Washington Post: US Marines: Our Sniper Rifles Are Outdated on the Battlefield
It was the summer of 2011 in southern Helmand province, Afghanistan, and mission after mission, Sgt. Ben McCullar of Third Battalion, Second Marines, would insert with his eight-man sniper team into the berms and dunes north of the volatile town of Musa Qala.
Sometimes they would fire at a group of enemy fighters, sometimes the enemy would fire at them first, but almost immediately, McCullar explained, their team would be pinned down by machine guns that outranged almost all of their sniper rifles.
“They’d set up at the max range of their [machine guns] and start firing at us,” McCullar said. “We’d take it until we could call in [close air support] or artillery.”
More News On The U.S. Marines Needing A Better Sniper Rifle
US Marines: Our Sniper Rifles Are Outdated on the Battlefield -- Sputnik
Marine Snipers: Our Rifles Suck -- Newser
It’s Not The Rifle, Stupid -- Bearing Arms