Putting sharpshooting skills to the test

A few weeks ago, the opening shot of the IDF’s sharpshooting competition was fired. Among the competitors were the most experienced combat brigades, the most secretive units, and the most talented soldiers the IDF has to offer. For days, the soldiers competed with one other in order to determine who are the very best sharpshooters in the IDF?

IDF combat soldiers are well-known to be excellent sharpshooters who understand exactly how to aim and hit with the utmost precision. They train for long periods of time to identify targets and hit them directly to eliminate threats. Each soldier trains throughout his service to improve his target identification capabilities in order to withstand any threat and strengthen their operational experience against terrorists in the case of real-time events.

In order to always be prepared, and to know what the level of each brigade and unit is, in recent years the IDF has been holding a shooting championship for outstanding sharpshooters, and awarding special prizes to the best units in the field.

 
What are sharpshooters?
A sharpshooter's role in the IDF is to target and eliminate particularly difficult terrorist threats. Sharpshooters are skilled at hitting moving targets, particularly small targets, and shooting in the dark. Qualified soldiers are typically selected during their basic training according to their above-average shooting abilities. Sharpshooters spend a week training to shoot distances of several hundred meters. 

What weapons do sharpshooters use?
Sharpshooters use the M4 carbine, the M16 rifle, or the Israeli Micro Tavor (X95). 

What scopes do sharpshooters use?
To fire at a long range, sharpshooters use special scopes that enable them to see in greater detail while monitoring their targets. Both the "Trijicon scope", which is meant for daylight use, and the "Lior scope", which can be used in the dark, increase the scope fourfold.

From each brigade and unit in the IDF, six soldiers and two officers are sent to the championship to represent their squad. For weeks on end, they train for the competition and do all that is necessary to meet the required standard. Everyone wants to achieve the best results, but "the main thing is to know what we need to improve in order to be better," emphasized Brigadier General Dan Goldfuss, the commander who runs the competition each year.

Outstanding Brigade:
First place - Paratroopers Brigade
Second place - Nahal Brigade
Third place - Kfir Brigade

Outstanding Unit:
First place - LOTAR Unit
Second place - Duvdevan Unit
Third place - Shaldag Unit

“Professionalism and excellence in particular are the main assets to our lethality,” said Brigadier General Dan goldfuss in a summary of the competition as he handed out prizes to the winners. “The secret is precision, precision and once again precision”.