Quote: (02-10-2019 01:16 AM)Paracelsus Wrote:
^^^
To be fair, snipers do file After Action Reports which indicate what they did. To be fair I doubt there's a specific box on the AAR to indicate whether you got a Double Kill, Triple Kill, or Monster Kill, but I've seen from several different sources - not just Kyle - that snipers often work with a spotter who helps to dial them in; that spotter often works as the witness for a kill shot.
And also to be fair, Kyle gives the impression he wasn't working with spotters most of the time, so who the hell knows.
Although you are, admittedly, only speculating, you are absolutely correct in all of your assertions.
Every mission has an After Action Report (AAR). Yes, you do list all your actions. It is, almost
never, written individually. Usually, it is written collectively and the individuals compile what happened. It should not come as a surprise that any number of people could have widely varying perceptions of the exact same event because each individual is deeply wrapped up in functioning and trying to succeed under stressful conditions. So, the accuracy of the report can be, and often is, called into question. Happens all the time. It is generally up to the author (usually the mission commander) what goes into the report, what doesn't, and everything in between before it is pushed up to higher headquarters. It is nothing more than a "de-brief." They can be "formal" and they can be "informal." It is supposed to be used as a training tool. It covers everything that went right and everything that went wrong, why it happened, what could have prevented it or how we can do it again, what could be done better in the future, what worked, what failed, etc...
And, no, there is no check box or space for someone to come sign saying,
"I confirm this kill." Who would want to do that anyway? What if you had to
confirm a war crime, a horrible mistake, or massive negligence? Can you imagine 17 guys sitting around each writing individual AAR's saying to one another, "Hey, can you come over here and confirm this kill for me?" "Yeah, I have a couple over here, I need you to confirm for me, too." That's ridiculous.
Snipers, traditionally (and still do, at times) work with spotters, but a lot of that has changed on the modern battlefield, especially in urban operations. The "spotter" is a fully qualified sniper and there is just no reason for him to be lying around looking through a spotting scope helping his sniper buddy make a shot that is almost assuredly going to be, in sniper world, very short range. Much better to have 2 snipers on two long guns killing bad guys.