Everyone knows what camouflage is, but fewer people have seen a ghillie suit. And unless you are looking very hard, you might not see it period. The ghillie suit dates back to Scotland when landlords would hire guys to go around their properties to repel poachers. They were called ghillies and would make suits from rags and frayed textiles to camouflage themselves in the brush and wait for poachers.
Nowadays ghillie suits are used for a variety of activities from the lethal art of sniping to the much less deadly game of paintball. The technology stays the same even though the textiles have changed over the years. Even when the opposition or mark comes within a really close range to them, the modern ghillie suit wearer can remain unseen and look like a pile of leaves in the forest.
Because of their uncomplicated concept and high effectiveness, ghillie suits have been synonymous with sharpshooting. Around the period of the conclusion of the eighteenth century the art of sharpshooting began. To defeat and break the spirits of the opposing army, rebels would pick off targets from hidden locations. Assassins came about when weapons became more accurate and a shooter could be over one-hundred meters away from their mark.
The use of shooters in military combat changed the way wars were fought. Officers would stand with troops and give orders during battle before the deployment of snipers. As more officers were sniped, infantry warfare went from face-to-face encounters to more sheltered, flanking tactics. To keep from being assassinated, commanders had to try and mix in with the lower-ranking troopers. These techniques took wars from an open area to places that had more cover for both sides such as woods or mountains. The code of honor that military men in the past held onto was forgotten as more ferocious and hidden techniques were used in combat.
All sides used ghillie suits during World War I to kill high-ranking commanders and demoralize opposing armies. The ability to remain hidden for sharpshooters lies within the suit; materials hang down and give the shooter incredible camouflage protection. There are several different types of the suit so that the sharpshooter can blend in with surroundings no matter what environment they are in. A desert ghillie suit, for example, will appear a lot different than a woodlands ghillie suit.
Modern day sharpshooters still continue to implement the suit for protection and cover while on important missions. A sharpshooter's talent to remain hidden is essential for their security and survival since most of the time a sharpshooter operates alone or with one other person as the look-out. Besides the gun, a well-made ghillie suit to hide the shooter is a sniper's most important asset. A sharpshooter's safety would be severly compromised if they didn't have the skill to remain unseen until it was time to take the shot. To an sniper, the escape is just as crucial as the actual shot. Several times during the getaway the shooter will use the camouflage of the ghillie suit to get them out without harm.
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