Rob Furlong
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Rob Furlong, a former corporal of the Canadian Forces, holds the record for the longest confirmed sniper kill in combat. Established in 2002, it exceeds Carlos Hathcock's 1967 record of 2,286 m (7,500 ft) by 144 m (472 ft).
Born in Fogo Island, Newfoundland, Furlong taught himself to fire a sniper rifle ambidextrously.
In 2002, he participated in Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan's Shah-i-Kot Valley as a member of the 3rd Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI). His sniper team included MCpl. Graham Ragsdale (Team Commander), MCpl. Tim McMeekin, MCpl. Arron Perry, Cpl. Dennis Eason. A three-man al-Qaeda weapons team was moving into a mountainside position when Furlong took aim with his Long Range Sniper Weapon (LRSW), a .50-caliber McMillan Brothers TAC-50 rifle. He began firing at a fighter carrying an RPK machine gun. His first shot missed entirely, and his second shot had hit the knapsack on the militant's back. The third struck the target's torso, killing him. The distance was measured as 2,430 metres (2,657 yd / 1.509 miles). [1] Furlong's altitude was around 2432 m (9000 ft) mean elevation, where low air density increases the maximum effective range of a high-powered sniper rifle and 750-grain Hornady A-MAX [2] very-low-drag bullets by about 600 m (656 yd).
Furlong received a Mention in Dispatch for "impressive professionalism and dedication to duty through his valiant conduct while under direct and indirect fire and his actions helped ensure the success of the mission" and a US Armed Forces Bronze Star.
Furlong later left the Canadian Forces to pursue a career as a police officer.
[edit] References
- ^ Friscolanti, Michael. "We were abandoned", Maclean's, Rogers Publishing, 2006-05-15, pp. 18-25.
- ^ Hornady A-MAX information
