World sniper record

Tarred with ugly brush

A Canadian Forces sniper team from the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry in Afghanistan is credited with making a kill at 2,430 meters (about 2,657 yards - a mile and one-half).

The sniper who set a distance record by killing an al-Qaida fighter from more than two kilometres away has quit in frustration and may go into mercenary work.

Master Cpl. Arron Perry made national headlines twice in 2002: the first was anonymous, after he shot an al-Qaida fighter in Afghanistan from 2,430 metres, a world record.

The second was public and ugly. Perry, 33, and a 13-year veteran, was accused of discreditable conduct after he allegedly cut the finger off an al-Qaida corpse, defecated on another and then had his picture taken with a corpse that had a lit cigarette hanging from his lips and a sign around his neck reading "F**k Terrorism."

The investigation was eventually dropped and no charges were ever laid, but Perry's reputation was left in tatters. A military ombudsman's investigation was launched into whether Perry and other snipers, who were seconded to an American unit to provide cover fire and support, were unfairly treated after their return from Afghanistan.

Five of the snipers received the Bronze Star from the U.S. military for their efforts, which included killing about 20 members of al-Qaida.

Perry, originally from Newfoundland, quit at the end of April. "I retired because I didn't feel that I was being treated properly and I felt abandoned by the military," he said. "I don't trust anyone. "

Perry is still surprised at how upset some people got after his picture ran in a national newspaper next to the corpse. "It's a dead body. Who cares? You know what, I was glad about that picture. Remember what that sign said? 'F**k Terrorism.' And I still say, 'f**k terrorism.' "I saw the sign up there before the picture, and if I didn't like it, I would've taken it off."

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Update, from comments:

May 15, 2006 in McLean's Magazine

'We were abandoned'

Rob Furlong, Tim McMeekin and three other Canadian sharpshooters -- Graham Ragsdale, Arron Perry and Dennis Eason -- had spent nearly a week in the rugged terrain of Afghanistan's Shahikot Valley, reaching out and touching the enemy from distances even they had never trained for. But that shot was something special. Rob Furlong had just killed another human being from 2,430 m (7972 feet, 1.5 mile), the rough equivalent of standing at Toronto's CN Tower and hitting a target near Bloor Street. It was -- and still is -- the longest-ever recorded kill by a sniper in combat, surpassing the mark of 2,250 m (7,382+ feet) set by U.S. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Carlos Hathcock during the Vietnam War.

It should have been a moment of pride for the Canadian army. Five of its most talented snipers -- men trained to kill without remorse, then turn around and kill again -- did exactly that. They destroyed al-Qaeda firing positions, saved American lives and tallied a body count unmatched by any Canadian soldier of their generation. U.S. commanders who served alongside the snipers nominated all five for the coveted Bronze Star medal. "Thank God the Canadians were there," is how one American soldier put it.

Yet days later, their heroics on the mountain would be overshadowed by suspicion, including stunning allegations that one sniper, in a subsequent mission, sliced himself a souvenir from the battlefield: the finger of a dead Taliban fighter. Military police launched a criminal investigation, but uncovered nothing but denials. As the months wore on, there emerged so many conflicting accusations and supposed explanations that no charges were ever laid. Even Rob Furlong's record-breaking shot became lost in the confusion. In fact, until now, a different sniper has been widely -- and incorrectly -- credited with pulling the trigger on that long-distance kill.

Today, more than four years later, three of the five decorated snipers who served in Afghanistan are no longer in the army, brushed aside by a military machine that seemed all too willing to watch them go.

Update from Raw Feed:
Laser Beam Rifle Burns Hole 5 Miles Away

California-based TRW Systems is working on a LASER BEAM RIFLE, according to TIME magazine.

Their "portable chemical laser (which produces a beam from the energy released in the reaction of two or more chemicals) that could be carried into battle by a unit of only three men.

Aimed like a rifle, it would silently burn a fatal, quarter-inch-wide hole in the body of an enemy soldier up to five miles away. 'Once you've got him in your sights,' says a TRW engineer, 'you've got him. There are no misses.'"

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Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Regimental Website

Note:
I was a cadet member of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
when I attended school in Victoria, Canada.

I still remember incredibly sore feet in old boots while 'on parade' outside
Victoria's Empress Hotel waiting for Queen Elizabeth II to wave to the crowd.