http://www.torontosun.com/2011/12/19/canadas-best-sniper-protects-edmontons-streets
By Kris Sims ,Parliamentary Bureau
First posted: Monday, January 02, 2012 02:00 AM EST
Retired corporal Rob Furlong protected his American brothers by taking out a Taliban fighter from 2,430 metres away. Now the former sniper is protecting the streets of Alberta's capital as a night beat cop.
"I feel that on a much smaller scale, rather than being on the front lines in Afghanistan, I'm back at home, looking after the homefront, still dealing with bad people who bring ill will on innocents," said the soft spoken Furlong, originally from Fogo Island, N.L.
His dad, Cyril, is a marksman himself, and taught Rob how to shoot when he was a wee lad.
"I've wanted to do this since I was a child, and 14 years with the military and the police, I have always had a job where I look to help others."
Furlong is featured in a newly updated book, Ultimate Sniper, written by retired major John Plaster and published by Paladin Press, and appears in the documentary by the same name. Plaster is an icon in the sniper world, and among retired special forces in the U.S. military.
"I carried the original book with me to Afghanistan and got Plaster to sign it," Furlong said, looking at the book on his shelf.
Furlong was a member of the Canadian sharpshooting five-man Special Forces Sniper Cell with 3 P.P.C.L.I., based out CFB Edmonton. The cell was sent to watch the backs of U.S. allies in the mountains of Afghanistan. During one well-documented mission, they spotted Taliban fighters carrying a machine gun up a mountain trail, trying to get above the U.S. forces for an ambush. That's when Furlong took aim.
"That shot that we made that day, we didn't realize what we managed to do."
The bullets used in the .50-calibre McMillan Brothers Tac-50 Rifle were the size of a pop can, and took three seconds to travel the 2.4 km to reach their target.
Furlong was decorated for his efforts by the U.S., but did not receive any similar commendation in Canada.
"I'm not bitter against the army, I loved my career in there," he said back home, where he's settled into his life as an Edmonton cop.
"I still have my dress uniform in my closet. I will never forget it. It means a lot to me," said Furlong. "Policing gives me a little taste of that, but I can be home at night."
