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A Marine sniper in Iraq ...
rebornFixer
Posts: 4,917
Will this man need help when he returns to the U.S.?
RAMADI, Iraq - He was 5 when he first fired an M-16, his father holding him to brace against the recoil. At 17 he enlisted in the Marine Corps, spurred by the memory of 9/11. Now, 21-year-old Galen Wilson has 20 confirmed kills in four months in Iraq — and another 40 shots that probably killed insurgents. One afternoon the lance corporal downed a man hauling a grenade launcher five-and-a-half football fields away.
Wilson is the designated marksman in a company of Marines based in downtown Ramadi, watching over what Marines call the most dangerous neighborhood in the most dangerous city in the world.
Here, Sunni Arab insurgents are intent on toppling the local government protected by Marines.
Wilson, 5-foot-6 with a soft face, is married and has two children and speaks in a deep, steady monotone.
After two tours in Iraq, his commanders in the 3rd Battalion, 8th Regiment call him a particularly mature Marine, always collected and given to an occasional wry grin.
His composure is regularly tested. Swaths of central and southern Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, are dominated by insurgents who regularly attack the provincial government headquarters that Marines protect.
During a large-scale attack on Easter Sunday, Wilson says, he spotted six gunmen on a rooftop about 400 yards away. In about 8 seconds he squeezed off five rounds — hitting five gunmen in the head. The sixth man dived off a 3-story building just as Wilson got him in his sights, and counts as a probable death.
"You could tell he didn't know where it was coming from. He just wanted to get away," Wilson said. Later that day, he said, he killed another insurgent.
Wilson says his skill helps save American troops and Iraqi civilians.
"It doesn't bother me. Obviously, me being a devout Catholic, it's a conflict of interest. Then again, God supported David when he killed Goliath," Wilson said. "I believe God supports what we do and I've never killed anyone who wasn't carrying a weapon."
He was raised in a desolate part of the Rocky Mountains outside Colorado Springs, "surrounded by national parks on three sides," he says. He regularly hunted before moving to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as a teenager. His brother also serves in the military.
Guns have long been part of Wilson's life. His father was a sniper in the Navy SEALS. He remembers first firing a sniper rifle at age 6. By the time he enlisted he had already fired a .50-caliber machine gun.
"My father owned a weapons dealership, so I've been around exotic firearms all my life," said Wilson, who remembers practicing on pine cones and cans. "My dad would help me hold (an M-16), with the butt on his shoulder, and walk me through the steps of shooting."
Technically, Wilson is not a sniper — he's an infantryman who also patrols through the span of destroyed buildings that make up downtown Ramadi. But as his unit's designated marksman, he has a sniper rifle. In the heat of day or after midnight, he spends hours on rooftop posts, peering out onto rows of abandoned houses from behind piles of sandbags and bulletproof glass cracked by gunfire.
Sometimes individual gunmen attack, other times dozens. Once Wilson shot an insurgent who was "turkey peeking" — Marine slang for stealing glances at U.S. positions from behind a corner. Later, the distance was measured at 514 meters — 557 yards.
"I didn't doubt myself, if I was going to hit him. Maybe if I would have I would have missed," Wilson said.
The key to accuracy is composure and experience, Wilson says. "The hardest part is looking, quickly adjusting the distance (on a scope), and then getting a steady position for a shot before he gets a shot off. For me, it's toning everything out in my head. It's like hearing classical music playing in my head."
Though Wilson firmly supports the war, he used to wonder how his actions would be received back home.
"At first you definitely double-guess telling your wife, mom, and your friends that you've killed 20 people," Wilson said. "But over time you realize that if they support you ... maybe it'll make them feel that much safer at home."
He acknowledges that brutal acts of war linger in the mind.
"Some people, before they're about to kill someone, they think that — 'Hey, I'm about to kill someone.' That thought doesn't occur to me. It may sound cold, but they're just a target. Afterward, it's real. You think, 'Hey, I just killed someone,'" says Wilson.
Insurgents "have killed good Marines I've served with. That's how I sleep at night," he says. "Though I've killed over 20 people, how many lives would those 20 people have taken?"
Wilson plans to leave the Marines after his contract expires next year, and is thinking of joining a SWAT Team in Florida — possibly as a sniper.
RAMADI, Iraq - He was 5 when he first fired an M-16, his father holding him to brace against the recoil. At 17 he enlisted in the Marine Corps, spurred by the memory of 9/11. Now, 21-year-old Galen Wilson has 20 confirmed kills in four months in Iraq — and another 40 shots that probably killed insurgents. One afternoon the lance corporal downed a man hauling a grenade launcher five-and-a-half football fields away.
Wilson is the designated marksman in a company of Marines based in downtown Ramadi, watching over what Marines call the most dangerous neighborhood in the most dangerous city in the world.
Here, Sunni Arab insurgents are intent on toppling the local government protected by Marines.
Wilson, 5-foot-6 with a soft face, is married and has two children and speaks in a deep, steady monotone.
After two tours in Iraq, his commanders in the 3rd Battalion, 8th Regiment call him a particularly mature Marine, always collected and given to an occasional wry grin.
His composure is regularly tested. Swaths of central and southern Ramadi, 70 miles west of Baghdad, are dominated by insurgents who regularly attack the provincial government headquarters that Marines protect.
During a large-scale attack on Easter Sunday, Wilson says, he spotted six gunmen on a rooftop about 400 yards away. In about 8 seconds he squeezed off five rounds — hitting five gunmen in the head. The sixth man dived off a 3-story building just as Wilson got him in his sights, and counts as a probable death.
"You could tell he didn't know where it was coming from. He just wanted to get away," Wilson said. Later that day, he said, he killed another insurgent.
Wilson says his skill helps save American troops and Iraqi civilians.
"It doesn't bother me. Obviously, me being a devout Catholic, it's a conflict of interest. Then again, God supported David when he killed Goliath," Wilson said. "I believe God supports what we do and I've never killed anyone who wasn't carrying a weapon."
He was raised in a desolate part of the Rocky Mountains outside Colorado Springs, "surrounded by national parks on three sides," he says. He regularly hunted before moving to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., as a teenager. His brother also serves in the military.
Guns have long been part of Wilson's life. His father was a sniper in the Navy SEALS. He remembers first firing a sniper rifle at age 6. By the time he enlisted he had already fired a .50-caliber machine gun.
"My father owned a weapons dealership, so I've been around exotic firearms all my life," said Wilson, who remembers practicing on pine cones and cans. "My dad would help me hold (an M-16), with the butt on his shoulder, and walk me through the steps of shooting."
Technically, Wilson is not a sniper — he's an infantryman who also patrols through the span of destroyed buildings that make up downtown Ramadi. But as his unit's designated marksman, he has a sniper rifle. In the heat of day or after midnight, he spends hours on rooftop posts, peering out onto rows of abandoned houses from behind piles of sandbags and bulletproof glass cracked by gunfire.
Sometimes individual gunmen attack, other times dozens. Once Wilson shot an insurgent who was "turkey peeking" — Marine slang for stealing glances at U.S. positions from behind a corner. Later, the distance was measured at 514 meters — 557 yards.
"I didn't doubt myself, if I was going to hit him. Maybe if I would have I would have missed," Wilson said.
The key to accuracy is composure and experience, Wilson says. "The hardest part is looking, quickly adjusting the distance (on a scope), and then getting a steady position for a shot before he gets a shot off. For me, it's toning everything out in my head. It's like hearing classical music playing in my head."
Though Wilson firmly supports the war, he used to wonder how his actions would be received back home.
"At first you definitely double-guess telling your wife, mom, and your friends that you've killed 20 people," Wilson said. "But over time you realize that if they support you ... maybe it'll make them feel that much safer at home."
He acknowledges that brutal acts of war linger in the mind.
"Some people, before they're about to kill someone, they think that — 'Hey, I'm about to kill someone.' That thought doesn't occur to me. It may sound cold, but they're just a target. Afterward, it's real. You think, 'Hey, I just killed someone,'" says Wilson.
Insurgents "have killed good Marines I've served with. That's how I sleep at night," he says. "Though I've killed over 20 people, how many lives would those 20 people have taken?"
Wilson plans to leave the Marines after his contract expires next year, and is thinking of joining a SWAT Team in Florida — possibly as a sniper.
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Comments
Another habit says its long overdue
Another habit like an unwanted friend
I'm so happy with my righteous self
Yes, it was a bit of a creepy read ...
Snipers are a different breed than the rest of us. They require more than just the ability to handle a rifle... not just anyone qualifies to Sniper status.
As long as he does get that civilian job with a S.W.A.T Team... and gets the mental, physical and financial support of a grateful nation, he should be just fine.
Hail, Hail!!!
Yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking too ... I mean, the guy isn't talking like someone suffering from posttraumatic stress ... But a lot of it will depend on the reaction he gets back home as well as how well he gets re-integrated into the workforce (like you said).
If Timothy McVeigh had been able to join the Army Rangers and Special Ops (that he'd hoped to do... and was qualified to do... ) and the U.S. Army didn't hound him for the back pay they had accidentally paid his for his time spent in Iraq... it is quite possible that the Morrow Building in Oklahoma City might still be standing.
Hail, Hail!!!
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
good points.
The last thing we want is an angry, unemployed, Marine trainned sniper out there on the loose.
Hail, Hail!!!
Not literally, no, but fewer veteran's benefits do result in poor adjustment to civilian life and yes ... This can result in someone who is basically a trained killer going haywire. These guys need decent care, physical, psychological, everything.
Have you ever read about McVeigh? He was a model soldier... a soldier's soldier and a top rated gunner.
His spiral down began when he was forced to opt out of Ranger trainning because the Army had scheduled his trials right after his Iraq deployment. He wasn't rested enough to complete the trials and was completely disappointed.
Had he been scheduled for the trial in the next cycle, there's a good possibility that he would have gotten accepted and become a career military man.
On top of that, the Army demanded pay back of wages overpaid while he was 'serving his country' in the fucking deserts of Iraq. If we really 'Support Our Troops', then combat veterans that get overpaid should be considered as just part of the cost of War... look at how much money is wasted on other shit... go after those tax dollars we lose to foriegn governments.
THAT is how he got caught up in that militia... other pissed off veterans that felt abandonded by apathetic fuck civilians and politicians who salute and wave flags for show.
Maybe you need to read up on the guy before spouting out opinion on a subject you apparently know nothing about.
Hail, Hail!!!
okay, where can i find the 'make excuses for a terrorist nut that killed a bunch of children in a daycare" manual?
No one is making excuses for McVeigh... I just believe that had different outcomes come to pass... such as our own fucking government taking care of our veterans... then those events may not have occured.
Read this... "American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing" Lou Michaels
Hail, Hail!!!
you are reaching. it is obvious that you have an agenda, which is to blame the american gov't for the okc bombing.
What agenda? Oh... I see... Southern Indiana... nevermind.
Just read the fucking book... or have your mommy read it to you.
Hail, Hail!!!
I gotta step in for Cosmo ... He's not one of the conspiracy theorist types on here. Seriously, check out that book. Its a good read. Its not a matter of blaming the U.S. government ... Its just an analysis of what things might have contributed to this man's behavior. Personally, I will go to bat for veterans on almost any issue. These men deserve a lot better than they get.
Actually... upon further reflection... you're right... I DO have an agenda.
That agenda is for greater Veteran's Benefits... especially benefits for Combat Veterans.
Why?
Because I believe in our military personel and see them as a true resource. I will never buy into that bullshit "They should have know what they signed up for" or "No one put a gun to their head to enlist" that asshole pansy fuck civilians tend to say.
I place our fighting men and women above any fucking, punk-ass tax cut I'll ever recieve... to me, they are more precious to my country than any tax dollar could ever be.
I also believe it is OUR duty... as a "Grateful Nation" to honor and respect and FULLY FUND Veteran's Resources. I feel that us pansy ass civilians owe it to those bastards that should have known what they were signing up for. They were signing up for my respect and honor and tax dollars and I will freely and gratefully hand it over to them along with a sincere, "Thanx".
That's my agenda.
Hail, Hail!!!