Shadow Team used three weapon systems to make their kills, the M24 Sniper Weapon System, the M16 5.56mm rifle, and the Barrett M107. OP Hotel's use by both Marine and Army sniper teams was well known by local insurgents but that did not stop them from firing weapons or trying to emplace explosives within sight of the place. This structure, a mangy little building covered with bullet and RPG impacts and abandoned by its owners, provided excellent fields of observation up and down the major street, known to Americans as Route Michigan. The car caught fire and the IEDs detonated, but Shadow Team had its first four kills.ĭuring the following six months, Shadow Team conducted aggressive operations in the center of the city from a position called Outpost (OP) Hotel. When the two got back inside the car and closed the doors, Shadow Team opened fire, killing both and another two, the driver and a passenger. Carefully selecting a hide site based on reports of insurgent activity, the team watched as a car pulled up sixty meters from their position two men got out, removed two IEDs from the trunk, and then hid them in a pile of garbage.
Their success began as soon as they began to operate in Ramadi.
And a third factor was a group of men who generally respected and trusted each other. Another factor was a target-rich environment.
The first was a good relationship with the battalion commander that allowed the unit to operate with a minimum of micro-management and a maximum of trust. Shadow Team's success was the result of many factors. During a six-month period in 2005 and -06, the ten members of this unit killed at least 276 enemy combatants, all in the city of Ramadi, and their section leader, SSG James Gilliland, made one of the longest-range confirmed kills with a 7.62mm NATO rifle. Although nobody seems to be keeping official score, the most successful and productive sniper team in combat during recent years may be the US Army's Shadow Team from 2/69, 3rd Infantry Division.
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