Rob Furlong (born 11 November 1976) is a Canadian former military

sniper A sniper is a military or paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with telescopic si ...

who, from March 2002 until November 2009, held the world record for the longest confirmed sniper kill in combat, at . Friscolanti, Michael
"We were abandoned", Maclean's, Rogers Publishing, 2006-05-15, pp. 18–25.
His record stood for over seven years until surpassed by British soldier Craig Harrison with a distance of .

Early life

Born on Fogo Island,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

, on 11 November 1976. In his early life Furlong taught himself to fire a rifle ambidextrously.

Military career

Inspired by a VHS tape, Furlong decided to join the military in 1997. Furlong enlisted in the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

and served with the 3rd Battalion,

Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI, generally referred to as the Patricias) is one of the three Regular Force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army of the Canadian Armed Forces. Formed in 1914, it is named for Princess Patrici ...

. Furlong was stationed in Bosnia in 1999 as a peace keeper. In March 2002, Furlong participated in

Operation Anaconda Operation Anaconda or the Battle of Shah-i-Kot was a military operation that took place in early March 2002 as part of the War in Afghanistan. CIA paramilitary officers, working with their allies, attempted to destroy al-Qaeda and Taliban force ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Shah-i-Kot Valley The Shah-i-Kot Valley (also Shahi-Kot, Shah-e-Kot and other variant spellings) is a valley in the Paktia province of Afghanistan, southeast of the town of Zormat. The terrain in and around the valley is notoriously rugged, located at a mean alt ...

. His sniper team included Master Corporal Graham Ragsdale (Team Commander), Master Corporal Tim McMeekin, Master Corporal Arron Perry, and Corporal Dennis Eason. A group of three

Al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...

fighters were moving into a mountainside position when Furlong took aim with his weapon, a .50 BMG

McMillan TAC-50 The McMillan TAC-50 is a long-range anti-materiel rifle. The TAC-50 is based on previous designs from McMillan, which first appeared during the late 1980s. From May 2017 until November 2023, it held the record for the longest confirmed sniper ki ...

, loaded with Hornady A-MAX 750 gr

very-low-drag bullet A very-low-drag bullet (VLD) is primarily a small arms ballistics development of the 1980s–1990s, driven by the design objective of bullets with higher degrees of accuracy and kinetic efficiency, especially at extended ranges. To achieve this, ...

s. He began firing at a fighter carrying an RPK machine gun. Furlong's first shot missed and his second shot hit the knapsack on the target's back. The third struck the target's torso, killing him. The distance was measured as . With a muzzle speed of , each shot reached the target almost three seconds after Furlong fired. This became the longest sniper kill in history at the time, surpassing the previous record set by his teammate, Master Corporal Arron Perry, by . This feat is not typical for the effective range with a high first-hit probability of the employed rifle on non-static targets (see Sniper rifle#Maximum effective range). The shot was aided by the ambient air density in the Shah-i-Kot Valley where Furlong operated, which is significantly lower than at sea level due to its mean elevation. In December 2003, PPCLI snipers Master Corporal Graham Ragsdale, Master Corporal Tim McMeekin, Corporal Dennis Eason, Corporal Rob Furlong and Master Corporal Arron Perry were awarded the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

for their actions in combat during Operation Anaconda from 2–11 March 2002. Furlong held the record of longest kill shot recorded in history until November 2009, when his record of was beaten by

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

soldier Craig Harrison, who set a new record by shooting two Taliban fighters at .

Later career

After leaving the Canadian Army, Furlong moved to

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

and joined the

Edmonton Police Service The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) is the municipal police force for the City of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The current chief of the EPS is Dale McFee. The service has three deputy chiefs two sworn members and a civilian member. Chad Tawfik is r ...

in 2004. In 2012, Furlong was dismissed from the police for discreditable conduct, after an episode in which he physically abused and urinated on a fellow police officer. In 2013, he opened a marksmanship academy, Rob Furlong's Marksmanship Academy, headquartered in Edmonton.

References

External links

Link to Rob Furlong's Marksmanship AcademyPersonal Interview #1Personal Interview #2
{{DEFAULTSORT:Furlong, Rob Living people Canadian military personnel from Newfoundland and Labrador People from Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry soldiers Canadian military personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Canadian military snipers 1976 births

Early life

Military career

Later career

See also

References

Further reading

External links