Ini Dia! Teman Sejati Para Sniper yang Selalu Setia Mendampingi

Hadirnya seorang spotter (observer) dalam gelar aksi penembak runduk (sniper) menjadi elemen yang menentukan. Tanpa spotter, sniper hanya beraksi sebagai eksekutor rapuh yang sulit mempertahankan diri saat misinya usai. Memang tak sedikit sniper yang mampu beroperasi secara mandiri, tapi melihat kompleksitas misi dan sasaran, maka dukungan spotter dalam konteks saat ini menjadi mutlak.

Meski seorang sniper punya kualifikasi tempur yang serba mumpuni, tapi toh sebagai manusia biasa, sniper punya banyak keterbatasan. Untuk mengamati keadaan, mencari sasaran, menghitung jarak, mengoreksi hasil tembakan, dan melindungi keberadaan sang sniper, itulah semua tugas dari spotter.

Dalam prakteknya, seorang spotter juga memiliki kualifikasi sebagai sniper yang sama terlatihnya dengan sang eksekutor, dan dalam operasi tempur, posisi spotter dan sniper bisa dilakukan saling bergantian secara fleksibel, tergantung perencanaan dan kesepakatan di awal misi atau siapa yang punya kesiapan mental dan kondisi fisik yang lebih baik untuk menarik pelatuk senapan.

Dalam tim sniper standar, yakni dengan senjata kaliber 5,56 mm atau 7,62 mm, satu tim biasanya hanya terdiri dari dua orang, sehingga spotter biasanya membawa senapan otomatis berkaliber lebih kecil untuk melindungi penembaknya. Sementara dalam tim sniper kelas berat dengan senapan anti material (heavy barrel), satu tim biasanya digelar dalam jumlah lebih besar (tiga orang), peran spotter akan diisi oleh penembak runduk kedua.

Saat sniper dan spotter beroperasi bersama, spotter harus menempatkan dirinya sedemikian rupa sehingga berada di sisi kanan penembak pada jarak yang berdekatan (dengan asumsi penembak tidak kidal), tujuannya agar dapat melakukan percakapan dengan suara sepelan mungkin. Selain bekal senapan otomatis, modal utama seorang spotter adalah teropong medan. Berikut beberapa aksi sniper dan spotter TNI yang terangkum dalam beberapa foto.

Bicara tentang teropong medan, ada dua jenis yang biasa digunakan, yakni teropong observasi menggunakan lensa obyektif tunggal, dan teropong binokular. Untuk teropong lensa obyektif tunggal biasanya didirikan di atas tripod dan punya magnifikasi besar. Namun, bila sifat misi mengharuskan tim bergerak secara dinamis, maka teropong lensa tunggal ini terasa tidak fleksibel, karena memang butuh waktu untuk membuka dan menggelar sistem. Kalau urusannya harus serba cepat dan reaktif, maka jawabannya harus menggunakan teropong binokular.

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Di pasaran tersedia puluhan model binokular lapangan yang canggih, dengan fitur-fitur tambahan seperti pengukur jarak (laser rangefinder), pengindara malam (night vision) dan kompas digital. Untuk binokular militer, fitur yang wajib hadir adalah retikula mil-scale pada tabung sebelah kiri. Retikula membantu spotter mengalkulasi jarak antara sasaran dengan keberadaan tim. Penggunaannya relatif mudah, sama seperti teleskop pada senapan sniper.

5 Consequences of Driving without Car Insurance Do you own a car? Great! Does your car also have a valid motor insurance cover on it? Owning a car, while earlier classified as being a luxury, has now moved down to being a comfort. In fact, in metros, a car has almost become a necessity due to long-distance commutes. More and more of us are, therefore, buying a car. But are we also buying the mandatory car insurance policy? Every car which is to ply on Indian roads should have a valid car insurance cover, states the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. When you buy a new car, the choice of buying an insurance policy is, thankfully, taken out of your hands. The on-road price of the car is inclusive of the insurance premium for your car insurance policy. The problems arise when the policy expires after a year. Car insurance plans are usually issued for one year after which they should be renewed. If you do not renew it, you are driving a car without car insurance. If numbers are any indication, a study by New India Assurance revealed that about 70% of vehicles on Indian roads are without insurance. Is your car one among them? If yes, beware. Here are 5 consequences if you drive your car without having a valid Car Insurance policy: Be prepared to pay heavy fines Earlier, the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 governed the road safety and traffic rules. Recently, the Government passed the Road Transport and Safety Bill 2014 to replace the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Among other changes, the Bill penalizes you heavily if you are caught driving without having a valid insurance cover. As per the amendments, you would have to part with a whopping Rs.25, 000 for a light motor vehicles or Rs.75, 000 for other motor vehicles as a fine for driving without insurance. A huge fine, isn’t it? Pay losses for damages caused to third party or property In an accident, if you unintentionally harm any person or surrounding property, you are liable to pay the loss incurred. This is called third party liability. Your car insurance mandatorily covers this third party liability and spares you the loss incurred. In the absence of a valid insurance cover, you would have to bear the losses incurred. If the person dies, your liability would be very high. Read more Is third party car worth buying? Pay losses for own damage While you have to compulsorily pay losses caused to a third party, what about your losses. In an accident even your vehicle suffers damage. The costs of repairs for such damage are borne by your comprehensive car insurance policy. Without insurance, the onus of paying for the repairs is on you. With the high cost associated with the repairs of your car, a financial strain is inevitable. Read more about All you need to know about car insurance Face legal complications Besides the financial loss suffered in an accident which causes damage to a third party and/or self, you would also be entangled in legal complications if your car is found without a valid insurance cover. You would be penalized, get a challan and might even be imprisoned. Loss of No Claim Bonus If your car insurance expires and you do not renew it, besides the penalties and fines, you also lose the No Claim Bonus which you accumulated in your existing policy. Car insurance plans allow a discount in subsequent year’s premiums if there is no claim in any current year. This discount increases every year and saves your premium outgo. If you let your car insurance policy lapse, you lose the accumulated NCB and end up paying a higher premium when the policy is consequently renewed. A car insurance policy is legally mandatory and not having one results in serious consequences (as mentioned above). While a third party liability cover is mandatory, a comprehensive policy is better. The former pays only for the damages caused to any third party but the latter also covers damages incurred by you and your car. The premium for a comprehensive policy is slightly higher because of higher coverage. For instance, the premium payable for a Maruti Ritz car registered in 2012 having a capacity of 1197cc would have a third party premium of Rs.2237 and a comprehensive premium of Rs.4200 (approximately). With a slight increase in the premium you can avail a higher coverage option which covers for your damages too. Since car repairs are expensive, a comprehensive policy makes more sense even if the premiums are a little high. So do not fall a victim to these consequences and buy an insurance policy for your car today.