The Givati Brigade's Rotem Battalion won the IDF's sniping competition, beating out 37 other units to take the top prize.
The contest was held at the IDF's counterterrorism school in the Mitkan Adam base near Modiin and included infantry units, special forces, and reconnaissance battalions. Snipers were tested on night shooting, moving targets, counterterrorism shooting, and riot control.
'I am not really surprised by the results, due to the hard work and investment in the field," said Lieutenant Tom Lipshutz, who commands a sniper platoon in Givati. "We take a sniper's team for training once a week, and all of our snipers train every two months."
"We need to train our fighters in all possible situations in order to be creative," he added. "From long-range shooting, through small targets and mobile targets, to training that only zeroes our weapons."
"Squeezing the trigger is easy," continued Lipshutz. "The real accuracy comes after the sniper understands the field in its entirety and knows how to measure the direction of the wind and the target range properly. Teach him the basics and everything we build on top of that will be good."