1 CMBG snipers looking for motivated, fit and dedicated infantry soldiers

May 19, 2023 - Tim Bryant, Western Sentinel

The role of a sniper in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) is more than remaining hidden and waiting for your target to come into view.

While that may be a sniper’s primary role, they also play an integral role in supporting their units by providing surveillance and reconnaissance information, explained Warrant Officer Adam Whitehouse with 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (3 PPCLI).

The pre‑sniper course also puts the candidates’ physical training and memory recall skills to the test, to get a general sense of how well they would do on the actual BSC.

Memory recall goes hand‑in‑hand with patience and attention to detail, WO Whitehouse explained.

“Recalling memory and the ability to quickly observe an area and pick up details the average soldier isn’t trained for is something we teach,” he said.

As the BSC has an average pass rate of 60 per cent, the pre‑sniper course helps to select the candidates who have the best chance of success.

“We screen and select the best possible candidates from each unit and recommend to the commanding officers which candidates would be most successful on the Basic Sniper Course,” WO Whitehouse said.

The BSC typically runs in the summer and lasts for two‑and‑a‑half months. Its focus is solely on the art and science of being a sniper, which includes the critical role of the spotter.

“That’s the one misconception a lot of people don’t know: pulling the trigger and actually teaching a sniper how to shoot is actually fairly simple and straight‑forward,” WO Whitehouse said. “It’s the ability to spot that is an attribute that is quite sought after, and is a very difficult skill to learn.”

A spotter helps the shooter have the best chance of hitting the target. They have the skills to track a bullet in the air, and are able to make adjustments to improve the shooter’s aiming based on factors like the wind, elevation, air temperature, time of day and barometric pressure, among other variables.

“Your spotter has to be able to do that very quickly,” WO Whitehouse explained. “All of our snipers are qualified to shoot and to spot once they graduate the Basic Sniper Course.”

Upon graduating the BSC, candidates are moved to their unit’s sniper platoon for more training.

All told, it takes on average two years for the CAF “to make a fully qualified and competent sniper that can operate in a sniper detachment and team,” WO Whitehouse said.

One of the biggest hurdles for all candidates is the BRP. It’s a physically demanding course that gets you the basic reconnaissance skillset needed to operate dismounted in the field, especially navigation skills and what it is like to carry a 45‑kilogram pack for days on end with limited food and sleep.

“This gives the [candidates] a sense before they get to the Basic Sniper Course and it gives them that much more experience so we’re not having to teach them these subjects on the Basic Sniper Course – it’s just sniping only,” WO Whitehouse said.

However, some changes might be coming down the pipe that will have an effect on the route a soldier would take to become a sniper. The Infantry School sniper cell at the Combat Training Centre at 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown in New Brunswick is looking at revamping the BSC. The changes could remove the BRP as a prerequisite, and the modernized BSC would then incorporate a reconnaissance training component.

WO Whitehouse became a sniper to fulfill a childhood dream.

“Ever since I was a little boy I wanted to join the military and be a sniper,” he said. “That was always my eventual plan and goal as a young kid. I remember being even nine or 10 years old and wanting to be a sniper and a paratrooper.”

He said it was the allure of being one of a select few with the knowledge and ability to perform the role that drew him in.

“A sniper is a specialized skillset that not everybody gets the opportunity to do,” he said. “I wanted to be a part of a unit that was composed of some of the best soldiers in that battalion. I wanted to work with the best for the best in a job that was very challenging and unique. Seeing the level of professionalism in the Canadian Forces for our snipers made me want to try and become one in 3 PPCLI.”

He also addressed the difference between the media’s portrayal of snipers and what the job actually involves, stressing reality is never as clean and polished.

“All the movies make it look pretty awesome, when realistically it’s a lot of hard work. But, it’s an extremely rewarding and unique role in the infantry.”