The Republic of Korea Marine Corps Headquarters is hosting the 3rd Marine Corps Commander’s Sniper Competition at the Pohang Suseong Shooting Range from the 4th to the 8th of this month.
According to the Republic of Korea Marine Corps Headquarters, this competition has been held since 2022 to share know-how among military snipers and to train elite snipers.
This year, the competition expanded to include the Marine Corps and the Army, Navy, Air Force, and US Marine Corps, marking the first joint and combined sniper competition. A total of 50 snipers from 25 teams participated, including seven Army teams, three Navy and Air Force teams each, nine Marine Corps teams, and three US Marine Corps teams.
On the first day of the competition, short-range shooting took place, where fixed targets had to be subdued within 500 meters (approximately 547 yards). The following day, a precision shooting evaluation was conducted to suppress fixed targets at a given range, and inclined angle shooting was conducted by calculating the distance and angle of a fixed target 600 meters away.
On the third day of the competition, dynamic shooting was conducted, where the competitors, fully armed with 20kg (approximately 44 pounds), relocated 200 meters (approximately 219 yards) before changing positions and shooting. Today, on the fourth day of the competition, shooting at moving targets at a distance of 400 meters (approximately 437 yards) and long-range shooting at fixed targets 800 meters (approximately 875 yards) away are scheduled.
The evaluators assign scores considering the difficulty of each of the six evaluation categories, target suppression accuracy, and time limits. The best team, the excellent team, and the two teams of encouragement prizes will receive a Marine Corps Commander’s Certificate, plaques, medals, prize money, and reward vacations.
The participants also witnessed the power of high-powered, large-caliber sniper rifles, which are used to neutralize enemy armored equipment with a larger caliber and more extended range than regular sniper rifles. This particular sniper rifle has been in service since last year.
Sergeant King of the 82nd Battalion of the US Marine Corps said, “We have a great opportunity to increase our understanding of each other by competing fairly with our allied forces.”
Corporal Park Yi Seul of the 1st Division of the Marine Corps, the only female sniper participating in this competition, said, “I feel that I am improving a lot by learning a great deal about shooting skills and posture from the bests from each military force and the US Marine Corps.”
The Marine Corps plans to host a joint and combined sniper competition every first half of the year in conjunction with the Freedom Shield (FS), a US-Korea joint exercise.
pej86@news1.kr