As a sniper, I have been trained to keep my emotions in check. I need to be calm, focused, and detached in order to do my job effectively. But behind the steely gaze and the unflappable façade, there are still moments when I feel something stir within me.

It could be a wave of regret, as I look through my scope and realize that the target I'm about to take out has a family, a life, a story that I know nothing about. It could be a surge of adrenaline, as I spot an enemy combatant sneaking up on our troops and take him out before he can do any harm. It could be a sense of satisfaction, as I see the grateful faces of the civilians we've freed from tyrannical rule.

Sometimes, my emotions are harder to name or to quantify. I might feel a pang of homesickness as I think about my family back home, or a twinge of guilt as I remember the innocent people who have been caught in the crossfire of war. I might experience a sense of camaraderie with my fellow soldiers, as we huddle together in a foxhole and share our stories, our fears, and our hopes.

At other times, my emotions are more complex, more contradictory, more human. I might feel a sense of pride in my marksmanship skills, as I hit a bullseye from a mile away, and yet a deep-seated sense of shame at the taking of a life. I might feel a rush of excitement as I carry out a daring mission, and yet a profound sadness at the loss of innocence that war brings.

And then there are the moments when all I feel is numbness, a detached sense of unreality that comes from seeing too much violence, too much suffering, too much death. In those moments, I wonder if I will ever be able to feel anything again or if I have become a mere killing machine.

But the truth is that even as a sniper, I am still a human being. I still have emotions, even if I have been trained to suppress them. I still feel a connection to my fellow soldiers, to the civilians we are trying to protect, and even to the enemy combatants who are just pawns in a larger game.

As I sit here, looking out over the battlefield, I know that I am a part of something larger than myself. I am a soldier, a warrior, a defender of my country and its people. And even though my job is to take lives, I know that ultimately, my goal is to preserve life and to protect the innocent.

So what does a sniper feel? We feel a wide range of emotions, just like anyone else. But at the end of the day, we feel a sense of duty, a sense of purpose, and a sense of pride in the knowledge that we are doing something that matters. And that is what keeps us going, through the good times and the bad, the victories and the losses, the joys and the sorrows.