Snake slithers across U.S. Army National Guard sniper's rifle in hair-raising photo

Mary Bowerman | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Snake slithers across U.S. military sniper's rifle Turns out camouflage can be good enough to fool nature, as evidenced by an incredible photo of a U.S. military sniper hiding in plain sight from a snake. Nathan Rousseau Smith has the story.

A hair-raising photo shows a black snake slither across the barrel of a U.S. Army National Guard sniper's rifle during a training exercise.

The Alabama National Guard posted the photo of Army National Guard sniper Pfc. William Snyder on Facebook last week. Snyder was practicing "woodland stalking" as part of a 1-173 Infantry training exercise, when the black racer snake slithered across the barrel of his rifle, according to the Alabama National Guard.

While many may have lost their nerve, Snyder kept his cool and remained in his position.

"Our snipers are trained to remain perfectly still for hours on end when in position and remain invisible to enemies and even wildlife," the Alabama National Guard said in the post.

The training exercise was held at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.