The United States Marine Corps has confirmed to Task and Purpose that the branch will be getting rid of Scout Sniper platoons amid force restructuring, where snipers will shift from infantry to reconnaissance battalions.
Spokesman Captain Ryan Bruce told Task and Purpose that Marine Corps Commandant General David Berger approved a plan to replace Scout Sniper platoons within infantry battalions with a newly created “Scout Platoons,” where a new “Reconnaissance Sniper” MOS will be made that is “organic” to already established reconnaissance battalions.
According to Bruce, recent war games found Scout Snipers in redesigned infantry battalions did not have enough “all weather capabilities” to support ISR missions. He previously told the Marine Corps Times that “The shift to a Scout Platoon will allow those Marines to focus their training and evaluations on scouting, providing commanders the right tools to accomplish their mission.” With this, the “Scout Sniper” MOS will no longer be awarded and the school house is set to end at the end of this year.
This will not impact Marine Corps special forces, such as MARSOC, who will continue to have their own school trained snipers. Infantry battalions will still also have access to marksman and sniper rifles, with Marines receiving training on how to use them outside of Scout Sniper courses. Bruce stated “Precision rifle capability will remain within the infantry company, and the Marine Corps will continue to maintain school-trained snipers within Marine Reconnaissance and Marine Special Operations units.”
