Opinion/Critical analysis - Book Report/Review Example

Coughlin describes some of the challenges that a sniper faces in the battlefield, which also included forces of nature. It is in some way remarkable how a sniper is trained into becoming alert when in combat. Coughlin explains that his life slows down when he is in combat and how at this moment his senses sharpen. This explanation by Coughlin emphasises on the awareness, the sense of control that soldiers have because they are aware of their situation. He adds some sense of humour in his book when he suggests that a snipers skill is modelled in his genetic composition.

We get to understand combat relationships when we critically look into Coughlin’s ideas. In combat war, we have the enemy and the friend. Coughlin’s description of the killings scenes suggests that their enemies did not have much chance against their soldier killers. Coughlin describes a snipers work, which entailed setting his gun sights to a distant body, focusing the body via his telescopic sights and taking his shot where he watches his bullet explode from his rifle (Coughlin Kuhlman and Davis 126).

In this case, the victim is unaware of his fate these thought show the inequality that exists between combatants. Such a shot by a sniper provides a feel of bravado for having defeated the enemy. Coughlin’s description of his weapon and its power in bringing a close contact between the sniper and his victim suggest the technological power that the soldiers had over their enemies (Coughlin, Kuhlman and Davis 86). Coughlin through the telescopic view from his weapon describes his victim in detail.

The soldier is also able to experience what his victim experiences when the shot is taken. Although Coughlin does not dwell on how these contacts affect snipers later, there is no doubt that such contact explains the psychological trauma that many soldiers undergo after war. However, what is clearly stated by Coughlin is the fact that he never feels proud of taking another humans life, and this is illustrated when at times his victims show up in his dreams. We get to know that many soldiers feel the repercussions’ of actions after the mission is over.

Coughlin explains that, as a sniper, they see their victims as targets and not as persons. This is because focusing their targets as a person does distract a snipers cause. Coughlin emphasises the disappointment that soldiers feel when civilians are killed during combats. These suggest that, for a soldier in war, their primary target is the enemy, but this shows that their task is not always easy when civilians get in the way of their work. Coughlin’s makes reference of the Diala bridge incident where civilians were killed.

In this case, Coughlin defends the actions of his fellow soldiers. We get to feel the frustrations that the soldiers in such moments (Coughlin, Kuhlman and Davis 213). Coughlin describes a snipers role of shooting at a target on far distances and most times their targets are unaware of their fate. Coughlin tries to improve this experience by describing life of a soldier in the front lines. In an effort to improve the experience of snipers in battlefield, Coughlin provides a description of mobile sniper strike team is a creation that allows snipers to roam the battlefield instead of maintaining stationary positions.

This arrangement allows snipers to