Sgt. Jim Gilliland - Supershot Part Dos

Fellow Munuvian Delftman has this to say about sureshot Sgt. Gilliland: One Shot, One Kill.

Here's another side of operations in Iraq. That of the Sniper. Sgt. J Gilliland is fast becoming a legend in the sniper community. He has between 55 and 65 confirmed kills, but he recently polished his reputation with a one shot kill from a range of 4,100 Feet...about 900 feet longer than the "maximum" range of his sighting equipment.

WW1 had Sgt York, WW2: Audie Murphy, Viet Nam:Carlos Hathcock.

Now Iraq has Sgt Gilliland. One man with a rifle, and the skill to use it effectively, CAN make a difference.
Operational security (and I'm SURE personal preference) aside, we need to know about heroes like Sg. Gilliland. The MSM talks "quagmire" and without anything other than causelty statistics and insurgent Islamofacist attacks being reported, it's hard to keep the morale here at home up. It's an unfortunate fact of life that we need our heroes. I'm sure that Sgt. Gililand considers himself anything BUT a hero...probably more along the lines of a hired gun, in the service of his country, yes; but nothing more than a hired killer. But he IS a hero in that his particular skill saves far more lives than he takes.

I hope he takes comfort in that fact in the years to come when the inevitable pangs of conscience crop up. The snipers job is a particularly callous one. You can respect the enemy, but you can't give him the chance to "fight fair"; you hunt him, find him, and kill him as expeditiously as possible. No romance, no honor, just murder; but murder in the cause of a higher calling, saving lives.
Lives of your fellow servicemen and civilians.