End of an era: The last class of Marine Scout Snipers graduates on Dec. 15
The last HOGs night will take place the night before, aboard Camp Geiger in North Carolina.
BY JOSHUA SKOVLUND | PUBLISHED NOV 21, 2023 4:44 PM EST
The last class of Marine Scout Snipers is scheduled to graduate on Dec. 15, marking the end of the 0317 MOS and a long tradition of producing some of the deadliest snipers on the battlefield.
The last HOGs night will take place the night before, aboard Camp Geiger in North Carolina.
Marine scout sniper candidates are initially called Professionally Instructed Gunmen, or PIGs, but once they graduate from the course, they are called Hunters of Gunmen, or HOGs.
The HOGs night, a tradition for all scout sniper graduates including legends like Carlos Hathcock and Charles “Chuck” Mawhinney, is where scout snipers gather around a bonfire to receive their HOGs tooth, a 7.62 bullet on a 550 cord necklace. The right of passage is traditionally attended by Scout Snipers past and present.
Jonathan Taylor is the executive vice president and COO of the USMC Scout Sniper Association. He served as a Scout Sniper from 2006 to 2013, deploying three times to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. He’s helped put together the HOGs night for years, helping to attract celebrity guest speakers and getting invites out to as many scout snipers as possible.
https://taskandpurpose.com/news/last-marine-scout-sniper-class/
