The one-of-a-kind Air National Guard unit assigned to Ft. Bliss, Tex., has an additional capability along with its heavy weapons role—sharpshooter. Among the Air Force’s some 270 sharpshooters, 12 of them reside within the Texas ANG’s 204th Security Forces Squadron. Their mission, said TSgt. Robert Johnson, the sharpshooter’s lead NCO and a former marine, is “to deliver long-range, precision rifle fire; enhanced observation and reporting in support of airbase defense and continuous airfield operations.” It is a skill, he added, for which “you always have to keep training.”
President Donald Trump on July 4 signed into law $150 billion in defense funds as part of the tax-and-spending package known as the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” after congressional Republicans approved the legislation in narrow, drawn-out votes earlier this week.
