– Stealth & use of the Ghillie Suit –

Here we run into a lot of speculation about how a ghillie is or isn’t really useful.

The truth is, a ghillie suit is only as useful as the person wearing makes it be.

In all honesty I have really become so accustomed to wearing my ghillie suit in the field that I sort of feel like a piece of me is missing when I don’t have it on. Reaching the point where your ghillie is no longer a tool to be used but more of an extension of your own body is when it really started becoming effective for me. At first it’s a little silly feeling & clunky & you try to use it to blend into stuff, setup good ambushes by lying down, hugging tree’s.. ect. But there is so much more use to having good camo.

One might think of a ghillie suit as a magic cloak that makes you invisible. This is far, far from the truth. A ghillie suit is like makeup. You take a beautiful woman & put a little makeup to accent & bring out her features and she’s still beautiful. its not what the person wears, but instead the attributes of the person underneath it.

Everybody knows the common sense methods of stealth.

– move quietly

– move slowly

Most know more thought out methods of stealth.

– taking advantage of noise; move during breezes to muffle your footsteps

– sprint during spurts of firefight noise.

– very quickly glance at the ground to plan your footing as walk to avoid sticks.

– stay low, stay in the shadows, use your darker colors where they count.

And some practice advanced methods of stealth.

– rolling your feet from heel to toe along the edge of your foot SLOWLY to totally eliminate distinguishable foot steps.

– always hug tight to whatever nearest object you are by, (trees, fence, bunker)as you move.

– always avoid direct sunlight.

– when advancing on an enemy point directly at him with your gun & move ONLY directly toward him so that from a glance you appear to be motionless.

– when cover is blown & enemies are advancing sprint 2 or three seconds directly away from them then hook a 90 degree turn for another 2 seconds, pick a tree & drop to one knee & freeze as soon as that tree is in the line of sight of the enemy.

– practice being able to ‘keep your cool’. if several enemies are approaching your location by all means let them. remain absolutely 100% motionless with your red dot trained on the nearest one’s head as they advance, reach you, & pass you. feel the rush from your beating heart move down your arms & into your finger tips & place that one well aimed shot into the back of one of their heads & let the rest go. a good sniper must always be willing to let some go in order to stay alive.

– know to dip your head strait down – slowly – & face the dirt if your area is being scanned. your helmet is a classic well known shape & easy to pick out if you are facing someone.

– make use of sticks by throwing them in areas to make your enemy face that direction to gain that 1 vital second needed to advance 3 feet & fire.

– practice the slow creep – when the wearer becomes so accustomed to his ghillie that he/she can accurately recognize when a situation presents itself & act by simply strolling through a wooded battle at a snails pace without drawing any attention whatsoever. being able to recognize & act on opportunities of stealth is a vital part of what sets apart the sniper from the ambush camper.

– making use of his/her surroundings. if you must go prone take a moment to pile leaves between your legs in a snow angel motion & toss a few on your back & head before you assume your ambush position.

– be skilled in recognizing opportunities to use a teammate, even if they are unaware of it, as a point to ghost off of.

– be skilled at keeping all possible enemies in one direction, creeping slow circles around them.

– use your ears & your eyes. when creeping into unknown territory take a moment to pause every 20 feet or so. focus on one spot in the distance & stare. your eyes are very good at identifying movement & superb at it when they are not moving. close your eyes & listen. trust your senses.

– be skilled in your observation of wildlife – birds in one direction almost always guarantees that you will not find enemy contact in that immediate direction.

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All of these things put together make a very skilled paintball sniper, even if he is dressed in a santa clause suit. Ghillie suits accentuate the sniper & intensify these skills. They are the conduits through which snipers channels their skill sets. Skill sets designed for only one thing.

If you have any questions or comments about paintball please feel free to leave a comment & I will do my best to reply in a timely manner.