Scout Sniper Association Trail of Tears Ruck Run

Members of the United States Marine Corps Scout Sniper Association will be running a half marathon with fifty pound rucks this June during the 20th Annual Pacific Crest Sports Festival in Sunriver, Oregon.

Trail of Tears Ruck Run

The mission?

To create awareness for the Scout Sniper Association and its various philanthropic and life- saving outreach initiatives and to raise money for those efforts. Donations and sponsorships for the SSA team will be used for Scout Sniper Association Academic Scholarships, member/veteran crisis outreach, and assisting the families of fallen Heroes.

The goal?

To raise $25,000 in private and corporate sponsorships, individual runners are working towards raising $3,000 each. Pledges can be made on this page of their website. The event begins at 06h00L on 25 June 16.

You can follow the SSA on Instagram and on Facebook to watch their runners train for the event. Keep an eye out for #trailoftearsruckrun and #usmcscoutsniperassociation.

I've made a donation in memory of my friend — you can too, or you can just send 'em a few bucks out of respect for good men you probably never knew.

About the SSA:

The Association promotes shared interests, comradeship, and learning among active duty, former, and retired U.S. Marine Corps snipers. It also fosters increasing levels of professionalism within the Marine Corps Scout Sniper community; provides useful services for Members, their dependents, and survivors; provides support to deployed Marine Corps Scout Snipers; and serves the United States Marine Corps and the Nation.

The USMC Scout Sniper Association is a non-partisan, nonprofit, tax-exempt, veterans’ service organization under Section 501(c)19 of the Internal Revenue Code. EIN: 33-0887131

What is a Scout Sniper? This is from the official USMC website.

Scout Snipers are infantrymen skilled in long-range marksmanship from concealed locations. Their primary mission is to conduct close reconnaissance and surveillance operations in order to gain intelligence on the enemy and the terrain. Scout Snipers must earn the rank of Lance Corporal, be selected by their battalion to join the scout-sniper platoon and complete an approved scout-sniper course in order to receive this designation.

Initial Training

Requirements vary by battalion, but infantrymen who qualify may be selected for training conducted at the battalion level after successfully completing a two-week indoctrination course. After serving for a time in the battalion scout-sniper platoon, a Marine may be sent to the formal Scout Sniper Basic Course to earn the official scout-sniper MOS.

Within the MEU

A Scout Sniper platoon works directly for the battalion commander. They may be tasked to provide support to maneuver units or may operate separately.

Scout Snipers include:

• Spotter: Detects, observes and confirms sniper targets, calculates the range and wind conditions on a given target, conducts reconnaissance and surveillance.

• Sniper: Delivers long-range precision fires on selected targets, conducts reconnaissance and surveillance.

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