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In January 2016, the journal published an article titled "The Fate of the Sniper : A Review of the Film < The > of American Snipers" (hereinafter referred to as "Sniper"), which introduced the experience of Chris Kyle, a SNIPER of the American Navy SEAL, in the war in Iraq. The film is based on Chris Kyle's autobiography, which was published in 2012, the year before his death. Another book published after his death was called Ten Guns, which was actually an unfinished book by Chris Kyle, published by his wife for a writer for a final polish. At present, the two books "American Sniper" and "Ten Guns" have Chinese editions in China, and the author of this article happens to participate in the translation of "Ten Guns", so he knows more about Chris Kyle, and here is to add some content that is not covered by the "Sniper" text -
The Fate of the Sniper: An analysis of the weapons and details of the film "American Sniper" (Part 1).
The Fate of the Sniper: A commentary on the details of sniper tactics in the film American Sniper (Part 2).
The film made significant changes to the original book
The Sniper text mentions Chris Kyle as a Marine Sniper, essentially a Platoon C Sniper of the Navy's Navy's And during their service, THE SEALs will rotate to accept overseas dispatches, they call it Tour, each overseas dispatch lasts about half a year, after the end of the overseas dispatch will return home for vacation, training, standby, until the next dispatch, the two overseas dispatches between a year to a year and a half or so. Overseas dispatch does not have to be a war, but mainly depends on where it is stationed. Chris Kyle, on the other hand, has experienced four overseas assignments during his service with the Navy SEALs, all of which were sent to Iraq and all four of which were involved in combat.
Although the film, directed by Clint Eastwood, is based on Chris Kyle's autobiography, those familiar with the original will find that the writers did not shoot exactly from the original, but made drastic changes. For example, in the movie, Chris Kyle entered sniper training after passing the basic training of the army, and then stationed in Iraq, and 4 deployments to Iraq were all as snipers. But in fact, Chris Kyle was a machine gunner when he was first stationed in Iraq, responsible for operating the Mk48 Mod0 light machine gun, and only after returning home from the first overseas assignment did he apply to go to sniper school to learn sniping, and the next three overseas dispatches were all as snipers. Because SEALs do not join immediately after joining can go to the sniper, but must serve as an ordinary team member for a period of time, considered to have sniper potential, or actively apply, can be sent to sniper school for sniper training. Of course, you have to pass the test to transfer to the sniper squad. In order to make the plot more exciting, the film fabricates a period of Chris Kyle's interaction and duel with the Iraqi sniper master, and finally arranges Chris Kyle's longest-distance kill record (2100 yards, about 1920m) to snipe the shooter named Mustafa. In fact, there is no mention of a similar duel in Chris Kyle's autobiography, and his furthest kill record hits an RPG bazooka shooter, as in the movie, during his 4th overseas mission.
Chris Kyle has used a variety of weapons
Chris Kyle has carried out various missions in Iraq, using several sniper rifles. In the original book, he specifically evaluated several sniper rifles and special purpose rifles he used in combat.
The 5.56mm caliber Mk12 special purpose rifle is one of his favorite weapons. The Mk12 special purpose rifle was proposed by the U.S. Special Operations Command, originally with the "Special Purpose Receiver" mounted on the lower receiver of the M4 carbine, and later became a stand-alone weapon system, which was used as a precision shooter rifle by the special operations units of the U.S. Army and Navy.
The 7.62mm caliber Mk11 sniper rifle, an improved version of the Stoner 7.62mm caliber SR-25, fires race-grade ammunition with a barrel length of 508mm, and is mainly used by the U.S. Marine Corps. The gun appears more often in the film, but according to the original book, it is not his favorite gun, and it has only been used a few times by chance. In both the original and posthumous work Ten Guns, it is mentioned that he once exchanged weapons with a Marine using an Mk11 sniper rifle with a Marine using an M16 rifle in a joint operation with the Marines. It is estimated that in the operation, because the Mk11 sniper rifle is longer and heavier, it is used with an M16 rifle. He also mentions in the original book that when using sniper weapons, he would also carry the Mk18 Mod0 short barrel rifle (the U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Center developed a melee upper receiver assembly for the M4 carbine, which was only 260mm long, and the M4 carbine with this upper receiver was later named the Mk18 Mod0 short rifle).
.300 Winchester Magnum caliber Mk13 sniper rifle, which is derived from the Remington M700 hunting rifle. The gun was used in most of his sniper missions, and the Mk13 sniper rifle at the time was fitted with a MacMillan stock, unlike the AICS stock mounted on the latest Mk13 Mod5 today.
On his 4th trip to Iraq, he began using a .338-caliber sniper rifle and used two models, mcMillan and AI, the former being the TAC338 sniper rifle and the latter probably the AWM sniper rifle. His furthest kill record is the TAC338 sniper rifle, which is also the model of the .338 caliber sniper rifle that appears in the movie.
The .50 caliber M107 sniper rifle, which was his least favorite rifle, was too bulky.
In the film, Chris Kyle uses mainly the Mk11 sniper rifle and TAC338 sniper rifle, and the M40A1 sniper rifle and Mk12 special purpose rifle are also used during sniper school training.
Chris Kyle's sniper operation
In the original, Chris Kyle mentions that Navy SEALs snipers often act alone, unlike Marine snipers, who are paired with an observer. But his platoon used to work with the Marines. The film features a Marine soldier by his side, and while Chris Kyle is looking for a target, the soldier is playing a game console, so the sniper suspects that the soldier is not his observer. This guess was correct, because this person was a liaison sent by the Marine Corps acting together, presumably to record the results of the battle. Most of the sniper missions carried out by Chris Kyle were offensive coordination, surrounded by his own people, and if the enemy approached, his teammates had enough defensive firepower to hold out until reinforcements arrived. Therefore, their way of fighting is not the way most people think of lurking behind enemy lines to kill the target and then quietly retreat, and it does not require any double cooperation. Sometimes even if several snipers act together, they are not responsible for targets in one direction in groups, but each has its own defense zone, or two people in shifts, in short, they independently complete the task of searching, observing, and sniping in the defense zone they are responsible for.
A typical U.S. Marine Corps two-person sniper team, the observer leans close to the sniper because his line of sight must be close to the sniper's line of sight
Chris Kyle was on a sniper mission in an Iraqi room with no observers around
The three people in the photo, the sniper in the distance is Chris Kyle, and the nearby one is Kevin Lacz, who is not only Chris Kyle's comrade-in-arms, but also a military adviser to the American Sniper movie. The photo also shows the SEAL sniper fighting alone, with only Chris Kyle using a sniper rifle and the other two being in charge of shifts or protecting him, not observers
Another photograph of Kevin Rice operating with Chris Kyle, they are not a combat combination form of a two-person sniper team, but a separate combat form in which each person is responsible for a defense zone. Both men are wearing UCP of the Army, presumably in concert with the Army
Regarding this method of fighting alone sniper, there are two typical examples mentioned in the original book. Once he was in a building with another Navy SEAL sniper, and he had just found a firing position, and the man said this location is mine, you find somewhere else. Chris Kyle didn't argue either, and found another position, and within minutes he found a target and shot him, while the man who took his place did not move for a long time. The other was a two-person shift, with the snipers of the previous squad not seeing a target for several hours, and then Chris Kyle woke up and swapped, and before the man was asleep, Chris Kyle spotted a target and shot him.
Kevin Rice (right) also plays himself in the film
But the two examples above also illustrate how important timing is for snipers. Chris Kyle has said that his grades in sniper school are only average, not a master, and his ability to set so many sniper records is related to his timing and good luck.
For example, the time he played the farthest sniper record of 2100 yards is also a typical example of good luck. He was on the edge of a village, looking at the next village with a scope, and he saw a man on the roof of a place with an RPG rocket launcher trying to shoot a U.S. Army supply convoy that was about to pass through that village, so he aimed a shot at the target with the TAC338 sniper rifle in his hand. Because the distance was too far, the target could not be fully seen in the scope, so his purpose was only to scare the other party and give the convoy time to react, but he did not expect that the shot hit, and the person fell down with an upside-down onion. In short, there is no tension and excitement of the master duel in the movie.
Chris Kyle, who fought in Iraq, usually just hid behind a hole in the wall, and there was no special camouflage, and the puffy cloth on the top of his head was sunscreen, and it was the shift members who took pictures for him
But movies are, after all, entertainment tools, not documentaries, and even if the more sophisticated directors will respect the opinions of military advisers, they need to consider unfolding a compelling plot to attract audiences. In reality, the number of people killed by the third team of the Navy SEALs in the past decade of fighting in Iraq is not as many as shown in the movie, and the director uses this to show that the protagonist is always in danger. And if the film shows that the protagonist does not confidently shoot an enemy at a distant target and falls, it obviously lacks an infectious artistic effect.
Chris Kyle's life after retirement
After retiring from the military, there are many ways out of the special forces, there are people who find an ordinary job and live plainly, some join private military companies to continue to live with guns, people with good luck can make a name for themselves, and then open a tactical school or the like, some write books, go to the media, become celebrities, and of course, some have a bad life.
Chris Kyle (second from right) participated in the reality show "Stars Love to Fight" as a guest performer
While recording "Stars Love to Fight," Chris Kyle introduced his autobiography to the TV stars he was starring with
Chris Kyle gave occasional television interviews or appeared on radio shows after publishing his autobiography, and he also participated in a reality show called Stars Earn Stripes, but was later shot in the back by a retired Marine with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). At the end of the film, many people spontaneously send off Chris Kyle's hearse by the side of the road, which is also real and shows people's love for such a wonderful sniper.
(This article was published in Light Weapons, No. 4, 2016 (Part 1), and the public account article has been deleted)
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