Calling Micah Johnson A ‘Sniper’ An Insult To Those Who’ve Earned Title

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(INDEPENDENT JOURNAL REVIEW) – After a slew of misreporting on the identity of the shooter who was responsible for taking the lives of five police officers in Dallas last night, we finally know that it was Texas native Micah X. Johnson.

Ever since the shooting first began, major social media outlets have been reporting that “a sniper” was firing on the officers, and the label still has not been dropped. As a former Army Ranger, I have served with and continue to be friends with many who are or were snipers. They are incredibly intelligent and emotionally mature people who elected to take on a difficult job on behalf of our nation. Many have gone on to attend and graduate Ivy League schools, become positive assets to their communities, and raise beautiful families.

Micah X. Johnson was not, in any way, a sniper.

What is a sniper? A sniper is a very specific duty position within a military, para-military, or law enforcement unit. The U.S. Army Field Manual 23-10 Sniper Training states that:

“The sniper has special abilities, training and equipment. His job is to deliver discriminatory highly accurate rifle fire against enemy targets, which cannot be engaged successfully by the rifleman because of range, size, location, fleeting nature, or visibility.”

Everyone in the Army, to include Johnson, goes through the Army’s Basic Rifle Marksmanship (BRM) program of instruction during basic training, and that makes you a rifleman. With that training, you will know how to operate a rifle and be able to hit a little over half of the targets on a static range. That’s it. It does not make you a sniper.

To earn the title of ‘Sniper’, you must undergo special screening and training. For the U.S. Army, which is the branch Johnson served in, the special training comes in the form of attending a certified sniper school where you learn the field craft and long-range marksmanship necessary to serve as a sniper.

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