John L. Plaster (born 1949) is a former

United States Army Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service Berets of the United States Army, headgear, is a branch of the United States Army United States Army Special Operations Comm ...

officer regarded as one of the leading

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 ...

experts in the world. A decorated

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

veteran who served in the

covert Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret. Secrecy is often controver ...

Studies and Observations Group (SOG), Plaster co-founded a renowned sniper school that trains military and law enforcement personnel in highly specialized sniper tactics. He is the author of '' The Ultimate Sniper: An Advanced Training Manual for Military and Police Snipers'', ''The History of Sniping and Sharpshooting'', and ''Secret Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines with the Elite Warriors of SOG'', a

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

of his 3 years of service with SOG.

Early life and education

Plaster graduated from high school in 1967 and holds a BA in

Journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

. He was trained as a communications sergeant in the U.S. Army Special Forces.

Career

Plaster was initially assigned to 5th Special Forces Group and served three combat tours in the

as a member of MACVSOG beginning in October 1968, leading intelligence-gathering and recon teams in

North Vietnamese Army The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...

-controlled areas of

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

and

Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...

and along the

Ho Chi Minh Trail The Ho Chi Minh Trail (), also called Annamite Range Trail () was a Military logistics, logistical network of roads and trails that ran from North Vietnam to South Vietnam through the kingdoms of Kingdom of Laos, Laos and Cambodia (1953–1970), ...

. He was wounded once, and decorated four times, eventually receiving a field commission in recognition of his combat experience. Plaster's final tour with MACVSOG ended in November 1971. He retired from the military at the rank of

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. Plaster parlayed his military experience into becoming a sniping instructor to members of many U.S. governmental agencies such as the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

, the

United States Customs Service The United States Customs Service was a federal law enforcement agency of the U.S. federal government. Established on July 31, 1789, it collected import tariffs, performed other selected border security duties, as well as conducted criminal in ...

, the

United States Marshals The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The Marshals Service serves as the enforcement and security arm of the United States federal judi ...

Navy SEALs The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main funct ...

, and

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

. Foreign units that have attended the school include the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

and the Spanish Foreign Legion. Since 1993, Plaster has been a precision

rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

instructor at the Gunsite Training Center in

Paulden, Arizona Paulden is a census designated place (CDP) in Yavapai County, Arizona, Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. The population was 5,231 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the ...

. He was recently Chief of Competition for Autauga Arms' U.S. and European sniping championships. Plaster's experiences serve as part of the basis for the video game '' Call of Duty: Black Ops''; he assisted the game's developers in developing the game by providing his wartime experiences to them. He wrote a script with

John Milius John Frederick Milius (; born April 11, 1944) is an American screenwriter and film director. He is considered a member of the New Hollywood generation of filmmakers. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s for writing the scripts for ''The L ...

about the Son Tay Raid that as of 2025 has not been filmed.

Awards and decorations

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 ...

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

* Meritorious Service Medal *

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issu ...

* Presidential Unit Citation * Good Conduct Medal *

National Defense Service Medal The National Defense Service Medal (NDSM) is a service award of the United States Armed Forces established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1953. It was awarded to every member of the U.S. Armed Forces who served during any one of four s ...

Vietnam Service Medal The Vietnam Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces established on 8 July 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The medal is awarded to recognize service during the Vietnam War by all members of the U.S. ...

* Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal *

Combat Infantryman Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces (United States Army), Special Forces soldiers in the rank of Colonel (United States), colonel and below, wh ...

Published writings

Books

*'' The Ultimate Sniper: An Advanced Training Manual for Military and Police Snipers'' (1993). Paladin Press. * *''Secret Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines with the Elite Warriors of SOG'' (2004). Simon & Schuster. *''The History of Sniping and Sharpshooting'' (2008). Paladin Press. *''Sharpshooting in the Civil War'' (2009). Paladin Press. *''SOG: The Secret Wars of America's Commandos in Vietnam'' (1998). Onyx. *''Sniping in the Trenches: World War I and the Birth of Modern Sniping (2017)''. Paladin Press. *''SOG The Secret wars of American Commandoes on Vietnam.'' Caliber press 1997

Journals

*'' The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin'' *'' Soldier of Fortune'' *'' American Legion Magazine'' *'' Guns & Ammo''

Notes

External links

Official Website
*
Kaiser Architekt recording Delta Papa 3 (John Plaster's call-sign) dedicated to John Plaster
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plaster, John American military writers Living people United States Army officers University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication alumni United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Members of the United States Army Special Forces 1949 births Recipients of the Air Medal