"Narrator:" "The U.S. Military's elite schools turn soldiers into razor-sharp weapons." "To become the best of the best, these men go to hell and back." "Get lower!" "I can't see." "We're trying to push them to their breaking point." "This is your life now." "You're hard-core." "Let's go!" "Narrator:" "They say the deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle." "Especially if that Marine is a precision-trained sniper." "Marine Corps snipers are known world around for their shooting capabilities." "Narrator:" "But to qualify as a Marine scout sniper, these men must survive an intense nine-week course considered the toughest sniper training in the world." "Roughly one-third fail." "Only the very best survive the cut." "Let's go." "Keep it going." "Don't stop." "You cannot miss here." "[Gunshot] This is your [bleep]" "Penalty for not getting your [bleep] together." "Finally starting to get it." "I love this [bleep]" "Narrator:" "Marine scout snipers are trained to hit precise targets at incredible distances." "They shoot to kill and can do it consistently from more than half a mile away." "But they must also be experts in stealth and reconnaissance for deployment deep behind enemy lines." "Going to sniper school was a huge goal of mine." "It's supposed to be one of the toughest schools in the Marine" "Corps, and I always want to try to push myself to be better and do something more than just being regular." "Narrator:" "There are less than 300 active snipers in the entire" "Marine Corps." "Surviving this course means entrance into a very small, very elite group." "You can't mass-produce men like this." "When you decide to mass-produce, the standard drops." "I'd rather take 12 men that I know made it the standard than 40 men that make it substandard, because at that point, that's when you start losing lives." "Narrator:" "Day 1." "32 Marines assemble at the scout sniper school in" "Camp Pendleton, California." "Just getting here has not been easy." "Already, these Marines have passed strict requirements for fitness, marksmanship, and overall excellence." "Many have waited years for a chance to prove themselves here." "Still, on average, 30% do not pass this wrenching nine-week course." "32 members of class 3 tac 10 start off the course with a run, sniper-style." "They wear Ghillie suits, a key part of a sniper's equipment, made of burlap and twine." "A Ghillie suit is designed to disguise the human form and blend seamlessly with its surroundings." "A sniper must move fluidly through places no other man would even consider looking for him, like the legendary pig pond..." "A rotting slop-infested swamp that looks and smells like hell itself." "We're getting ready to go through some really nasty stuff right now." "It has to put them in that mind-set that they need to go places where most people don't like to go." "Narrator:" "A Marine sniper will crawl through anything to make his shot." "Today, every man gets a taste of what that means." "Poison oak." "That's the bad thing for all of us." "You want to blend in with your veg, but you don't want to get poison oak and get dropped from the course for it." "Narrator:" "New burlap shines, making it more visible." "Muck conditions the Ghillie suits and helps them blend with their surroundings." "Their security is their stealth." "The more they can be concealed, that means the more they're gonna be able to actually survive." "And make sure you totally submerse yourself, everybody under the water." "I like to look at the fact that, like, if you're going in there, well, good on them." "I'm not gonna follow them, type mind-set." "And that's where we want to take these guys and let them get comfortable in there." "They have to avoid all those obvious places and go through the nasty areas that no one wants to travel is pretty much where they should live at most of the time." "Narrator:" "For now, Marines are referred to as "pigs" or" ""Professionally Instructed Gunmen."" "If they have what it takes to graduate, they'll become hogs, or "Hunters of Gunmen."" "Do what Staff Sergeant Huskey's doing." "Narrator:" "Today in this wretched pit, they are truly" "pigs in training." "Now that you can crawl around with all those insects and those nasties, it should be no problem for you to crawl through a drainage ditch over in the 'Stan or Iraq or some future foreign enemy, 'cause you just crawled through [bleep] that you" "probably wouldn't have crawled through yesterday." "Narrator:" "It's two miles back to base." "Want your shoulders to be digging in." "Keep on your shoulders." "Narrator:" "And the conditioning continues all the way home." "Quickly." "Don't stop moving." "Yes, sir!" "Scout sniper!" "Down!" "Scout sniper!" "Down!" "Scout sniper!" "All right, get up and go." "Keep your veils on." "Narrator:" "Covered in the nastiest funk the instructors can find, class 3 tac 10 is starting to look like they belong here." "But they'll have to fight hard to stay." "Over the next four weeks, they endure endless, intense physical conditioning..." "Let's go." "Keep it going." "[Vomiting]" "One of you stop puking, get your partner on his back." "Narrator:" "While mastering the precision skills of a sniper." "Take the time and do it correctly." "You'll be under time restraints later on." "I want you to make sure you actually do a good job throughout this evolution." "Narrator:" "Day 29." "Now the testing begins." "This is known as distance qualification." "All 32 Marines have made it this far, but some are about to wash out." "Each sniper candidate will fire 35 shots at both stationary and moving targets from 300 to 1,000 yards away." "Hit at least 28 of the 35 targets, or you fail." "Instructor:" "If you can't place a round downrange, then you're pretty much no good as a sniper." "We need to be able to engage selected targets and target opportunity." "If we can't do that, then, you know, you're not a real true sniper." "Narrator:" "Snipers work in two-man teams, alternating as shooter and observer." "Three stationary, two movers." "Lines hot." "All:" "Lines hot!" "Narrator:" "Right now, the wind is calm." "But they all know they can't count on it staying that way." "Today may be their best chance to qualify." "Four on these sheets." "Narrator:" "Targets up." "Come on, pigs, shoot!" "No misses yet." "Everybody has a perfect score so far." "But that was just the 300." "Now they're moving back to the 500-yard line." "Narrator:" "Snipers must run between positions as they move to the next distance." "Increased heart rate and rapid breathing make becoming motionless during the trigger pull a monumental challenge." "As distances increase, wind, temperature, and humidity all drastically affect the bullet's path." "Push before left." "Narrator:" "The observer's job is to help the shooter read the conditions and adjust for them." "Target's up." "And move." "Left, right." "[Gunshots]" "Narrator:" "Nothing about this is easy." "But moving targets are the killer up here." "Target's up, moving from right to left." "Hold port." "One off lead edge." "Fire." "[Gunshots]" "Narrator:" "It all comes down to the 1,000-yard line." "The next target is half a mile away." "You need to be able to hit two." "Bono, you got that?" "You got to hit two." "All right, have some confidence." "Narrator:" "The instructor informs each Marine how many hits he needs to qualify." "Got that?" "Roger." "All right, no pressure." "This is gonna be scary, Sodermann." "You know what can make this so much easier for the both of you?" "Think about if you were really about to shoot somebody." "That guy downrange wants to kill you." "Three for three." "He's hurt your friends, the Al-Qaeda or the Taliban." "Think about that while you're doing this." "And you can do it." "I know you can." "This is your chance." "Where'd this one come from?" "That's his." "Where is that?" "Where is his miss at?" "Right here." "It's this one." "So he's not qualified." "That's right, Sodermann." "One got away from you." "You'll get him tomorrow." "All right, good to go." "We are cold." "We are cold." "Narrator:" "Each Marine needs a total of 28 hits." "They stand by to learn their fate." "Two, three." "Target six, first shooter..." "two, six." "Second shooter... two, four." "Target four, first shooter..." "two, seven." "Second shooter... two, seven." "First shooter... 17." "Are you [bleep] [bleep]?" "Narrator:" "Seven Marines get bad news." "Got one more day." "It's not over yet." "Grab your stuff, get on the bus." "Narrator:" "By day's end, 25 of the 32 shooters have qualified, but seven Marines have just one chance left tomorrow." "Narrator:" "Day 30, the last day of known distance testing at" "Marine sniper school, and the wind is already starting to pick up." "I've already got some wind right now, so it's going to be pretty hairy I think back from the 8, the 9, and the 10." "So we'll see how it goes." "All right, pigs, it's freakin' D-Day." "Today is the day." "Narrator:" "Seven Marines need to hit 28 targets today, or they are out of sniper school." "Are you ready?" "Narrator:" "The stress level is through the roof." "Today is extremely important if they don't qualify today, then they're going home." "We'll give you guys the opportunity to switch up observers if you want to, and then, you know, we'll go from there." "Narrator:" "On this last day for their final chance to qualify, snipers are allowed to change observers." "It might help, and it might not." "Half of them have changed observers." "Does it help with the success rate?" "It absolutely does." "Sometimes it has the exact opposite effect." "Narrator:" "Bonofiglio elects to change out his observer at the last minute." "A good observer can make or break you." "But changing your team right now before a test is a very risky move." "Which one of you is the better wind caller?" "Just shoot good, how about that?" "There's a lot of stress on these guys." "And they're all nervous right now, but that's where the cream rises to the top, and, you know, champions will overcome everything." "Line's hot." "All:" "Line's hot!" "Target one miss." "Target one miss." "Narrator:" "By the time they reach the 1,000-yard mark, the wind is blowing from every direction." "Any Marine who took it easy yesterday is kicking himself hard today." "Six of the seven Marines who need to qualify must make all five shots, or they fail." "You need to freaking calm down." "You need good, decent wind calls." "You dropped four." "Narrator:" "Every Marine here has been trained to read the conditions, but the stress is affecting their judgment." "You need to feel what the wind is doing here and look downrange." "You're only looking downrange, and that's why he's not doing." "Narrator:" "The instructors cannot call the adjustments, but they do what they can to drop a few hints." "I want to you try focusing on the hash mark." "Narrator:" "The observers make their calls." "Five inches above your other spot." "Point two." "Narrator:" "The pressure is on big time." "It all comes down to the next few moments." "Target's up." "Narrator:" "Incredibly, all seven shooters hit their first four targets." "Now six Marines need one last hit." "It's one shot, one kill, or pack your bags." "Down." "Narrator:" "Peek's bullet just squeaks over the bunker and hits low on the target." "Hit." "[Bleep] by the skin of your teeth," "Narrator:" "But a hit is a hit." "He passes." "My normal is not 10." "Narrator:" "Bonofiglio and his observer Hughes are deep in debate about wind-speed adjustments." "Bono, if that's not correct, make your own adjustments." "Roger." "Go with the first one." "It's your qualification." "Usually the observer has a better eye, but every once in a while, you look downrange, and you know for a fact that it's the wrong adjustment, and you should be able to see that and realize it and make your own adjustment." "Narrator:" "Ultimately it's the shooter's call, but trusting yourself doesn't come easy." "Bonofiglio, you cannot miss here." "Narrator:" "Bonofiglio's career as a scout sniper hangs in the balance." "That was the last shot." "Copy." "I couldn't throw him any more bones than I did." "Narrator:" "The wrong adjustment takes the bullet off course." "Target miss." "He's done." "Narrator:" "It will be bad news for Bonofiglio." "He's one shot short." "Clear!" "Narrator:" "The rest of the Marines learn their fate." "First shooter..." "Narrator:" "They need 28 hits to move on." "Second shooter, Clifton... 31." "Second shooter, Peek... 28." "Barely." "Target five, second shooter, Morales... 28." "Barely." "Barely." "Thanks, Morales, I lost 20 bucks on that one." "[Bleep] Target four, second shooter," "Sodermann... 32." "Narrator:" "Sodermann pulls through with one of the highest scores of the day." "Second shooter, Payne... 28." "Skin of your teeth, Payne." "Target seven, second shooter Bonofiglio... 27." "Roger." "Copy." "So Bonofiglio's the only one that failed." "We just had one guy fail today." "His partner, again, one time just gave him the wrong direction one time, and I let him know." "I'm like, "Look, if you don't agree with your partner, it's your job to make sure you make the correct adjustments."" "Narrator:" "It's a crushing blow." "He's out, but if he's lucky Bonofiglio will get a chance to repeat the course." "Narrator:" "Day 43 of Marine sniper school." "Today is the ASP stalk." "The difficulty is a five." "Narrator:" "This is the stalking exam." "The entire class starts at one end of a 1,000-yard-long field." "Each Marine has just four hours to sneak to within 300 yards of the instructors, who observe from the other end." "If he gets that far without being spotted, a Marine fires his weapon, indicating he's ready to be tested." "A walker then comes within 10 feet of the Marine while the spotters try to locate him." "One step forward." "At your feet." "Negative." "Narrator:" "Then, if he's still not detected, the sniper reads the letters on one of the spotter's cards to prove he's in a good position to see and hit the target." "Finally, he takes a second shot, firing a blank." "[Gunshot]" "And if we still cannot see his blank-fire shot, then he will get 100." "Narrator:" "Do all this without getting spotted, and you pass." "Get caught, and you're out." "Every sniper needs a perfect stalk or he flunks out of sniper school." "Man, this is gonna be a hard one." "I kind of have some nervousness, but at the same time, if you just go to what they taught us, you've been trained to do, then you're good." "You don't have to worry about being nervous." "Narrator:" "The ability to be virtually invisible is critical for snipers." "Every man must be an expert at fine-tuning his own camouflage." "You have to apply vegetation, and that's what really makes the" "Ghillie suit effective and the king of the jungle, so to speak." "When you have your Ghillie suit, the colors should symbolize the dead vegetation on the ground, like underbrush sort of growth." "Most of this area, as you look at it, it's this kind of dead sage brush." "So we're gonna put it into each other's backs here and hopefully be a walking bush." "Narrator:" "A scout sniper is a specialized precision weapon." "He doesn't slug it out head-on with larger forces, but rather strikes surgically at just the right moment." "A two-man team may be on its own for days deep in enemy territory." "Stealth is everything." "If they're spotted, they're dead." "Out of the 31 remaining students, 11 still need to execute a perfect stalk." "They have two more chances, or they're out." "Today's exam starts now." "To a casual observer, it's an unremarkable field with patches of grass." "Technology's gonna help you." "Narrator:" "To the trained sniper's eye, it's a complex maze offering pockets of safe haven if you know how to get there." "Finding the right approach to a firing position is critical." "Proper route selection's a big thing for these guys." "They always need to have something between them and the enemy so they can't be seen." "Narrator:" "Walkers stand by on the field, giving no clues to the Marine's position." "Face a quarter right." "Narrator:" "If the spotters detect movement, a whistle blows, and the every sniper in the field must freeze." "Spotters then direct the walkers to the suspected position." "Who the freaking crap is that?" "[Whistle blows] Freeze!" "You're frozen." "Stop moving." "And... stop." "Narrator:" "Only an hour in, and Escuela is spotted." "He fails the stalk." "Didn't get within the prescribed range of the O.P." "He got busted before he could shoot." "As he comes up, he's probably about your waist level." "I saw him walk or crawl." "I could see him clear as day." "You can see him clear as day." "Narrator:" "He'll get one final chance tomorrow." "The closer the snipers are to the target, the more stealth they require." "They use a technique called skull dragging." "Skull dragging is... it's exactly what it sounds like." "Your face is on the ground, and you're keeping as absolutely low as possible." "It's a specific movement that we do when you're in very low vegetation." "You're pulling on the ground, keeping an extreme low silhouette." "Your heels are flat." "They're not elevated up." "You're dragging your face." "Stalking out there, you got to be able to skull-drag for at least a good, like 30 meters or so." "Narrator:" "The snipers move slowly with extreme care, but on this field, there are worse things than detection by human eyes." "Camp Pendleton is jam-packed with other hazards." "A Marine stops dead in his tracks." "[Snake rattling]" "If the sniper can't get past the deadly snake or he panics and gets spotted, he fails." "Faced with a large, agitated diamondback, Lance Corporal" "Laster has one last option." "Hurry up, PIG." "Narrator:" "He elects to call in the walker to clear the snake from his path." "It starts rattling." "Just get shivers all through your body, and you start screaming, "Walker!"" "Hold still." "Hold still." "Don't move." "He's gonna [bleep] get you if you keep going all spaz back there." "Narrator:" "While this happens, the spotters must go blind." "They'll get it out of the way or let you reset away from the snake." "Oh, that rattlesnake almost got you in your face." "You don't own the place." "It will own you." "Narrator:" "After three-plus hours of skull dragging, 10" "Marines now have just 40 minutes to complete the test." "The snipers draw nearer the firing line." "Movement this close to the spotters needs to be extremely methodical." "Make the wrong move, and you're busted." "Freeze him, freeze him," "Narrator: 10 Marines who still need to pass are just approaching the critical stage of the stalking exam." "They're getting into their final firing position, the riskiest portion of the test." "Face away from the truck." "Okay." "Right." "Narrator:" "Most people wouldn't see anything amiss here." "But experienced spotters have eagle eyes." "They spy one thin branch making an unnatural movement." "Freeze, freeze, freeze." "We need a freeze." "Freeze him, freeze him, freeze him." "[Whistle blows]" "Can anybody hear me say "freeze"?" "Yeah, he's frozen." "Narrator:" "The walker is sent in." "I am standing on your side of it right now, right next to it." "All right, face right." "I'm going to call that." "Narrator:" "Lockhart is busted." "Roger, what did you get?" "If you hit it incorrectly, it will almost slingshot and do this number and then come back up and do that, which obviously it's not the wind." "It's a student." "You got popped on overhead movement." "You got to look, 'cause you didn't even hit this." "You hit this." "Domino effect." "Roger?" "You want to take the easy way and not the right way, you're gonna get smoked and a go home." "You're on the wire." "You need 100." "Narrator:" "Lockhart gets one more shot tomorrow." "Meanwhile, Kosecki has reached his final firing position." "He takes his first shot." "[Gunshot] All right, I'm moving." "En route." "Stand by." "All right, hey, I'm right in the center, right behind this bush." "If you want to go ahead and throw up an I.D., he's ready." "Narrator:" "Two cards are held up, at the spotter location." "Kosecki needs to correctly read one of them." "Says "Echo Tango."" "Negative." "All right, have him shoot." "Narrator:" "Now one last challenge..." "Kosecki has to fire one final shot." "His position and camouflage must be so good that even the shock wave from the muzzle blast won't betray his position." "If he's seen, he fails." "Firing on two." "Five, four, three, two." "[Gunshot] One execute." "Nothing." "Facing left." "Taking one, two steps." "Stick coming down, touching top of shooter's veil, scope, and tip of his muzzle right here." "No, he's good." "You're matching your background perfectly." "You're doing just fine." "Awesome." "All right." "Stayed down and stayed low." "It worked out." "Pretty excited." "I was sweating for a while." "Narrator:" "Kosecki got just what he needed." "But not everyone shares his luck." "Shooter I.D." "I take it that's a bad I.D." "Narrator:" "Ford has not been detected, but he calls the card wrong." "He now has 30 seconds to I.D. A final set of cards, or he fails today's test." "If you've been here for over an hour, you should be able to see those I.D. Cards." "I.D. S are up." "What do you got?" "Narrator:" "Suspecting Ford is guessing, the spotters don't raise any cards." "Shooter says "Hotel Oscar."" "Well, guess what, hoss?" "There's no I.D. S up." "Narrator:" "Ford fails." "Ford, what do you need left to pass?" "All right, hurry up." "Pack it up and get to the truck." "I've made just about every mistake you can make." "So I understand what not to do." "We still have at this time one last shooter over my left shoulder, Brooks." "This is one of our guys that's still trying to pass." "Face right." "Baby left." "Baby left." "At your feet." "Narrator:" "Brooks gets snagged." "Roger." "What did you get?" "That is not passing." "That's not what he needs right now." "We expect 100% and then some from them because they're gonna need it." "All right, make sure you police up all your gear." "Narrator:" "Day 46... the final day of the stalking exam." "Of the 31 Marines remaining at scout sniper school, three men need to get a perfect stalk, or they go home." "Guys in the class are still on the bubble." "They need 100 on this stalk." "That's a big weight on them." "This is their last chance." "Today is do or die." "So I hope they make it, and they're good dudes, and I think they can do it." "Hyah!" "Narrator:" "To keep the exam fair, the entire class will stalk alongside the three who still need to pass." "More men means more distractions for the spotters." "Coastal winds and scattered clouds help mask their movement." "They'll need all the help they can get." "We got four that's back here behind this bush here." "Negative, negative, negative." "Narrator:" "Three hours in, Ford takes his final shot." "[Gunshot] So far, he's avoided detection." "And he's already I.D. Ed his cards." "He's almost home-free." "But the spotters have a beat on him." "All right, following..." "Narrator:" "Instructor Gilland moves to within 10 feet." "All right." "Good to go." "Go ahead and face half right, and give me two full steps." "And one, one." "Okay." "A little more half left." "And one step forward, and I'll call it right there." "Narrator:" "This is Ford's moment of truth." "Say again." "Not getting it." "Narrator:" "Gilland's staff is just inches shy of contact with" "Ford's muzzle." "You had me a few inches away." "Shooter is Ford." "Ford." "Narrator:" "Ford passes by the skin of his teeth." "But Lockhart, one of the three Marines who need a perfect score today, is snagged while setting up his final shot." "Lockhart:" "I thought I would be able to I.D." "Easily when I raised it up a little like that, and no go still." "Narrator:" "After eight weeks of hell, he's out of the course." "Only Brooks remains in the field as the clock runs down." "He cranks off his final round." "[Gunshot]" "Now he must remain completely motionless." "And I am within 10 right now." "Ooh." "Narrator:" "But something catches the spotter's eye." "Narrator:" "It's down to the final minutes of stalking at" "Marine scout sniper school." "And I am within 10 right now." "Narrator:" "Brooks is almost in the clear, but the spotters think they see something." "Hey, Matt, take two steps left." "One, two." "Ooh." "Knee level?" "Yeah." "That dark circle." "Take about two steps forward." "One, two." "One more." "One." "At your feet." "Okay." "Yeah." "Hey, shooter is Brooks." "Stand by for his information." "I'll brief him on what he did wrong." "You had a background, okay." "You had a background, but your background's standing straight up, all right." "And when you were on your gun, it was leaning back, and it was exposing all this white stuff and that's what he walked on." "It just doesn't look natural." "Narrator:" "The smallest mistake delivers a crushing blow to Brooks." "The thing is, what you see is not what they see, because your eyes are about five to eight inches lower than the top of your veil, so you have to keep that in mind." "So I was thinking about it, but I figured this veg coming from the bush right next to it, it would be good, but I don't know." "Maybe it turned." "Maybe it just didn't blend." "Narrator:" "Brooks is a master shot, but stalking is just as vital a skill." "He'll be afforded the opportunity to repeat the course in the future." "Day 48." "29 of the original 32 Marines remain." "They face the toughest test yet." "This is unknown distance qualification." "For this test, the shooters will all stay on the firing line." "10 targets are placed at random distances up to 800 yards." "Target number one!" "All:" "Target one." "Narrator:" "As each target number is called, the shooter has five seconds to make the shot." "Hit." "Miss." "Re-engage." "Narrator:" "Miss it, and he has five more seconds to make the correction and shoot again." "Hit." "Barely." "Target number seven." "All:" "Target number seven." "Narrator:" "Each first-round hit is worth 10 points." "A second hit is worth 8 points." "A double miss is worth zero points, and there are 10 targets out there for a total of 100 points." "Narrator:" "The unknown distance test runs for 15 straight days." "Narrator:" "The lowest five scores are dropped." "Marines must achieve an 80% hit average to pass." "With two days left, 26 Marines are in the clear." "Three are at risk of failing and heading home." "Clifton." "Got Clifton right now, who still needs to get an 80 and a 78." "Engage." "Five, four, three, two... [gunshot]" "What the crap?" "Miss!" "Clifton:" "I was constantly having trouble with getting the correct range to the targets." "Clifton!" "[Gunshot] Miss." "Re-engage." "That was probably the most difficult part for me." "Narrator:" "Estimating distance to a target is one of the biggest challenges a sniper faces." "Hit." "Good adjustment." "Narrator:" "A bullet does not fly straight at a target." "Gravity causes it to drop the moment it leaves the barrel." "Using a FLIR thermoimaging binocular, the arcing path of the bullet is clearly seen dropping on the target." "At 800 yards, if a sniper misjudges distance by only 50 yards, he can miss the target by more than three feet." "Two, three, four, five, six." "Narrator:" "On the second-to-last day, Ford and" "Kosecki both shoot over 80 points and pass." "Clifton needs to do well both today and tomorrow." "He needs at least a 78 today to stay in the game." "Higher would be even better." "Target six... elevation 5.6, range 619." "Clifton!" "[Gunshot]" "Miss." "Re-engage!" "Five, four, three, two, one." "[Gunshot]" "Ah." "Miss." "Wind picked up." "All right, Clifton, let's go." "First-round impact." "[Gunshot]" "Miss." "Re-engage." "No, you went underneath it." "Narrator:" "A miss." "Clifton, come here!" "Narrator:" "Clifton is the last man on the line." "But it's not over yet." "Didn't go as well as I hoped, but I got one of the exact scores that I need to pass." "So tomorrow, the lowest score that I can get is an 80 and should be able to do it." "Narrator:" "It all comes down to tomorrow." "Basically comes down to one day... pass or fail." "Of course, he got a 78." "So tomorrow he has to get an 80, or he fails, and he's gonna get disenrolled from the course." "Get perfect wind calls." "Make sure that scope is perfectly focusing your eye." "All right, there's no reason why you should be failing, all right?" "Narrator:" "Day 49... final day of the unknown distance test." "Clifton must hit at least eight targets, or he has endured the last two months of sniper school for nothing." "He needs to get an 80% to pass today." "It's not gonna be an easy day for Clifton, but he definitely has got the training." "I think he's gonna do it." "I think he's gonna get at least an 80%." "But I hope he doesn't prove me wrong." "Narrator:" "The wind is starting to pick up by the far targets." "I'm up." "Target one." "All:" "Target one." "Hernandez." "Hit." "Kosecki." "Hit." "Narrator:" "Every Marine fires down the line." "Curry." "Hit." "Narrator:" "But it's the last man who is feeling the heat." "Clifton." "He needs 80 out of 100 points to pass." "Nothing less than his chosen career as a sniper is on the line." "Hit!" "Target number two." "All:" "Target number two." "Hit!" "Target number three." "All:" "Target number three." "Hit!" "Target number four." "All:" "Target number four." "Hit!" "Right long." "All:" "Target number five." "Hit!" "Narrator:" "So far, so good." "Five out of five." "Clifton needs 30 more points." "Target number six." "All:" "Target number six." "Narrator:" "Clifton misses target six." "He has five seconds to reload and try again for 8 points." "Five, four, three, two... hit." "Whoo." "Don't start that crap, Clifton." "Target number seven." "All:" "Target number seven." "Hit." "Target number eight." "All:" "Target number eight." "Narrator:" "With the targets now at least 700 yards away and the wind gusting, the shots get considerably more difficult." "Brandon." "Miss." "Reengage." "Narrator:" "The misses are racking up." "Two, one." "Clifton!" "Five, four, three, two, one." "Narrator:" "Clifton misses both his shots." "Suddenly, his future is on the line." "He must hit the final two targets, or he goes home." "Narrator:" "Day 62." "29 Marines remain in sniper school." "Target number nine." "Narrator:" "For one of them, it's the moment of truth." "On the final day of the unknown distance test, Clifton must hit both target nine and 10, or he fails." "Hit." "Target 10." "All:" "Target 10." "If he hits 10 at all, either the first round or second round, he's good." "If he misses both rounds, he's done." "He gets the 78, and he fails." "Narrator:" "Again, Clifton's classmates fire at the most-distant target over half a mile away." "Miss." "Re-engage." "Brooks." "Miss." "Re-engage." "Narrator:" "As he listens for his name to be called, Clifton can only watch and wait." "Even the best shooters are struggling." "Double miss." "Narrator:" "It all comes down to a single pull of the trigger." "Clifton." "This moment defines a sniper." "[Ding]" "Congratulations, Clifton." "[Bleep] [bleep]" "Narrator:" "It's a shot he will never forget." "All right, Clifton, you made it." "Get up. 25 and 5." "Hurry up." "Narrator:" "Clifton and his spotters celebrate in the traditional sniper way." "I made it." "I made it." "That last target, it came down to either hitting it or if I missed it, then I would have been done, but just had to apply the proper fundamentals and had my spotter give me a correct wind call and just came down to that very last shot," "but got it off." "I made it." "All right, get up." "Good job." "[Bleep] Yeah, buddy." "I was hoping it wouldn't come down to target 10, but, you know, I still got it." "So I'm happy about that." "Give me five guys over here!" "Narrator:" "Now there is only one thing left between 29 Marines and the dream of becoming snipers." "Let me get a helper over here." "Narrator:" "This final mission is meant to remind every man that snipers operate on their own and must take care of their own." "They're gonna have to move these casualties along with all their equipment, their gear, to an emergency extract point." "Up, up, up, up." "It's their last heart check, gut check, nut check." "Narrator:" "Together, they must carry two four 200-pound dummies home, 23 brutal miles away." "All right, let's roll." "Narrator:" "If the Marines lose motivation, they get the bone..." "Sodermann, come here." "This is your [bleep] Penalty for moving slow." "Narrator:" "A 176-pound reminder to keep going." "Stay close." "Narrator:" "They walk all night for 23 miles." "Let's go, Marines." "You're doing good." "Finally starting to get it." "A little bit of teamwork helps, don't it?" "Get up here, Laster, Clifton, Gilland." "Narrator:" "Finally, after nine hours..." "They reach the end." "Atten-hut!" "You guys accomplished something that not many people have." "As of this moment, you're United States Marine Corps scout snipers." "How's it feel?" "Hell of a job, Marines." "Good job today." "Narrator: 29 Marines have earned a small but precious token called the hog's tooth." "These men are now Hunters of Gunmen, Marine Scout Snipers." "Clifton, good job." "Feels unbelievable." "Definitely was a long haul to get here, but it was worth it." "Worth every drop of sweat." "It was the hardest thing I've done in my life, getting this hog's tooth." "Congratulations." "Thank you." "The hog's tooth." "All right, it's been around for a while now." "Snipers have been wearing that [bleep] since they've been graduating sniper school, the first sniper school, and now you have one, all right?" "You wear it, you carry it with you until the day you die, 'cause you'll always be a sniper from here on out." "Understand?" "All:" "Right." "All right, happy hunting, Marines." "It feels good." "Good job, man." "[Laughs]" "Two, three."