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Everybody has heard of what camouflage is, but fewer people have seen a ghillie suit. And unless you are looking very hard, you might not see it period. Landowners would hire boys to go around their land and catch poachers in the beginnings of the ghillie suit. Ghillies, as they eventually came to be known, would get in the brush and wait patiently for illegal hunters in outfits they would make from rags and frayed textiles.Nowadays a variety of operations, from combat sharpshooting to paintballing are done in the ghillie suit. The textiles used have changed but the concept behind the covering remains the same. The modern ghillie suit wearer looks like a pile of sticks when they are being still and can remain undetected even when the opposition or mark comes within a very close range to them.Because of their uncomplicated design and high efficiency, ghillie suits have been associated with sharpshooting. The act of sharpshooting began around the period of time of the conclusion of the eighteenth century. Rebels would pick off the opposition from far-away spots to defeat and break the spirits of the opposition. Snipers came about when rifles became more accurate and a shooter could be more than 100 meters away from their target.The way battles were fought was altered because of the use of sharpshooters. Officers would go with battalions and give commands during battle before the massive deployment of sharpshooters. Infantry warfare went from direct encounters to sheltered, flanking techniques as more commanders were assassinated. To avoid being assassinated, commanders had to try and blend in with the common troopers. These tactics took military encounters from an open field to places that had more cover for both sides such as woods or hills. As more ferocious and hidden techniques were used to fight, the rules of engagement that troops before held onto was forgotten.Every side used ghillie suits during WWI to kill high-ranking officers and break the spirits of opposing armies. The same design used then is generally mimiced nowadays; suits are made from textiles that hang down and give the sniper the uncanny talent to stay hidden. Whatever climate they are in, there are so many styles of the suit that the wearer can blend in with their terrain anywhere. A woodlands ghillie suit, for example, would look much different than a ghillie suit for the desert.On imperative operations the ghillie suit is still implemented for protection and cover by the modern-day shooter. Since a sharpshooter often works by himself or with one other person the talent to remain hidden is necessary for a sharpshooter's safety. Besides the rifle, a well-crafted ghillie suit to cover the sharpshooter is a sniper's most essential asset. If the shooter could not remain unseen until it was time to take the shot, his security would be extremely compromised. The getaway after a shot was taken is just as crucial to an assassin as the actual shot. Many times during the escape the sharpshooter will use the camouflage of the suit to get him out safely.
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