Photo By Spc. Trey Gonzales | U.S. Army Sgt. Blake Spaulding, Spc. Brell Patterson, Sgt. Aaron Fouts and Sgt. Joseph...... read more read more
PARNU, Estonia - They strike fear in the hearts of enemies, invisible yet eliminating targets with precision and skill. Snipers have been popularized and even romanticized in popular culture, displaying incredible fortitude, adaptability and skill in executing their duties protecting ground forces. Elite military and professional long-range shooters are always working on their craft and recently had the opportunity to compete, network and learn from other snipers at the Estonian Defence League’s Stage II of the Long-Range Distance Shooting Championship Series, held at the Estonian Defence Force’s Kikepera Training Ground, near Parnu, April 6, 2024.
The competition featured dozens of snipers from Estonia, France and the United States. Representing the United States were Sgt. Aaron Fouts, Sgt. Joseph Abeyta, Sgt. Blake Spaulding and Spc. Brell Patterson, all infantrymen assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters “Hatchet” Company, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment “Leader Rakkasans,” 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), supporting 3rd Infantry Division.
The competition included six classes: shooter (200 meters to 400 meters), precision shooter semi-automatic (300 meters to 600 meters), precision shooter bolt lock (300 meters to 800 meters), Sniper Magnum (400 meters to 1000 meters), free class (300 meters to 1000 meters), and 1,000-meter precision shooter. Scores were calculated based on the grouping and zeroes the shooters achieved or how their bullets hit the target. Targets displayed rings, with each ring equaling different points.
Snipers put their skills to the test, not only in proficiency but also in their ability to adapt to adverse weather conditions on the cold, gloomy, rainy April day.
“The most challenging part of today’s competition was definitely the weather,” said Patterson, a native of Hoover, Alabama. "It wasn’t ideal conditions out here, but we fought through it and had some mental fortitude. The wind was a little bit crazy today as well. That was probably the biggest challenge we faced today.”
The competition was also a chance to build relationships between NATO allies.
“It’s a great honor to represent 1-187 and my country and build relations in these competitions,” said Abeyta, a native of Los Angeles, California. “It’s amazing to be in the spotlight, show other countries, take from their knowledge, and build these relations. It’s amazing to put all these little tactics and techniques that we learn together in a competition to show that we’re very proficient, to represent our unit, and to show what our unit is actually made of.”
The Hatchet company snipers appreciated the opportunity to earn the trust of their fellow NATO allies.
“It shows the other countries that are here that they can put trust in us and that we’ll be there the day that they need us,” said Spaulding, a native of Denver, Colorado.
Long before the Hatchet company snipers showed up to the competition, they trained on their own ranges.
“We go out to our own organic ranges, we run these qualification tables, try to train up, read information about it,” said Abeyta. “What you put your mind to is what you’re going to get. I can attribute most of my success to the actual training and the continuous grind, you could say, of building our craft and making it as pristine and polished as possible.”
“To prepare for a competition like this, it takes training at the unit level, sticking with your fundamentals, and carrying that over to the competition, not getting nervous once the competition starts,” said Fouts, a native of Shawnee, Kansas.
Fouts shot the M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System, which features .308 caliber ammunition.
“Physical fitness is a big thing to be a good sniper, in my opinion,” said Patterson. Mental fortitude—we had a lot of challenges and adversity today that we had to fight through, and just thinking on your feet and using your surroundings to your advantage.”
Spaulding also embraced what it takes to be a good sniper.
“It takes discipline,” said Spaulding. “It definitely takes someone who is willing to go through the hard stuff to make sure that the mission can happen; somebody who is smart and able to put through the physical attributes that you need to be on the battlefield.”
The grind paid off for Abeyta, who placed second in the Sniper Magnum category with a .300 Winchester Magnum, which included targets from 400 meters to 1,000 meters. Fouts placed third in the semi-automatic category, shooting the M110 SASS.
“I’d like to thank my teammates,” said Abeyta. “We couldn’t know as much as we knew without picking each other’s minds, so that’s the best thing possible; teammates out there helping you, kind of seeing what different things you could be doing to succeed, and that definitely helped out a lot in at least achieving second place.”
| Date Taken: | 04.11.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 04.11.2024 06:05 |
| Story ID: | 468302 |
| Location: | PARNU, EE |
| Hometown: | DENVER, CO, US |
| Hometown: | HOOVER, AL, US |
| Hometown: | LOS ANGELES, CA, US |
| Hometown: | SHAWNEE, KS, US |
| Web Views: | 219 |
| Downloads: | 3 |
This work, 101st Airborne Division snipers place in international competition, by CPT Robert Hughes, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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