Training

• To learn the techniques required to become a sniper in the Marine Corps, potential snipers must attend a series of basic courses. Once completed successfully, they advance to one of the many sniper schools, including the Scout Sniper School at Camp Pendleton, California.
  The competition is fierce to get into the program, and training takes place in real life and in the classroom. Depending on the mission, the environment ranges from forest to desert.
  
  

Joining the Unit

• The Marine sniper then advances to become part of a Surveillance and Target Acquisition Team, which has only 20 open spots. The training here involves observation, surveillance, constructing hiding places, planning a mission, calling in support, stalking a target and related skills.
  
  

Observation

• Snipers in the field must be able to define which targets are the most important, scout out the target, plan the mission and be familiar with a variety of weapons. This takes an individual who is emotionally steady and able to think clearly.
  One of the primary skills is keen observation. Snipers have to be able to scan terrain and accurately reproduce it in a map, without the use of binoculars, and to estimate the distance to a target with the naked eye. Being able to efficiently scan portions of terrain efficiently helps the sniper set up an approach, look for potential difficulties and locate the target.
  
  

Stealth

• Being able to conceal himself not only helps a Marine sniper approach the target undetected, but also helps keep him safe if he's detected. These soldiers do a "low crawl" that has the entire body on the ground, slipping forward extremely slowly so as not to show movement. There are also crawls at the high and medium level that are used depending on the type of land he is traversing.
  Hiding their appearance requires the use of a "Ghillie" suit. Using materials such as burlap and netting that attach to their uniform, the soldier connects natural grasses, weeds or other foliage to the material. The sniper also can add spray paint in colors similar to the vegetation to add to the effect. When it covers them completely, the suit "breaks apart" the soldier's outline when moving into position. When combined with the crawl technique, the soldier can almost become undetectable.
  
  

Additional Skills

• The sniper must be able to take out a target at a minimum of 500 m, and also be able to use different weapons to get a kill at more than 800 m. This is coupled with the ability to use observation to find, set up and use a hide.
  In order to do this line of work, the Marine has to have mental strength to carry a mission through from the planning stage, to pulling the trigger to escaping unhurt. This kind of mental and emotional stability has to be carefully screened to make sure that the right individual is put in this position.