In the United States Army, Special Operations has a special link with a very specific place: Fort Bragg.
In that enormous military base (it occupies 49 square kilometers, an area larger than the entire city of La Coruña), located in North Carolina, the School and Center for Psychological Warfare of the Army of USA in 1952, origin of the current John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, where the members of the US Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) are trained.
Also in 1952, the 10th Special Forces Group (10th SFG), the oldest of the US Army Special Forces, was formed there. In addition, it is currently the base for USASOC, the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), the famous Delta Force and the 3rd Special Forces Group, as well as the two Psychological Warfare Groups of the US Army Special Forces.
An annual sharpshooter competition is organized at Fort Bragg, at the initiative of the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School. Teams from the Special Forces and special operations groups from the US and other countries compete in it. This year's competition was held a few days ago, with 19 teams participating from various countries and the team from the US Army's 5th Special Forces Group was the winner, with the 75th Ranger Regiment in second place and the team from the Special Operations Command of the Marines in third.
Selected marksmen from the Special Operations Command (MOE) of the Spanish Army also participated in this competition. The Spanish Army commented that this is "a very demanding stress drill focused on rapid multi-target shooting". The US Army has published many photos of the competition, taken by K. Kassens. I have managed to gather a few photos of the Spanish soldiers, not without difficulty, since most of the operators wore Multicam uniforms and it was not easy to distinguish them. You can see them below. Click on the images to enlarge them.
Several Spanish MOE operators at Fort Bragg on March 20. They carry two sniper rifles and tripods to support them.
A detail of the weapons that appear in the previous photo. The rifle on the left is a Accuracy AXMC in .338 Lapua Magnum caliber (8.6×70 mm), with Schmidt & Bender 3-27x56 PM II High Power sight. The one on the right is a Heckler & Koch G28, caliber 7.62×51 mm NATO, with Schmidt Bender 3-20x50 PM II sight. Both rifles have suppressors in the muzzles of their barrels.
One of the MOE operators adjusting the optics of his Barrett MRAD precision rifle, caliber 338 Lapua Magnum. The operator carries a Spanish flag in a low visibility version on his arm.
One of the MOE operators with an Accuracy AXMC , preparing to get into firing position. The operator wears the Spanish Flag on his vest and the tripod to support the weapon in his right hand.
An enlargement of the previous photo, showing the Accuracy AXMC sniper rifle in more detail.
Two MOE snipers firing in prone position. The one on the left is armed with an Accuracy AXMC and the one on the right has a Heckler & Koch G28.
One of the MOE shooters, the one wearing the AXMC, in another photo released by the US Army.
Another image of this MOE shooter , in which we see him reloading his weapon. If you enlarge the photo you will see that the bullet can be distinguished in the chamber and the empty cartridge jumping from the AXMC rifle.
Another MOE operator reloading his Barrett MRAD after one shot. This rifle has a range of 1,500 meters and is being used by Ukrainian snipers against the Russian invaders.
Two MOE shooters shooting from windows. The one on the left is carrying an Accuracy AXMC.
An enlargement of the previous photo, which shows us the patch with a skull and the green beret of the MOE on the backpack of one of the Spanish shooters. On the right side of the backpack he has a folded Spanish Flag with the emblem of his unit.
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