Snipers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 34th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division conduct sniper training with snipers from the Israel Defense Forces 35th Paratroopers Brigade here April 05, 2019.
The training was part of Allied Spirit X, which includes approximately 5,600 participants from 15 nations, March 30-April 17, 2019, at the Hohenfels Training Area in southeastern Germany.
“We came out here to Grafenwoehr, to work with the Israeli snipers,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Phillip West, sniper assigned to 2nd Bn., 34th Armored Regt., 1st ABCT, 1st ID. “To compare our equipment and techniques and to do some drills with them.”
Allied Spirit is a U.S. Army Europe-directed multinational exercise series designed to develop and enhance NATO and key partner interoperability and readiness across specified warfighting functions.
“Training is going very well with the Israeli snipers,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Tacoma L. Haack, sniper assigned to the 2nd Bn., 34th Armored Regt., 1st ABCT, 1st ID, “There are some parts of their training that we don’t do. So, it’s nice to get out here and see how they shoot and what techniques they use.”
Achieving interoperability through exercises such as Allied Spirit X by engaging with the militaries of other nations gives U.S. Soldiers the opportunity to learn skills that increase the lethality of their units.
“Their basis of training is more quickness and memory, while ours is more long distance and calculated,” said Sgt. Haack.
At the range the snipers shot targets from 300, 400, 500, 600, and 800 meters in both the prone and standing positions. The U.S. snipers sent rounds downrange using the M110-SASS and the Israeli snipers used the SR25-CARBINE.
“We’re similar in a lot of ways,” said Sgt. West, “but the Israeli snipers also do things a little bit differently. So, it’s really good training to get out here and work with them. They are really good at what they do, they are very proficient.”
Allied Spirit X allows allies to connect personally, professionally, technically and tactically – to create stronger, more capable forces during times of crisis.
“We’ve been bouncing our ideas off of each other,” said Sgt. Haack. “We’ve been incorporating each other’s skills and techniques into our own training to make us all better.”
