- Snipers learn to hide and stealthily hunt enemies trough stalking exercises.
- The difficult training is designed to help US military snipers learn the ins and outs of camouflage and concealment, vital skills every sniper must have to not only carry out their mission but also to stay alive.
- These photos from a recent training event at Fort Benning, Georgia show US Army soldiers learning what it takes to disappear in a woodland environment.
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No one hides quite like a sniper.
US military snipers learn essential camouflage and concealment skills through stalking training, which tends to involve moving into and setting up a suitable forward firing position and putting fire, sometimes more than one shot, on a distant target without being detected by observers.
These great photos from a recent training exercise with US Army soldiers in the Sniper Course at Fort Benning, Georgia show what snipers go through to blend into their environment.
Snipers typically start the training by painting their faces and using local vegetation to camouflage themselves and their gear.
The aim is to break up the outline of the human form, and a top sniper can effectively “veg up” in a matter of minutes.
Read more: Army snipers played hide-and-seek to test new camouflaged ghillie suits for next-level combat
Snipers are often separated from the force, putting them at greater risk as they conduct surveillance operations or long-range precision fires missions.
When it comes to hiding camouflage is only part of the equation, the other part being concealment.
"The best tool snipers can use to disguise and conceal themselves from the enemy is a solid understanding of their surroundings," Capt. Greg Elgort, a company commander overseeing sniper training at Fort Benning, previously told Insider.
"It's not just about the face paint or what I attach to my body. It's the natural environment around me that I can utilize to keep them from seeing me," 1st Sgt. Kevin Sipes, a seasoned sharpshooter, previously told Insider.
Concealing oneself from an adversary's gaze is about putting "anything you can between you and whatever might be observing you," Staff Sgt. David Smith, a sniper instructor at Fort Benning, told Insider last year.
See also: America's deadliest sharpshooters reveal how they can disappear in plain sight