I have glasses, and I wanted to be a sniper. Do I have to have eye surgery done to become a sniper. What are my options?

You can be a sniper with corrected vision i.e. glasses.

What is it that fascinates young boys so much? Is the myth of the lone avenger?
One shot - one kill! just like in the movies.

I have great respect for those who have this function but I've also seen the costs that may be associated with this job.

Originally Posted by 42RM

What is it that fascinates young boys so much? Is the myth of the lone avenger?
One shot - one kill! just like in the movies.

I have great respect for those who have this function but I've also seen the costs that may be associated with this job.

Too true!
Everyone seem to have this image of a sniper as a man getting his mark on his own.
In the British Armed Forces the role of the sniper has never been just about shooting.
There is as much training given to the skill of observationa as to that of marksmanship.
The sniper is a vital source of close in inteligence on the enemy and does not always involve getting a shot in.
Durring the Falklands conflict, snipers were positioned in the hills above Port Stanley and spent the vast majority of their time gathering intel rather than shooting.
Don't worry about needing glasses or contact lenses.
Loads of crack shots wear them.

The talent for laying up in an OP for weeks on end and staying sharp, though an important one is rather tedious work..

Work towards the goal to become an excellent soldier first.
If you have the talents requiered the job will find you in due time.

Interesting notion that young people find putting a bullet through an unsuspecting head 800 meters away not only interesting but a career choice before they even know what soldiering is all about..

KJ sends..

I remember the first time I saw someone who had been hit in the head by one of our snipers, not a pretty sight. Not as sterile as in computer games, is it Boss, as one of my Marines remarked.

Slightly off the thread but relevant I think, was a conversation I had with a bouncer or "Door Man" as they are now known.
He told me that when he gets some young, spotty faced teenager kicking off, he usualy gives them a smack on the nose.
He said, "They don't understand that what they do causes pain and injury. A smack on the nose, the feel the pain and see the blood, end of fuss."
Also, I did some work with Army Cadets at the time of the first Gulf War.
They saw it as a big computer game at first, with all the TV footage of guided weaponry etc.
It wasn't untill they saw the photographs of the Iraqi vehicles blown up and burnt out on the Basra road with the gruesome shots of burnt bodies that it clicked, for some of them.

This is what Call of Duty has done...Combine youthfull naivety with an idea of simulated battlefield supremecy that make it look cool, and there are infinite lives, etc....it's just not real to them. I see kids ask the questions anymore and I barely take notice because they will find out soon enough that they are either not cut out for our line of work...or they are and they find out their own info about the matter and exercise the initiative needed to be an effective soldier. They think because they can quick scope that translates into marksmanship...sigh...I just don't get it.

Being a sniper is a lonely,tedious, difficult, and honestly boring profession. To me, the idea of pissing and shi**ing on myself so as to not give away my position is just not that appealing. I appreciate the work they do, I really do...but pulling the trigger on a guy so far away...makes me wonder what the physchological impact would be. And anyone who tells you there is no effect on your mind is a damned fool and is either lying or blowing smoke...anyways...I'll get off my soapbox.

Originally Posted by brinktk

This is what Call of Duty has done...Combine youthfull naivety with an idea of simulated battlefield supremecy that make it look cool, and there are infinite lives, etc....it's just not real to them. I see kids ask the questions anymore and I barely take notice because they will find out soon enough that they are either not cut out for our line of work...or they are and they find out their own info about the matter and exercise the initiative needed to be an effective soldier. They think because they can quick scope that translates into marksmanship...sigh...I just don't get it.

Being a sniper is a lonely,tedious, difficult, and honestly boring profession. To me, the idea of pissing and shi**ing on myself so as to not give away my position is just not that appealing. I appreciate the work they do, I really do...but pulling the trigger on a guy so far away...makes me wonder what the physchological impact would be. And anyone who tells you there is no effect on your mind is a damned fool and is either lying or blowing smoke...anyways...I'll get off my soapbox.

+1

I did 3 years in Recon and it while it looked sexy with all the kit and cam, it was mostly boring and uncomfortable. Lots of humping heavy packs, pooping in plastic bags, laying in hides watching grass grow and waiting for something to happen.

Originally Posted by Spartan613

+1

I did 3 years in Recon and it while it looked sexy with all the kit and cam, it was mostly boring and uncomfortable. Lots of humping heavy packs, pooping in plastic bags, laying in hides watching grass grow and waiting for something to happen.

I must be a nut case, because I actually like the challenge of that kind of recce missions. We used to have a competition when we came back who had the heaviest S***-bag. The one with the heaviest had won the right to buy the beers.