrared laser equipment. Typically, each Scout Sniper team has two members. One sniper is equipped with a long-range, specially-made sniper rifle such as the M40; he also is frequently issued an M9 9mm pistol. The other sniper is typically armed with an M16A2 and uses a high-power spotting scope to spot targets and follow-up shots for the shooter. The shooter/spotter relationship is not always set; some platoons establish designated shooters while other platoons have team members switch off. Within a platoon there are two Special Application Scoped Rifle (SASR), chambered in the .50 caliber such as the M82A1. These can be issued to a team as needed to give supported commanders the option of taking out heavy equipment or heavily armored targets. Scout Sniper teams train to engage man-sized targets with the M40 out to 1000 yards, and can be effective at a range of up to 1.25 miles (2.01 km) with the M82 if the environment is right.
The United States Army also maintains larger units (at the troop/company and squadron/battalion level) called Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition (RSTA) that serve similar roles to that of the Marine's Scout Sniper Platoons.