[kraigwy]

The Weapons & Materials Research Directorate of the Army Research Laboratory published a white paper of these efforts called "Sniper Weapon Fire Control Error Budget Analysis"

Comparing Military Snipers with Civilian Competitive Shooters


According to their tests, the standard deviation of aiming error for the best, formally-trained operational snipers was three times worse than tested High Power and Long Range competition shooters sufficiently skilled to compete successfully in national level match competition at Camp Perry and the like.

In fact, the worst competition shooters tested were as good or better than the best snipers in basic holding and shooting fundamentals.

Its not difficult to understand when you consider that the military (excluding the Army Marksmanship Unit) don't really shoot that much.

It's simply not possible for a soldier to draw his weapon and shoot every day, or even spend hours setting around the billets dry firing.