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DARPA Counter Sniper Technology – 1996 “Bullet Ears”- Saving lives today… February 18, 2014

Posted by Chris Mark in Uncategorized.
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DARPAWhile I was serving as a Reconnaissance Marine in 1996, I was asked if I was interested in an  opportunity to work with the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) on some counter sniper technology that was being developed?  Since I was also a Marine Scout/Sniper with combat experience as a sniper, I was told I was a good fit.  I jumped at the opportunity to  make some per diem, and screw around at Ft. Benning during the Summer Olympics, which were being held in Atltanta (about an hour away).

There were numerous systems and we spent our days shooting, trying to beat the COBRAsystems, writing reports on our findings, and talking trash with all of the bearded PhD engineers who built the cool toys that we could break.  It was immensely fun.  In 1996, the technology was in its infancy and the computer processing power was not yet well enough defined to make the systems very effective.  There was one system that we evaluated that struck a chord with the snipers.  It was based upon a series of sensors that ‘heard’ the supersonic crack of the bullet as it passed between the sensors.  It would use basic time differences and triangulate the position of the shot and, using basic trigonometry, it could calculate where the shot originated, the caliber, and other factors.  Ultimately we gave it good reviews and the DARPA representative code named it “Bullet Ears” (yeah..I am not making this up)..

Today I was reading an article by Steve Reichert (the Marine Sniper with the Mile long shot and three kills with one shot) titled DARPA’s XM3 Sniper Rifle.  In the article, it references a sniper detection system named ‘Boomerange’ by Raytheon’s BBN Systems.  Imagine my surprise when I checked out the system and realized it was the actual finished version of “Bullet Ears” we had tested almost 20 years ago!…It has been deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan…Wow.  To think it has actually saved lives.  That is very cool to think that a technology we tested in 1996 is saving lives in 2014…

Randy Abbott – “paralyzed surfer who was robbed” AND A Recon/Sniper? Yeah..OK… February 3, 2014

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RandyAbbotSSSTat

UPDATE: The fine folks at This Aint Hell (but you can see it from here) just published a story on Randy Abbott and included his DD214s as well as a speech he gave at the Travis Manion 2013 Hero Run.  While he claims he: “…spent (his) first eight years assigned to Special Operations Command with  a counter terrorist unit”..His DD214s confirm what we already knew…he was NOT a Recon Marine and NOT a Marine Corps Scout/Sniper.  Mr. Abbott was a BulkFuel specialist (ran a gas station) and an Admin Marine (Made sure Marines got paid and had records updated).   Thanks to A Buncha Damn Cowboys for their work on outing this guy.  Who is this shadowing group? Pretty simple.  It is a group of Recon Marines, Scout/Snipers and SARCs who were tired of people claiming honors which they had not earned.

Two weeks ago I (and a lot of my friends) read a story about Randy Abbott.  Randy is a paralyzed surfer who said his surfboards were stolen at the beach.  According to Randy he hit one of the guys with an uppercut but they ran away with his boards.  By most accounts a pretty decent guy.

Since the report of the theft and his status as a ‘disabled vet Recon/Sniper’ there has been an international outpouring of support and numerous people donated thousands of dollars in response.  In the story, they state that after spending “fourteen years as a Marine Corps recon scout sniper”, his body was banged up.  Randy was not just a Scout/Sniper but a real life “Recon Sniper”?  WOW!…I had to do more research as the Marine Reconnaissance and Scout/Sniper community is VERY small and I had not heard of this guy!  Why..I am a Recon Marine and Scout/Sniper!!  So I did some research and found a picture on his Facebook page that was a giant tattoo of non other than the 1st MarDiv Scout/Sniper School with the motto: “Suffer patiently and patiently suffer”.  Nobody would go so far as to get a tattoo of a sacred sniper HOG (Hunter Of Gunmen) logo unless they were ‘legit’.  Since nobody could find Mr. Abbott in any of the secret ‘invite only’ Facebook pages for Recon Marines and Snipers (yup…they exist), the Sniper School “God book” or any other places that we use to verify Recon Marines and Snipers (instructors, classes, people who served with him etc.) the question was raised as to whether or not Mr. Abbott was really a Scout Sniper or Reconnaissance Marine?  A few former Recon Marines reached out and Randy said he served with “1st Recon BN, Sniper Platoon”  That seemed odd since nobody can remember a ‘sniper platoon’ in 1st Recon Bn.  More research and NOTHING…his DD214 has been requested but if you know how to contact Randy, please ask him to shoot me an email and we can clear all this up.  I have posted my own DD214 to show how easy it is to demonstrate you are Recon Marine or Scout/Sniper. Until then, it appears as if this man is simply making things up…

 

Long Range Shooting with Lloyd Hill – Long Range Shooting Shop June 27, 2012

Posted by Chris Mark in weapons and tactics.
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I rarely, if ever, endorse products on this blog.  A few months ago I had a chance to meet Lloyd Hill of Long Range Shooting Shop (Plano, Tx) at a range outside of Dallas when I was doing some shooting for charity. He also has a blog at www.MaxAccuracy.com. I also had a chance to shoot one of his custom 7mm Remington Mags…if you are in the market for long range shooting instruction or custom long range rifles…Lloyd is the person to speak with.  As a former Marine Scout/Sniper, I am not easily impressed on the range.  Lloyd impressed the hell out of me. Not only does he understand long range shooting, but he practices what he preaches. (he is a nice guy, as well with some great stories:)  He spent years “overseas” and is an avid hunter.  This guy does not build “Brandy Gun” (an overly expensive gun that the owner cannot shoot…he only pulls it out to show is other rich friends when they are drinking brandy from a snifter).  Lloyd builds custom, long range rifles.  As a testament to his skill in making a rifle, I put two rounds in less than 2 inches at 500 yards with the 7mm.  For you shooting enthusiasts that is less than 1/2 MOA at 500 yards…on a rifle I had never shot.  Here is a video of Lloyd.

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“So you wanna be a Scout/Sniper huh?” – BulletLogic May 19, 2012

Posted by Chris Mark in weapons and tactics.
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Jeff Fox, a former Marine Sniper I served with many years ago has a new blog called Bullet Logic in which he talks about long range and tactical shooting.  He is still very active in shooting and competitions and his blog provides some great information and insight into long range and tactical shooting.  If you are interested in long range or tactical shooting, take a spin over to Bullet Logic.  It has some very good information.

“US Snipers Changing Warfare” – USAToday May 9, 2012

Posted by Chris Mark in Industry News, terrorism, weapons and tactics.
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UPDATE: I forgot to hyperlink to the story 😉 There goes my Pulitzer.  You can find the story here.

USAToday published a very interesting and enlightening piece on how US Snipers are being used with great effect in Iraq and Afghanistan.  While I think their assertion that snipers are “changing warfare” is a bit of a stretch, I do agree that the use of snipers is, and always has been, very effective.  I am somewhat disappointed that they didn’t talk about how smart, handsome, dashing, incredibly brave, selfless, and (did I say handsome already?) Marine Scout/Snipers are. (yes…I was a USMC SS but I am NOT biased ;).  The story does give some insight into the training and how snipers are used in warfare.  Overall, a very good read on the subject.