Cat Island, Bahamas, where Marine Recon Snipers help CIA Spymaster Corey Pearson out on a mission

 

MARINE CORPS SCOUT SNIPERS

 They're called "Marine Corps Scout Snipers" and are extremely skilled at recon and shooting high-valued targets in the face from a thousand yards away (or more). That puts them in the realm of special operations, and their weapon is the M40 bolt-action sniper rifle. It has had four variants: the M40, M40A1, M40A3, and M40A5. The M40 was introduced in 1966. The changeover to the A1 model was completed in the 1970s, the A3 in the 2000s, and the A5 in 2009.

     Being a Marine scout sniper involves many technical skills, such as camouflage field-craft, mission planning and marksmanship. The training is tough and without previous Marine training, few will successfully complete sniper school.

     They often assist the CIA in risky operations and, yes, the job can be very dangerous. In the MISSION OF VENGEANCE spy thriller, Marine Corps Recon Snipers take out a suicide bomber on a resort beach on a remote Bahamian out island, called Cat Island, and many American tourist lives were saved. Check the video at the bottom about Cat Island where many of the resorts, pubs and restaurants mentioned in it are featured in my spy thriller.

     The MISSION OF VENGEANCE spy thriller brings out just who a USMC Scout Sniper is… a Marine, highly skilled in fieldcraft and marksmanship, who can deliver long-range precision fire on selected targets, from concealed positions. CIA Spymaster Corey Pearson calls in two teams of them to assist in a mission that unfolds on a remote Bahamian out island called Cat Island and gives them the code-name “OSOK”- One Shot, One Kill. Both teams are specially suited for night operations and fully capable of operating in almost complete darkness through use of night vision scopes and infrared laser equipment.

     Each Scout Sniper team has two members. One sniper is equipped with a long-range, specially-made sniper rifle, the M40, and he also has an M9 9mm pistol strapped to his thigh. The spotter is armed with an M4 carbine and uses a high-power spotting scope to spot targets and to guide follow-up shots for the shooter. They can blow a man’s brains out with the M40 from 1000 yards away, and even are effective killers at a range of up to 1.25 miles (2.01 km) with the M82.

     Here’s a few snippets from the MISSION OF VENGEANCE spy thriller that describes the Marine Corps Scout Sniper teams (code-named “OSOK”) which are called in to assist the CIA’s mission on Cat Island, Bahamas: 

     “I requested Morrison to send in two OSOK teams. That’s why I’m kayaking into the Bonefish Creek mangroves, to retrieve their cache that was parachuted in last night. It has the gear they need.”

     A hazmat tech asked, “What’s OSOK?”

     Murray answered. “It stands for ‘One Shot, One Kill’. They’re Marine sniper teams that CBIF calls in for help now and then.”

     Corey added, “They’re well-versed in delivering long-range kill shots from a concealed position up to a thousand yards away. I called them in to protect you people. They’ll be observing the Fountain Bay Resort grounds. We won’t see them, but they’ll be watching us and will be in instant communication. If the bomb-sniffing dogs or any of us spots the bomber, raise your left arm with a fist, point to him with your right hand, and his head will explode in one second.”

                                                ~  ~~  ~~ ~

     Corey’s app indicated the cache was twenty feet away. He saw it, a green parachute hung in the branches. It matched the surrounding colors perfectly. He cut the strings and laboriously dragged the cache back into the clearing and unzipped it. Inside lay two M40 and two M82 bolt-action rifles with silencers and rifle scopes mounted on them, spotting scopes, two boxes of ammo with ‘3,400 feet per second velocity’ written on them, binoculars, bipods to rest the rifles on, and two shovels to build a ‘hide’.

     Four ghillie camouflage suits were wrapped around a duffel bag. He unzipped it. Inside were compasses, two maps of Cat Island, handheld field radios, large hunting knives, insect repellent, food rations, first aid kits, penlights with filter lenses to darken the light, chemical mace, camouflage paste for their faces, laser range finders, bulletproof vests… even camouflaged duct tape. No wonder it’s so fuckin’ heavy!  End of snippets

Lastly, you'll enjoy this video of Cat Island, Bahamas: Fly To Cat Island! 

Robert Morton is a member of the Association Of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) and writes about the U.S. Intelligence Community, and enjoys traveling to the Florida Keys and Key West, Bahamas and Caribbean. He's combined both passions into the Corey Pearson- CIA Spymaster series.