A U.S. Soldier assigned to the 10th Mountain Division reacts to a simulated chemical attack during the U.S. Army Europe and Africa European Best Sniper Team Competition at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) near Hohenfels, Germany, Aug. 7, 2024.
The European Best Sniper Team Competition is a U.S. Army Europe and Africa led, JMRC hosted annual event testing the marksmanship, physical prowess, and technical expertise of sniper teams across Europe. During the 2024 event, held from Aug. 5 through Aug. 11, 35 teams from 19 NATO Allies and Partners compete to be the best European sniper team. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christian Aquino)
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A German sniper shoots at a target during the U.S. Army Europe and Africa European Best Sniper Team Competition at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC) near Hohenfels, Germany, Aug. 7, 2024.
The European Best Sniper Team Competition is a U.S. Army Europe and Africa led, JMRC hosted annual event testing the marksmanship, physical prowess, and technical expertise of sniper teams across Europe. During the 2024 event, held from Aug. 5 through Aug. 11, 35 teams from 19 NATO Allies and Partners compete to be the best European sniper team. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christian Aquino)
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HOHENFELS, Germany – The European Best Sniper Team Competition, hosted by the Joint Multinational Readiness Center (JMRC), concluded on August 11, 2024, with a sniper team from Türkiye being declared the winners at the 7th Army Training Command’s Hohenfels Training Area in Germany.
Over thirty sniper teams from twenty allied and partner countries competed head-to-head for the title of Best Sniper Team in Europe during eight days of events designed to challenge each team.
“There’s a wide variety of experience. You’ve got teams that have only been snipers for a couple of years, and then you’ve got teams that have been a sniper team for twenty years,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Jesse J. Clark, senior enlisted observer coach/trainer (OC/T) for Task Force Panther, Joint Multinational Readiness Center. “The big thing about it is bringing those guys together. Yes, they’re competing against each other, but they’re also training, building relationships, and using their experiences to help each other out.”
The next four winning teams came from another team representing Türkiye, as well as teams from Finland, the United States, and Greece.
The sniper teams competed in events such as aerial shoots, firing at moving targets, high-angle shoots, trench warfare, unknown distance shots, stalks, night target detection, and a pistol course.
“For me, especially in Europe, we train with these partner countries and allies all the time. They’re always here for certain exercises, or we go to their countries for exercises, and there is always something going on,” said Clark. “Building these relationships in this type of community can spread across. It goes back to that interoperability piece of it. And if, for some reason, we get called on, they’re going to be to the left and right of us, and already having those relationships helps out a lot.”
The European Best Sniper Team Competition is an annual event designed to increase esprit de corps and enhance professional and personal relationships throughout the European Theater.
