Friendly fire question (UCMJ)

[leonsparx]

I have a question regarding the legal issues of friendly fire.

As we are preparing for war, Discovery and so on are playing a lot of documentaries about the Gulf War--many of which mention the story surrounding an Apache driver, aware that friendlies were in the area, who is goaded into firing upon an unknown target, accidentally killing two soldiers in the process.

My question for those who know more about the UCMJ than I do is, how much of a burden is there on the pilot to confirm the target is hostile? What if a pilot refuses to fire on an unidentified target unless ordered--and, so ordered, eliminates a friendly? On whom does the liability lie? Does it always ultimately fall upon the pilot to make that 100%determination? Can the blame fall upon a third party--if, say, an AWACS failed to notify a pilot of friendlies in the area?

I am interested in this as an academic discussion--I am not looking to find out just how far I have to go to "cover my ass." Any knucklehead knows that "friendly fire isn't."

 

[theblakeness]

wasnt there something about some Cobra pilots who fired apon friendly tanks during the Gulf also?

 

[Spin]

Yeah,

I saw it some time ago but a U.S. Cobra or Apache pilot fired on a tank belonging to the Canadian Army (I think it was the Canadians ... might have been the French but it wasn't ours). When he found out it was a friendly he requested permission to end mission and return to base but his request was refused and he was told to continue with mission.

Peace,

Spin

 

[leonsparx]

I recall hearing about an incident involving a Cobra or Apache--but I also saw a story last night about two US soldiers killed. Perhaps I am getting two separate incidents confused.

 

[ea6bflyr]

It's all about Rules of Engagement (ROE) and when to fire and when not to fire. Each military branch is thoroughly brief on ROE when you show up to an operating area. You can always self protect, but to take out enemy positions you may have to ask or have prior permission. As far as the UCMJ goes, if you disobey the ROE, then it is a simple failure to follow orders or regulations (Art 92?) and punishment as a courts-martial may direct.
ea6bflyr