US-Finnish duo marks a multinational first at Army European sniper competition (2024)

HOHENFELS, Germany – A U.S. Army soldier was paired with a NATO ally for the first time to compete in the eighth annual European Best Sniper Team Competition that concluded over the weekend at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center.

Staff Sgt. John Poitras, a 33-year-old squad leader with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, partnered with Finnish Maj. Matti Finnila, 43, a researcher and sniper instructor, for the arduous six-day contest that began Aug. 5.

The event, hosted by the 7th Army Training Command, featured 35 teams from 19 U.S. and European countries.

Although Turkey took the top two spots, Poitras and Finnila worked through the differences in culture and training to finish third. Another U.S. Army pair finished 7th.

“The only thing that really was different for me was working in wind speed and ground speed in meters per second instead of miles per hour,” Poitras said. “We would make independent wind calls and bounce them off of each other, and same thing for moving targets.

“He has a lot of experience, so we would take each other’s estimates and compare them to each other and see where it came out.”

The pair worked on synchronizing procedures and communication prior to the start of the competition, which helped guide them through each day’s trials, Poitras said.

The partner team is planned to be an “ongoing feature” of the competition going forward, said training command spokesman Capt. Harold Shorter.

The sniper competition began eight years ago as a way to increase camaraderie and enhance relationships between U.S. and European allies, a 7th ATC statement said Thursday. It features eight events with names like “Mogadishu” and “Gone in 60 Seconds.”

The events test shooters and spotters in complex scenarios, including taking simultaneous shots while on different floors of the same building and firing from an airborne helicopter, as well as high-angle and night shooting.

The “trench” event starts with teammates shooting from seated and prone positions. They swim through a flooded trench before eliminating several targets with a pistol, clearing a tear-gas-filled trench while masked and then taking long distance shots. The events are timed and ammunition is rationed.

Sgt. Maj. Jesse Clark, a competition organizer, said that Americans have placed high in the standings year after year despite never winning.

“Some of these countries have sniper teams that have been sniper teams for 20 years together,” he said.

Poitras, who was a Marine sniper before joining the Army, said he picked up a lot from his Finnish counterpart. He learned to mark his dials with illuminated tape so he could dial in faster at night and to shoot without a reference card.

Finnila and Poitras introduced each other to their families, in person and via video chat, and plan to keep in touch. They believe the partnership shows promise for future allied cooperation.

“This is a beginning of a beautiful friendship,” Finnila said with a wry grin. “The bonding by trauma is working really well again, so it’s been a really nice experience.”