The Sniper

I met a retired Marine Scout Sniper once. He was a colorful character, a man of great testicular fortitude, and a war hero (which he is never shy of reminding me each time we meet). I enjoyed talking with him, partly because there is no end to the hilarity this man inspired in all those around him. And in part because beneath all that jovial exterior, lies an intelligent and observant individual who slips in gems of pure wisdom here and there, provided that you are on the look out for them.

I recall a particular conversation that we shared in which the subject of trust came up. He said that people nowadays do not know the meaning of trust, especially civilians. He continue to tell me how in the Corps, one must entrust one's life to the man next to you. This is especially true for a sniper. While movies tend to depict snipers as lone wolves, the reality is that a sniper relies heavily on his spotter to stay alive. A spotter is someone who goes along with the sniper to wherever he needs to be, and basically helps him pin-point his targets. More importantly, he watches the sniper's back.

You see, the Marine Scout Sniper's code is "One Shot, One Kill." In order for that to be true, each sniper is taught to devote his entire being to each shot. His entire existence, all of his energy is focused on that one bullet; willing it to hit its mark. This leaves him extremely vulnerable as all is his senses are focused on making that one shot, and it is up to the spotter to make sure that they are not outflanked in the process.

The reason I am writing all of this is not to bring up the ethics of the sniper's code (My take on that is unless I have served in the military, and shared in their livelihood, it is never my place to judge. If anything, we are in debt to men and women like my old friend who is willing to sully their hands for the sake of our ideals). What strikes me about that conversation was the utter trust this Marine has for his spotter.

"I could never go in and did what I did, and live to tell the tale if it wasn't for my buddy [spotter]. You have no idea of what it is like to be in the thick of enemy territory, lying prone, waiting to take a shot at a target hundreds and hundreds of yards away; meanwhile being totally clueless as to what is happening around you only a few feet away. My buddy took care of that, and I took care of the target, and that's that."

It is a pretty amazing testimony, and I think it teaches a valuable lesson, not just about the mere trust between humans, but perhaps to the trust between us and a higher being. You see, regardless of what religion you practice, what g-d you pray to, what faith you have; each of us is like my retired sniper friend. We each have been assigned targets that we want to "kill", and in order to do so, we must be able to devote our resources to that end. I can not speak for how faith works, but wouldn't it be nice if we can all focus on what we need to do, trusting that somehow, the powers that be will take of the rest for us?

I mean that is what religion is in essence. The liturgy, the theology, the observance, the adherence; it is that which connects us, grounds us to our immediate surroundings while we focus on our dreams, our goals, our pursuit of happiness. Our faith, our believe that there exists some greater being who will take care of our immediate worries, is what allows us the luxury to focus on life. Without it, we become vulnerable.