VIEWS
American Sniper: Kyle Kollar Q&A
April 26th, 2008

As the weather begins to warm up and everyone wakes up from their long winter hibernation, we begin to truly appreciate our neighborhoods, landscapes, and surroundings. This year, as we take our first barefoot steps on the budding grass, remember all it takes to make sure that we can enjoy our homeland so securely and all of the men and women who protect us from afar. This month, we bring you a special interview with United States Sniper, Kyle Kollar, call sign “Shadow 4.”

There are obviously the typical questions like…

STLD: What is your longest shot taken? What is your weapon of choice? How crazy is the adrenaline rush while the OP is going down?

SHADOW-4: My personal longest shot at a person was 600 meters with the M-24 Sniper Rifle. It’s a Remington 700. If I had a choice I would be using the Chey Tac .408. It’s the baddest rifle out there right now. It remains supersonic up to 2,500 meters which means it’s accurate enough to hit a human target. Unfortunately my battalion hasn’t ordered the $14,000 weapon yet, so the M-24 it is. We also have a Barrett .50 cal sniper rifle.

STLD: I've read that Snipers are the most economical weapon the Armed Forces has in their artillery; what do you think of this and is it accurate?

SHADOW-4: I think that’s very accurate. We get the job done and all we need is a backpack full of gear and our rifles. Now don’t get me wrong...I am not saying we don’t need everyone else. Everybody does their part. For example: you have the regular line dogs that use their vehicles (Bradley’s and tanks) that go picket out along the roads. They are there to make sure we have a presence in town and to keep an eye on the roads, making sure no ass holes are putting in IED's. They also go out on foot patrols and clear all the surrounding areas. If we get a piece of intel(ligience) that suggests some terrorist is operating in a certain area, the line dogs go out to pick him up and we support. Sometimes we go out with them and sit on a rooftop to provide ‘overwatch.’ But as far as killing the bad guys, we’re definitely the most cost efficient. If we have a target, my three-man team hoof's it out and takes out the target alone.

STLD: What is the mind set of a Sniper while on a mission? What are the typical things going through your head?

SHADOW-4: The mind set is a little crazy. You have to understand that we’re going out into the field with no support. So I guess you have to be a little bit nuts to volunteer for that, but for some reason everybody wants to be a sniper. I have a married man with a baby girl in my team and I keep in mind that I have to get him home to watch his little girl grow up before I consider acting like a cowboy and doing some crazy shit. Bringing them home is my main concern.

STLD: What's scarier, the sniping, or once the shot has been taken, the exit strategy?

SHADOW-4: No doubt it’s the exit strategy. The infil is scary because you don’t know what you’re going to run into; but when you get there all that goes away. The scariest part is after I take the shot. We have suppressors and I put oil in it to suppress the sound even more but you can still hear the crack of the round breaking the sound barrier and when that happens... everybody knows there’s a sniper in the area and they start looking for you.

STLD: Is it anything like you see in the movies, or is it way more intense?

SHADOW-4: I don’t know... the movies make it pretty intense! But of course, actually living it tends to pucker up my butthole a little bit more, LOL!

STLD: There is a video floating around the web of people being sniped by a 50 cal. and being blown to bits when the bullet connects, is that accurate or just something that is made up for the internet?

SHADOW-4: I've seen that video. The guys are in Trashcanistan in the mountains right? You better believe it’s true. We use MK 211 Mod 0 Armor Piercing incendiary rounds that will melt through a tank's armor. They explode on impact. One of my soldiers shot a guy through a palm tree the other day at 1,100 meters. It was so messy the locals didn’t even move the body like they usually do. They just threw some leaves over it.

STLD: Getting pretty deep and personal, but after you've made the shot, do the demons haunt you later, or is it just a job and when you leave, it's forgotten?

SHADOW-4: The luxury of my job (unlike a Mortar-Mans) is that I can discriminate in who gets killed and who doesn’t. I make sure they’re doing something that’s putting the lives of fellow soldiers in trouble and I pull the trigger. Other than that, no, the demons don’t haunt me, I just smoke a cig and eat an M.R.E. LOL!

STLD: In Hollywood, we always see thermal scopes, armor piercing ammunition, and exotic future weapons that may or may not be really used in the current military, are any of these available to you, or is the weapon of choice just the standard issue 308 rifle with a high power scope attached?

SHADOW-4: Yeah, we use thermals and armor piercing ammo. All that stuff gets used. We are privileged to work for the best funded military in the world.

STLD: How crazy are the missions you go on? Are you behind enemy lines for weeks at a time setting up for the shot, or are you perched in a lookout and sniping anything that comes at a protected area?

SHADOW-4: Both, only the longest I've sat on an OP with no support was 48 hours.

STLD: I've read that Military is having trouble keeping their experienced snipers enlisted due to the "For Hire" companies offering high salaries and big bonuses for those soldiers willing to work for the security contractors.

SHADOW-4: Let me put it this way... when I get home the section is losing 8 of its ten guys to the civilian world. Jobs offering over 100 grand every six months are out their just waiting to be filled. I'll cross that bridge in 2011 when my time is up.

STLD: When home on leave and attending the state fairs, do you always win the biggest teddy bears for the ladies at any of the shooting booths?

SHADOW-4: I did once but its fun to lose and get made fun of for being a sniper and losing to a girl.

God Bless you and your squadmates and thank you for doing what you are doing so we can live in a free world. We take our daily lives for granted every day going about our usual tasks, none of which would be possible without the brave men and women like you fighting to keep our freedom and to bring this gift to others around the world.

THANK YOU!

--STLD

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