The path i have been hoping to take in the army is: enlist as rifleman, get a couple deployments under my belt. apply for sniper training (hopefuly get accepted) then once i have a couple years expirence as a sniper apply for SAS Selection.(Dream senario)
The main thing im worried about is the sniper training. Im good with numbers just not in the way my school wants me to be.
I know that my expectations of myself are very high but this senario will fulfil everything i could ever want
Yep, join the infantry as a full time soldier, as that is the only way, besides special forces, that you can become sniper trained.
But before you can "apply" for sniper training, you have to be selected to perform duties in the battalion reconaissance platoon. Only the best digs get the opportunity to work in the recon platoon and from there you have to demonstrate an outstanding level of fieldcraft and overall "soldiering" to be chosen as a sniper.
Most battalions in the army don't even maintain recon platoons for manning and other reasons, let alone sniper cells, so the only way to guarantee that you can even have the chance to work as a sniper is to join the regular army as a full time soldier.
If selected to undertake the sniper course, you will undergo a very severe course at the School of Infantry. If successful, you will be qualified to undertake the role of a "no 2" or observer. Snipers work in pairs with an observer and a "shooter". You will have to do your time as an observer before you get the chance to be a sniper team leader and even then, you will be rotated back through the rifle companies at regular intervals, for career development purposes. With the Infantry 2012 changes coming though, I expect that if you were a qualified sniper observer, rotated back into a rifle company, you would probably be tasked as a marksmen, with the new marksmen rifle capability being introduced, so it won't be as bad as it seems, but there's no getting around it. At the present time, recon and sniper qualified soldiers, get rotated through the rifle companies after a while. Few to none get the chance to stay in either occupation for a long time.
Whatever education you need to join Army will be sufficient to at least be chosen for a sniper position, but proficiency as a rifleman is mainly what will get you chosen. Stephen Hawking would no doubt have the math to perform the role, but he might not pass the physical side of it...
There are other components to it as well, but the first steps to getting to be a sniper for you are:m
1. Pass year 12 as well as you can. Get the best marks you can manage and look towards joining army on a full time basis.
2. Join the army with the aim in mind of joining the infantry. There are no other sniper positions within Army, besides special forces and you won't be going there for many years yet, no matter what you do. Combat engineers and RAAF have some sniper like capability, but it is directed at EOD (explosive ordance disposal), not the traditional "sniper" capability. Air Defence Guards also have marksmen capability, but again, they are not "sniper" trained, only ADgie trained and equipped with a more accurate rifle. They don't undertake sniper training nor do they employ observers or other sniper tactics.
3. Once joined the Army, work heavily on fieldcraft and becoming the best possible rifleman. There are a lot of politics involved in Army and it might be the case that you never get the chance to undertake sniper training anyway, but your best chance is to become the most switched on dig that you can be and express interest in the field. In reality, that is the best you can do at the present time.
Good luck.
AD.
