Jack Knight-Skilled Marksman-01

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Well this is going to be a different kind of Certification and you get to try it out. It will be shorter then the normal ones, especially for the skill level requested, but in a way more difficult. Once you are able to figure out what you need to know to accomplish the task, the remainder of the information should come easily.



Pretty self explanatory for the most part, the red dots are your targets, they are on the rooftop, no walls around the top. The blue smear is a river with the brown bit being a small dock. The green spots are trees and the brown strip is a road. The gray boxes are buildings, labeled as 1, 2, and 3. The green dot and the blue dot are actually not representing soldiers. They represent locations. Each location is where you would make a shot from, you are making these shots. I've done some work for you, given you the locations of where you are shooting and cut out the part of having to decide to shoot or to retreat, let's face it, on here you wouldn't unless you were just in a horrible position with the enemy bearing down on you.

You will have one entire week to complete this certification, and as always, please post immediately after having read this post in it's entirety. You may ask any questions you want, but you may or may not be given answers. Depending on the question and the answer I may extend the time if need be if some information is unclear or not there at all.

So you have the scenario and part of how it will run, now I want you to answer the following questions:

#1 - Which shot location will be fired from first? Second?

#2 - Why do you believe these are the two best locations for the shots to be fired from? (Yes, there is a very good reason)

#3 - Why is it necessary to move to the second location?

#4 - which enemy will you choose to take out first? (northern or southern enemy)

And that is it, please keep in mind that I have given you a week for a reason, this isn't just a glance and act type of situation, you need to think and possibly research to find the correct answers.

If you miss more than ONE question, this will have been a failed attempt, that is a large amount of CP to rush this.

I wish you the best of luck.

Edward Scott McMillan.

[nathansinfantry]

I've read it, let the fun and games begin....

[nathansinfantry]

A few questions that I feel neccesery:

1) Weather conditions. Is it raining, snowing, clear? And the wind, what direction and how strong is it?

2) Do I have suitable camo for the situation?

3) The second enemy would probably run after he saw his partner die. How would he get off the roof, i.e., where are the stairs and where is the door (assuming they are visible from my location)?

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

Glad to see you are not afraid to ask, good lad.

#1 - it is no longer raining, but the air is humid and most surfaces are damp, not too badly though. The wind is almost nonexistent, not enough to alter the trajectory of the shots in anything other than a minimum way.

#2 - Do you, no you don't, but for the scenario you do.

#3 - you are unable to see the stairs, the only exist you can see are on the eastern side, there is one door and a very small window, there is also a window on the southern side that you can slightly see.

[nathansinfantry]

#1 –Which shot location will be fired from first? Second?
I would fire from the BLUE location first. A few reasons for this:
- I have a wider spread of targets to fire at, and certainly an easier shot, so I should be guaranteed one kill, minimum.
- In the second location, there is a chance I would disturb the nearby tree. This means that I could very easily unveil my position to the enemy by the falling water and damaged branches, possibly messing up my chance of a second shot.
- If I was to shoot in the second position first, by moving forwards, I would potentially moving into heavy fire if the enemy had an MG42 or even an MP40

#2 – Why do you believe these are the best two locations for the shots to be fired from?
These positions are not the most obvious of the positions, which is the main advantage behind them. A position on the edge of the forest (as shown by the green dot) would provide more cover and be more isolated, making it a more obvious position for a sniper to position himself. This would mean that if the enemy had taken a look around the surroundings, they probably would look at that position first to try and see a sniper. The position I am in would be unseen and allow me to take another shot.

Also, I do have clear shots on both my targets, cover and an easy escape route in case things mess up. As said, it is not the most obvious location, so hopefully the enemy would not notice me there.

On the map, I have supplied other potential locations, and why they would simply not work.


Red Dot
Pros:
Two clear shots

Cons:
Little or no cover.
Will be hard to get in/out of position undetected

Dark Green Dot
Pros:
Shadows of trees may help avoid detection
Smoke from firing may not be seen easily
Two very easy shots

Cons:
Trees present a problem in avoiding detection
Reasonably obvious position


Aqua Dot
Pros:
Clear shots
Solid location to shoot from

Cons:
No cover, at all
Vulnerable position

Black Dot:
Pros:
Elevated position – easier shots


Cons:
No cover
No easy way out
Likely to be spotted getting into position


#3 – Why is it necessary to move to the second location?
It is necessary to move to a second location when being a sniper to basically preserve your own arse. A sniper is best if the enemy has no idea whatsoever where he is, that way preventing them from being able to do anything against them.

Hypothetical situation. You’re in the middle of a battle and you just stand up and start cracking shots off at the enemy. Sooner or later, somebody is going to see you and kill you. However, if you were to take one, maybe two shots at a stretch if you had an unbelievably juicy target, and then move on, the enemy will be unlikely to spot you, and your chances of survival would increase by a hell of a lot.

That is why it is necessary for me to move to a second position. After taking a shot, it allows me to take some sort of cover and still be able to get a second shot in at the targets. If I was to just stand still in the open, yes, I may get the enemy, but suppose they had some support in the building, I would be fully screwed. Also, position 2 gives me a better location to retreat from. By moving the enemy would be less likely to know where I am, and therefore be less likely to be able to kill me.

Also, by moving, if they surveyed the surroundings in a systematic method, I would be out of the immediate view allowing me to avoid detection.

#4 – Which enemy will you take out first?
I would take out the NORTHERN enemy first. It is the harder shot to make, from position 2, so I’ll want to make sure I don’t have to take it, instead going for the easier enemy. Also, the second target would likely look towards his fallen comrade. If I had shot the other man, then he more than likely would have seen me, ruining any chances I have of getting to the second location.

[Edward"Butcher"McMillan]

After reviewing the answers you have submitted I have a conclusion (shocked aren't you) and here it is:

Nathan, what was the one thing I stressed to you in the C-Box more than anything else? TAKE YOUR TIME! Now granted you took longer then almost any other cert that has been run through on this board but snipers would honestly wait days, that's right days to take a shot, just to make sure they everything they could about the target. All the reason that you have provided for the shots you took are great, really and even the ones for where you didn't shoot from, even though I am not sure why you have done so, but did any of the answers you provided stand out as well as I explained they would to you?

#1 - Blue location is correct, yes the green location would be a harder shot, but the main reason is the sound produced from the shot being fired. Being next to the building would throw the sound to the north, creating the illusion of a different location altogether.

#2 - These locations are the only locations where you can effectively make the shot and project the sound to different locations.

#3 - It is necessary to move to the second location to prepare for the unknown, the second shot having the sound projected southward would have no effect on the second enemy, but if anyone were close enough to hear, the different illusion of a location would buy you time to get away if needed.

#4 - The Northern enemy is correct, with the shock of seeing his buddy fall, more than likely he would not be examining the wound to see exactly where it came from. The sound having been projected northward, northeast of the enemy, more than likely he would have moved to the southeastern location to have some cover while laying down, still the advantage of elevation and the opportunity to look for the enemy.

When I looked at your map I saw that the second position was not even there, not sure why, also, the first position has been moved, there actually was a good bit of planning that went into the shot locations that I chose for this one, moving the location, even just a bit farther away from the building could have dramatic effects on the illusion trying to be achieved.

Unfortunately I cannot pass you for this attempt, as much I enjoy you being here, that does not factor in. Please remember (and anyone else reading this) that I do nothing without having a reason, even down to the last pixel.

Edward Scott McMillan

[nathansinfantry]

Oh well, thank you JT, next time, eh?

What pisses me off most, though, was that in essence, I had all the answers, just not with the textbook "Projecting the Sound" you were looking for.

But yeah, thanks for putting your time into this, and next time I'll nail it.