(here‘s another article):
Monday, February 11, 2002 The Halifax Herald Limited
------------------------------------------------------------
High-calibre gunmen
Canadian snipers‘ unique skills merit invitation to Afghanistan
Kevin Frayer / The Canadian Press
A Canadian sniper from the Princess Patricia‘s Canadian Light Infantry tests his equipment in full camouflage as he looks through a C-3 rifle sight at the airbase in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on Saturday.
CP Photo
A Canadian shooter holds a bullet from a 50 calibre rifle.
By Nahlah Ayed / The Canadian Press
Kandahar, Afghanistan - Slithering among the snakes and scorpions of the desolate deserts of Afghanistan will soon be two Canadian soldiers whose own bite could potentially disable an entire army.
On any given day, Warren, whose real name cannot be revealed for security reasons, could be a desiccated bush, shivering in the wind like all the others scattered around the desert.
On another, as he was this day, he could be a mound of long, golden grass, lying in wait as two United States special forces operatives walk by, a metre or so away, completely unaware of his presence.
Warren and his partner Alex (not his real name) are snipers. They‘re two of several attached to the Canadian contribution to the U.S.-led coalition effort in Afghanistan to stamp out terrorism. They were specifically requested by the Americans.
As part of the conventional deployment, the snipers are arguably Canada‘s most valuable, least advertised and most lethal weapon.
When the time comes, the two will work alone. They will receive orders directly from the commanding officer. And they‘re likely to be among the first Canadians to venture deep into enemy territory in Afghanistan.
"This is, for the snipers, what we got in for. This is exactly it," said Warren, a soft-spoken, 32-year-old father of two, as he stared into the desert during an interview.
"This is everything we ever could want to do.... It‘s our big test."
The two snipers, seniors in their group, will indeed face a monumental challenge in the bare, dusty fields of Afghanistan - and in the unconventional war being fought in Canada‘s first combat role since the Korean War.
In past deployments, the pair might have largely played an observational role - a big part of the job of a sniper - but here, their marksmanship may be more instrumental.
"Usually, we go for centre of mass - like right in the sternum there - is the best part," he said, lightly touching his chest.
"It guarantees that if something goes wrong, if you‘re a little bit off on your wind calculation or a range estimation, then you‘re going to get that. You‘re going to hit still, no matter what."
When they finally go out, Alex, who‘s called the No. 1 in this twosome, will be the main sniper. He‘ll carry a varying combination of weapons, depending on the mission, ranging from a pistol to a high-powered weapon weighing 12 kilograms - unloaded.
Warren, the No. 2, is also a qualified sniper, and will snipe if needed. But in this combination he acts as a spotter, watching No. 1‘s back.
The two, who have worked together as a team for years and did their sniper courses together, have a relationship akin to a marriage, complete with the closeness, familiarity and quarrels of a couple.
"I‘ve known him for quite a while, and he‘s never stabbed me in the back, never done anything like that. He‘d never think about it," said Alex, a 30-year-old, confident speaker who is larger and broader than his colleague.
"He knows my social life, I know his social life. We get along really good."
On the job, while they stake out their targets or gather information, their usual chatter doesn‘t stop.
"Everyone thinks you have to be dead silent," said Alex.
"We talk about anything from women, to what we‘re going to do when we go home, to where we‘re going to spend our money, to what we plan on doing, when we plan on getting out."
The two men have much in common, not the least of which is that they both belonged to the Airborne Regiment which was disbanded in the mid-1990s after its deployment in Somalia.
What the two men have most in common, though, are the attributes that are essential in snipers.
They both have above-average eyesight, which allows them to pick out an object as small as a pen cap in a field, and estimate the range on a target hundreds of metres away.
They have extraordinary memories that allow them to recall fine detail, like the attributes of a man at a distance or the licence-plate number of a car.
They are fit - able to carry large loads of supplies on their backs for long assignments. They‘re also experts at making their own camouflage from bushes, trees, grass - whatever they can lay their hands on - as they make their way toward a position.
They also both like the solitude they get in their jobs.
"Working on my own and away from others ... I can make a difference and make my own decisions on what I do out here," said Alex.
"I‘m pretty confident with myself when I do this.... I like this where we work good as a team and you‘re on your own."
What the two don‘t have in common is how they ended up in one of the most coveted jobs in the Canadian Forces.
Warren had been hunting most of his life.
His first kill was a deer. But he always knew he wanted to be a sniper.
"That‘s all I ever wanted to be when I joined the military, so I was happy when I made it through," he said of the course, which a small number of people take and a select few pass.
"Snipers are kind of mysterious, and no one really knows too much about them, so that was what my main interest went to.
"I like shooting and rifles - and sneaking around."
Alex, on the other hand, never thought he‘d end up in the military.
He was spotted by a master sniper who thought he‘d be good for the job. He tried out and made it.
On his first mission, Alex was nervous.
"A hundred per cent," he said.
"Not scared ... but there‘s always a nervousness that keeps your head down. It keeps you alert."
A sniper is like an insect‘s antenna, which reaches a destination before the main body and relays vital information that could determine what the rest of the body does.
They could be dropped by helicopter at a location, from which they will deliberately move, changing their camouflage as the landscape changes, eventually working their way on their elbows and stomachs to their intended lookout point.
Snipers could be worth their weight in gold without firing a single round.
"It‘s probably the most important asset that commanding officers have," said Warren.
"They can send back so much information to them.... So before (the commanding officer) even leaves, he knows where (enemy) machine guns and vehicles are, where the commanding officer is."
But of course the crosshairs are a big part of what these soldiers are all about.
Their marksmanship may only take the form of harassment, in which they will fire rounds simply to keep the enemy off guard.
But they‘re also trained to swiftly kill.
For most, picking off another person wouldn‘t be easy. But it‘s the job these soldiers are trained to execute with precision and confidence.
"I guess everyone deals with it in their own way," said Warren.
"I don‘t feel like I‘m doing anything wrong. I mean for our job, I have a harder time shooting a deer - because they never did anything wrong.
"Our job is a little different, because when most soldiers have contacts ... they‘re shooting for their own lives or they‘re shooting to save the lives of their friends.
"But ours is very calculated ... you‘re not defending yourself when you‘re doing it - it‘s just something you go out and do. It‘s definitely a lot strange that way."
On this mission, there will likely be times when the two snipers will have to make decisions on their own. There will be times when they will be separated, and will have to fall back on detailed contingency plans they will labour over before they leave the base.
There may even be other times, when after holding their breath to steady a shot and fire, they will have to move with lightning speed to get away to safety.
"Sometimes, you‘re in places where there‘s a lot of enemy around. You have to wait for quite a long time to get out," Warren added.
"That gets a little nerve-racking sometimes."
Despite the complexity of their jobs, and the responsibility of making the decisions they have to make, Warren and Alex downplay their abilities and their elite status.
They say that they‘re not getting enough practice shooting - due to the costs involved - and they say that they have good days and bad.
"Ammunition is hard to come by to shoot more. We should be shooting more, but we don‘t," said Alex.
They do what they can to maintain their shooting, observational skills and memory. They continually test themselves - in addition to having to requalify for using some weapons each year - even when walking down the street.
Many of their skills become second nature.
"I‘m always estimating the range to things, or trying to remember things," said Warren.
"Any little sign, I try to memorize it, or licence plates, or call signs on vehicles. But even when I‘m off work, I find myself trying to do it all the time."
But being snipers doesn‘t put them above others involved in this mission, or any other for that matter, they say.
"The person that‘s making my food in the morning, you know what, they‘ve got to be proud of that too," said Alex.
"Just because we‘re doing something that a lot of people can‘t - well, I couldn‘t sit behind a grill and do that. There‘s no way I could because that‘s just not me."
Their families, they say, are proud of what they‘re doing.
"I‘m kind of living my own little dream, so they‘re very happy. They think it‘s good," said Warren.
"I didn‘t think Canada would ever get deployed somewhere like this.
"I‘m glad we finally did. It‘s about time."
- 30 -
