History
of Ghillie Suits
The word ghillie is an old Scottish
term for a special kind of game warden. Ghillies were tasked with
protecting the game on their Lord's lands from poachers. From time
to time, the ghillies would stalk the game by hiding in the grass
and lying perfectly still. They would wait for unsuspecting deer
to amble by and then leap out and grab it with their bare hands.
Ghillies would then haul their prize back to the keep so the Lord
could shoot it in the castle courtyard in a “mock hunt.”
 You
may have seen in recent news pictures of snipers looking half man
and half shrub. That is a ghillie suit, its point is to make the
person blend into the elements surrounding him/her. Nothing in nature
has perfectly straight lines, so equipment like rifles and antennas
often betray concealed positions. To counter this, snipers also
make little ghillie suits for their rifles.
Using the same principles of camouflage,
snipers wrap their rifles in canvas and create little sleeves that
make them blend into the environment.
Ghillie suits are basically old
military uniforms that snipers modify for their special purpose.
The belly of the uniform is reinforced with heavy canvas to
help pad a sniper's torso during hours or days of lying on
his stomach. Camouflage netting is attached to the uniform.
This netting is used to attach shredded burlap and other frayed
materials. Ghillie suits are usually painted to match the
environment of the battlefield. Local elements like twigs,
vines, and branches can be incorporated into the netting to
further camouflage the ghillie suit.
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