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t happens almost every day in the Mekong Delta—a soldier peers cautiously over a paddy dike and sees a Viet Cong in the distance walking along another dike.
   "I can't hit him," is the frustrating thought that races through his mind. "Too far away."
   Too far away for the M-16 rifle, yet easily visible because of the flatness of the Delta—it is a recurring problem but one that is now being solved at the 9th Division sniper school at Bearcat. The only such school in Vietnam, it teaches beating the enemy at his own game, sniping, plus a little one-up-manship.

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.   Major General Julian J. Ewell, Division commander, first envisioned the need for trained snipers in the Delta. Prior to assuming command of the Division, he requested that a team of the Army's best riflemen be assigned to the Old Reliables from the Marksmanship Training Unit at Ft. Benning, Ga.
   Arriving in Vietnam in June, 1968, the team of nine non-commissioned officers and its commander, Major Willis L. Powell, Columbus, Ga., set to work building a school from

By SP5 Mike West    

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scratch and gaining practical experience in actual combat situations.
   During the first month, two members of the team bagged 10 VC in a night ambush near Dong Tam, engaging the surprised enemy from over 500 meters. Thus proving the feasibility of sniping in the Delta, the team went to work on classrooms and range facilities.