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A Bulgarian soldier prepares his sniper rifle during the European Best Sniper Squad Competition at the 7th Army Training Command's Grafenwoehr training area, Germany, Sept. 24, 2017. The European Best Sniper Squad Competition is an U.S. Army Europe c...
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Latvian soldiers conduct cold load training in a UH-60 Black Hawk during the European Best Sniper Squad Competition at the 7th Army Training Command's Grafenwoehr training area, Germany, Sept. 24, 2017. The European Best Sniper Squad Competition is a...
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German soldiers negotiate the rope bridge obstacle during the European Best Sniper Squad Competition at the 7th Army Training Command's Grafenwoehr training area, Germany, Sept. 24, 2017. The European Best Sniper Squad Competition is an U.S. Army Eur...
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Snipers from all participating countries zero their weapons during the European Best Sniper Squad Competition at the 7th Army Training Command's Grafenwoehr training area, Bavaria, Germany, Sept. 24, 2017. The European Best Sniper Squad Competition i...
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Bulgarian soldiers help each other to conquer an obstacle during the European Best Sniper Squad Competition at the 7th Army Training Command's Grafenwoehr training area, Germany, Sept. 24, 2017. The European Best Sniper Squad Competition is an U.S. A...
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U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. William L. Gardner II, right, Command Sergeant Major of the 7th Army Training Command (7th ATC), talks to a Czech Republic soldier during the European Best Sniper Squad Competition at the 7th ATC's Grafenwoehr training are...
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Latvian soldiers climb an obstacle during the European Best Sniper Squad Competition at the 7th Army Training Command's Grafenwoehr training area, Germany, Sept. 24, 2017. The European Best Sniper Squad Competition is an U.S. Army Europe competition ...
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Soldiers of Czech Republic get over an obstacle during the European Best Sniper Squad Competition at the 7th Army Training Command's Grafenwoehr training area, Germany, Sept. 24, 2017. The European Best Sniper Squad Competition is an U.S. Army Europe...
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Italian soldiers balance over an obstacle during the European Best Sniper Squad Competition at the 7th Army Training Command's Grafenwoehr training area, Germany, Sept. 24, 2017. The European Best Sniper Squad Competition is an U.S. Army Europe compe...
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Swedish and Polish soldiers overcome an obstacle during the European Best Sniper Squad Competition at the 7th Army Training Command's Grafenwoehr training area, Germany, Sept. 24, 2017. The European Best Sniper Squad Competition is an U.S. Army Europ...
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The Portuguese sniper team zeros their weapons during the European Best Sniper Squad Competition at the 7th Army Training Command's Grafenwoehr training area, Germany, Sept. 24, 2017. The European Best Sniper Squad Competition is an U.S. Army Europe ...
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German soldiers conduct UH 60 Black Hawk cold load training during the European Best Sniper Squad Competition at the 7th Army Training Command's Grafenwoehr training area, Bavaria, Germany, Sept. 24, 2017. The European Best Sniper Squad Competition i...
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A U.S. Soldier and a German soldier talk about German weapons during the European Best Sniper Squad Competition at the 7th Army Training Command's Grafenwoehr training area, Germany, Sept. 24, 2017. The European Best Sniper Squad Competition is an U....
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A German soldier, right, briefs a Bulgarian soldier on a German rifle during the European Best Sniper Squad Competition at the 7th Army Training Command's Grafenwoehr training area, Germany, Sept. 24, 2017. The European Best Sniper Squad Competition ...
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GRAFENWOEHR, Germany (Sept. 25, 2017) -- The European Best Sniper Squad Competition 2017 kicked off with a friendship shoot in the Grafenwoehr Training Are, Sept. 24.
Snipers from Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States zeroed their rifles alongside each other Sunday morning before starting the friendly five-day competition.
"We got to shoot the Dragunov, which everybody kind of favored the old school rifle," said Cpl. Christopher Smith, a German sniper. "A lot of Americans tried our weapons."
The Dragunov sniper rifle, SVD, is considered the world's best army self-loading sniper rifle, and was brought to the competition by the Bulgarian squad.
The snipers rotated between zeroing their weapon systems and conducting cold load training on a helicopter. They were able to get familiar with entering and exiting aircraft procedures.
This was important because not all of the snipers have experience, if any, shooting from a helicopter.
"I'm looking forward to the altitude shots because we hardly get to do that in Germany," said Smith.
Following the events at the range, the 16 sniper squads went through a series of physical challenges at the obstacle course, here.
"Some of the things were very hard, but the experience was very good," said Pvt. Dimitar Demriev, an excited shooter from the Bulgarian squad. "This is our first time competing and we feel like a real part of the European military."
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