--- title: "This simple exercise will help determine if you really want to be a sniper" date: "2018-06-02" modified: "2020-10-22" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/so-you-want-to-sniper/" categories: - "Careers" - "Join the Military" --- # This simple exercise will help determine if you really want to be a sniper ![]() Quora is the ultimate resource for crowdsourcing knowledge. If you're unfamiliar, you ask the Quora world a question and anyone with expertise (and some without it) will respond. One user asked the world what service he should join if he wanted to be a sniper. One Marine veteran gave him some necessary information. Choosing what branch to join can be tough for anyone. Different branches have different lifestyles, they come with different job opportunities, and they each have their own difficulties. If you're 100-percent sure you want to be a sniper, that doesn't narrow your selection. At all. ![]() *Yes, the Air Force has snipers.* To be fair, the asker asked, "Which branch is *better*?" Many users thoughtfully answered his question with answers ranging from the [Coast Guard's HITRON precision marksmen]() to arguing the finer points about why Army snipers are superior to SEALs and Marine Scout Snipers (go ahead and debate that amongst yourselves). --- [Many answering users wondered if the original asker *really* wanted to be a sniper](). Some answers were condescending, some were went as far as accusing him of simply wanting to kill people (this is still the internet, after all). But one Marine veteran gave the young asker an exercise. One that would help him see if it was something he really wanted to do. ![]() *Gunny Hathcock approves.* (Hathcock Family photo) That Marine was a trucker, an artilleryman, and a Desert Storm veteran. He "wasn't a sniper, but I served with them, and listened in awe to how they train." He then gave the asker a 15-step exercise to see if sniper training was something he really wanted to do: 1. Wait until the middle of summer. 2. Get a wool blanket and three quart-size ziplock bags. 3. Fill the bags with small meals. 4. Get two one-quart canteens and plenty of water purification tablets. 5. Locate a swamp that is adjacent to a field of tall grass 6. Before the sun comes up on day one, wrap yourself in the wool blanket. 7. Crawl through the swamp, never raising any part of your body above the one-foot level. 8. Lay all day in the field with the sun bearing down on you. 9. Eat your food while never moving faster than a sloth. 10. If you need water, crawl back to the swamp, fill the canteens, and use your water purification tablets to hopefully not get sick. 11. Put any bodily waste in the zip-lock bags as you empty them of food. This includes any vomit if you didn't decontaminate your water well enough. 12. Bees, fire ants, and any predatory animals are not a reason to move faster than a sloth or move any part of your body above the one-foot level. 13. Sleep there through the night. 14. When the sun rises crawl back through the swamp. 15. Just before you stand up and go home, ask yourself if you want to be a sniper. Always remember: If you use the Quora world for advice, be sure to consider your source. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()