And Rod Ryan, president of SMTC, made the following post to the Sniper Country Duty Roster in response to this and the discussions it activated.
Pablito, I did not allow the POST to do any article. The guy paid for the course just like everyone else. He said he wanted to do an article for LIFE magazine and he was not anti-gun. So my big mistake was trusting someone. The story is bullshit. The main person talked about in the article failed due to a bad attitude and he couldnt shoot.
We had one of our dark green instructors come to us on day one and told of this guys questioning him about anti-gun, racisum, and some other crap we felt did not fit into the intrests of a pro gun, pro freedom writer, so we gave the guy false info about everything from my shoe size to what color I crap each day. The joke is on him.
He got to talk to one individual for an extended amount of time because that individual choose to spill his guts when offsite. The guy was wined and dined and felt that he would be a hero by giving the rambo BS. Everyone else just wanted to train. What the article did not tell was the dedication and motivation of the students who passed the course. Who they were and why they were there. The course had LE officers, soldiers, and professinals from many career fields. Some wanted to hone their hunting skills, some needed the course due to their profession, some wanted the challenge.
All who passed the course did so because they kept their head out of their third point of contact and did what they were taught when they needed to.
Now the good news...all press is good press. I have sold 32 course slots to next years sniper and carbine courses from people who read the article.
Rod Ryan
Rod Ryan <ryan@stormmountain.com>