A sniper is the specialist in long distance and precision shooting. He is also the camouflage and observation expert. He will advise his teamleader where to make the best observation post (OP) with a good vantage point and what to take to camouflage this OP in function of the terrain.

After the Q-course and Operator course you will be appointed to a Specialty in a SF team. One of these Specs is SNIPER. To become a sniper, you will start with a sharpshooter course. The 3-week SF Sharpshooter course is ‘in-house’, given by the units instructors. At the end of the course, you are able to support any type of action with SCAR HPR and Barrett M107 (.50cal sniper rifle), at short and long range, in urban or woodland conditions, day and night, in a static or alternative position, on the move and even from a moving vehicle. After this course, you will go back to your team to train and keep up your level on both the sniper rifles.

After 1 or 2 years you will be sent to a basic sniper course at a national or international sniper school where you will learn the true sniper skills, like infiltrating undetected/ stalking towards a high value target, taking a high precision shot and exfiltrating undetected in enemy terrain. The weapon of choice for these kind of missions is the AX .338. A sniper doesn’t always need to take a “sniper shot”. He is also specialized in observation. He’ll become an expert in the use of cameras to send digital images of possible target to the higher command. The basic level of taking pictures is already learned during the Q-course.

The SF snipers improve their skills during international courses where they learn , train and exchange experiences with national and international special units. (A high angle course, an urban course, a desert course and an unstable platform course). A Belgian SF Sniper will always give his 100% to show that the unit is amongst the best out there. Being a sniper is not an exclusive function. Every sniper is still a fully operational teammember and has to keep up his level as an SF operator.

More experienced snipers are given the opportunity to be part of the KILO teams in Grey Squadron, a support squadron within the Operational Detachment. These are full time snipers with a backpack full of experiences and skills. They are responsible for the education and training of the sharpshooters and snipers in the unit and conduct research and development to improve the sniper equipment, tactics and technics.