Arron Perry


 * For the U.S. Congress member, see Aaron F. Perry.

Arron Perry is a former Master Corporal in the Canadian Forces who in March 2002 briefly held the record for the longest recorded sniper kill in combat at a range of 2310 m. This shot exceeded the previous record of 2,286 m, set by Carlos Hathcock in 1968.

Perry's record was surpassed in March 2002 by another member of his sniper team Corporal Rob Furlong, who shot a Taliban fighter at a verified range of 2430 m.

Perry was a member of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, but began his military career with a Halifax Militia unit, the Princess Louise Fusiliers.

Military career
Perry was a member of a five-man team of snipers as part of Canada's contributions to Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan during 2002. The Canadian sniper team consisted of MCpl Graham Ragsdale (Team Commander), MCpl Tim McMeekin, MCpl Arron Perry, Cpl Dennis Eason and Cpl Rob Furlong from the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI). Ragsdale's team received praise from United States Army colleagues for killing a significant number of Taliban and al-Qaeda combatants. When the operation ended, each of the five were recommended for the Bronze Star. Among the team's accomplishments was a 2,430 metre shot fired by Corporal Rob Furlong that killed an al-Qaeda soldier carrying an RPK. The shot was fired from a .50-caliber McMillan Brothers TAC-50 rifle.

This record was, in its turn, broken when, using an Accuracy International L115A3, British Corporal Craig Harrison killed two Taliban with consecutive shots at a distance of 2.47 kilometres (8120 ft) in Helmand Province, Afghanistan in November 2009. He then fired a third shot and hit the Taliban's PKM machinegun in perhaps the most prodigious feat of marksmanship in military history, although it took him nine initial shots to range his target.

Controversy


In 2002, Perry was accused of discreditable conduct by the Canadian Armed Forces. Forces personnel investigated allegations that he had desecrated a combatant's corpse by removing a finger, putting a cigarette in its mouth, and placing a sign reading "Fuck Terrorism" on its chest. Military police also suspected that Perry had defecated on another corpse. Ten months later the investigation was closed for lack of evidence.

Rumours of the record-setting shot began to circulate while the investigation was ongoing, leading some to speculate and later claim that the shot had been made by Perry. In its May 15, 2006 issue, Maclean's Magazine revealed that it was Furlong and not Perry who fired the shot. While speculation was ongoing about Perry making that shot, he never said anything publicly to refute those allegations. Just prior to Cpl Rob Furlong's longest recorded sniper kill, MCpl Arron Perry recorded the second longest recorded sniper kill in history from 2,310 metres. This surpassed the previous record of 2,286 metres set by U.S. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Carlos Hathcock during the Vietnam War.

In April 2005, Perry left the Canadian military to pursue his own interests.