A sniper from Croatia aims at a target Nov. 19, 2025, during the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Best Sniper Competition at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
GRAFENWOEHR, Germany — Roughly 15 seconds is all a team of two snipers from the Netherlands had to get their required shots on target before sprinting to another firing line on hilly Bavarian ranges.
The Dutch duo, whose identities are being withheld due to their duties, were on the clock Wednesday at the Grafenwoehr Training Area for an event dubbed Operation Serpent Dawn, one of 16 in this year’s European Best Sniper Competition.
It challenged teams to rapidly engage moving targets while performing under heavy physical strain.
This year’s competition demands far more than expert marksmanship, said Command Sgt. Maj. Miguel Antia, the Observer, Coach, Trainer team senior enlisted leader for the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels.
Teams receive an order the night before each event and must plan their own equipment, consider potential enemy positions and prepare as if entering a real-world mission, he said.
A sniper from Croatia fires at a target during the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Best Sniper Competition on Nov. 19, 2025. The five-day event at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany features teams of two from countries across Europe. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
A Croatian sniper sprints to the next firing point Nov. 19, 2025, during the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Best Sniper Competition at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany. The service member's face is blurred in order to protect their identity. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
An American soldier oversees a Croatian service member clearing his sniper rifle during the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Best Sniper Competition at Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany on Nov. 19, 2025. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
A Croatian sniper completes a range at the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Best Sniper Competition at Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany on Nov. 19, 2025. The service member's face is blurred in order to protect their identity. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
The competition, which features 35 two-member teams, began Tuesday. This year’s field has representation from 22 countries, 7th Army Training Command spokesperson Lacey Justinger said Thursday.
Antia, who played a major role in shaping the competition, said he aimed to replicate realistic combat conditions and treat targets like “a free thinking enemy.”
A Dutch team readies for a stress-shoot course at Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany during the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Best Sniper Competition on Nov. 19, 2025. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
Two snipers from the Netherlands fire at moving targets during the Best Sniper Competition at Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany on Nov. 19, 2025. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
A Dutch sniper duo sprints to a firing point during one of the range challenges in U.S. Army Europe and Africa's Best Sniper Competition at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, on Nov. 19, 2025. Their faces are blurred to protect their identity. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
To ensure that teams could fully understand the mission instructions, each pair was required to include at least one English speaker, he said.
“Some of them (are) not really used to integrating a physical event that’s going to test their physical endurance and then try to go ahead and execute the mission,” Antia said.
The competition runs through the remainder of the week. The top 10 teams will compete in a culminating event Saturday, and the best team will be announced later that day during a closing ceremony, Justinger said.
A Dutch team's sniper rifle rests on the range after its two members completed an event at the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Best Sniper Competition at the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany on Nov. 19, 2025. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
A helmet belonging to a Dutch soldier from the Limburger Rifles infantry unit is seen during the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Best Sniper Competition in Grafenwoehr, Germany, on Nov. 19, 2025. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes)
