Hunters: U.S. Snipers in the War on Terror by Milo S. Afong

Author:Milo S. Afong [Afong, Milo S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Specops, Afghanistan, US Army, USN, SEALs, Iraq, USMC, Sniper, eBook
ISBN: 9780425234365
Publisher: Berkley Hardcover
Published: 2010-06-14T07:00:00+00:00

Dark Horse Sniper

In California, Marine snipers became aware of the videos. Any chance to learn about the enemy without facing them was a treat. If this Juba was stupid enough to show his methods, the snipers would take full advantage.

One Marine sniper watching was Sergeant AJ Pasciuti. He, just like other snipers preparing for Iraq, wanted to see what he was up against. His team examined Juba’s videos and noticed a few common factors.

Juba’s tactics were simple and seemingly effective, but his target range was not exceptional. In all of the clips, as the sniper fired his weapon, the camera jumped, implying that he shot from a confined area. The Marine team noticed that often the camera moved away from the scene after the shooting, leading them to believe the sniper was shooting from vehicles. Pasciuti also noticed something peculiar but kept it to himself. In one scene the sniper waved a Browning high-powered .45-caliber pistol in the air. The Browning was a very uncommon weapon in Iraq, especially in the hands of an insurgent.

At the time, Pasciuti was an unlikely veteran at twenty-one years old. Normally, Sunnyvale, California, the heart of Silicon Valley and Pasciuti’s hometown, produced tech-savvy software designers, different from what he wanted to become. He knew right away after 9/11 that becoming a Marine was his destiny, and by the time he could legally drink beer, he had become a product of the First Marine Division Scout/Sniper School.

Physically, he was not the most gifted, but what he lacked in strength, he made up for in heart. This was a trait that followed him through his challenges in the Marine Corps. It helped him to get past boot camp and into the Dark Horse, Third Battalion, Fifth Marines as a rifleman. In 2003, it also helped him through his first taste of combat.

During the invasion of Iraq, Pasciuti used the M203 40mm single-shot grenade launcher. When his unit crossed the border into Iraq, his young-man perception of war and glory soon faded, and the reality of death and fighting wracked his nerves.

There in Iraq, he experienced a pivotal moment in his life. He witnessed Marine snipers in action one day when his company moved to destroy a suspected terrorist training camp on their way to Baghdad. Pasciuti, watching enemy muzzle flashes from the camp, had taken cover behind a dirt mound when suddenly, a few yards away, two Marine snipers appeared and began targeting the shooter. Their weapons and equipment were different, but what intrigued the infantrymen was their calm demeanor.

The two snipers easily found their target and Pasciuti never forgot what he saw next. The snipers tracked the enemy soldier while Pasciuti looked on through his four-powered ACOG (Advanced Combat Optical Gun Sight). The distance seemed astounding to Pasciuti. It was more amazing when the marine put a bullet in the soldier’s head, causing him to crumble forward. The snipers’ precision awed Pasciuti, and the next morning when the marines swept through the camp, he came across the dead soldier still lying there.

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