Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Snipers
We've been talking about whether snipers' lives are different from the normal individual or not. I watched this youtube video on snipers. It was talking about how they can't have much emotion nor any adrenaline in order to focus on the job. These are two traits that are very difficult not to have. It's understandable how Arrow, Viesler, and N, have their emotions revealed even though their jobs force them to have to be able to keep your emotions under control. I found this video fascinating because it really described the job of the sniper well.
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The key to snipers’ “lack of emotion” is their incredible mental strength. There is a saying that the sniper’s greatest weapon is his mind. A sniper must be able to carry out his objectives and execute his mission, and at the same time deal with the emotional taxation of watching his round hit his target. In an interview, a former U.S. Army sniper said, “You’re so afraid of the enemy that you just toughen up and shoot to kill. Most of the guys I was with, no matter how incapable they seemed, when they were in a firefight, they were putting rounds down range. They were trying to kill." Fear plays a key role in many aspects of human nature. In the heat of battle, the survival-oriented side of human nature takes over. Sniping just happens to be a more clinical and dispassionate manifestation of this human trait.
ReplyDeleteSources: http://newmatilda.com/2009/07/28/mind-us-army-sniper
This blog/video reminded me of our discussion of sniper's in media, namely books and films. As illustrated by the video, a sniper must possess a specific skill set: patience, precision, focus etc. Not many people in the world have these necessary traits required to be a sniper. As a result, snipers are sort of glorified in our culture because they are able to do something almost no one can: study, follow, and kill a target virtually undetected. Many people find this mental dexterity admirable, and wish they were mentally capable of being a sniper, and as a result, books/films about snipers are wildly popular.
ReplyDeleteI think you had very astute points, Andrew Lim. What makes a great sniper, is one with mental strength, not physical strength. I was watching a movie once, and the sniper wanted to pull the trigger so badly, but his friend wouldn't let him because he thought they needed to re-align the shot. Most people in war want to see the enemy killed, because that means that they did there job, and the more people they kill, they better soldier they are. The key to being a good sniper is patience.
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