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Revision as of 13:57, 25 August 2005
Friendly fire or non-hostile fire is United States military parlance for fire from friendly forces, as opposed to fire coming from enemy forces, which is known as "enemy fire". In a friendly fire incident, forces or material assets of one side are attacked and damaged in error by those of their own or their allies.
In British military parlance these incidents are referred to as blue-on-blue, a term stemming from wargaming exercises where friendly forces are blue and enemy forces are red. The term fratricide is sometimes used as well; that word's proper meaning refers to deliberate attacks upon one's own forces, but its current use in military bureaucratic writing (and the press, which echos the language) is as a direct synonym for accidental friendly fire.
Classification
Friendly fire incidents fall roughly into two classes:
- the first is due to errors of position, where fire aimed at enemy forces accidentally ends up hitting one's own. Such incidents were relatively common during the first and second World Wars, where troops fought in close proximity and targeting was relatively inaccurate.
- the second class is due to errors of identification, where friendly troops are mistakenly attacked in the belief that they are enemy. This class has become comparatively more common in recent times, since greater weapon accuracy has diminished misfiring. Highly mobile battles, and battles involving troops from many nations are more likely to cause this kind of incident.
The armed forces of the United States are widely believed to be more prone to friendly fire incidents than the military of other nations. The Pentagon estimates of U.S. friendly fire deaths are:
- WW II: 21,000 (16%)
- highest-ranking U.S. loss of the war, Lieutenant General Lesley J. McNair
- Sinking of the Surcouf by US planes
- Vietnam war: 8,000 (14%)
- Gulf War: 35 (23%)
- Afghanistan (2002): 4 (13%)
History
The accidental attack of French regiment between each other at the Battle of Fleurus let to the habit of attaching a white scarf to the flags of the regiments -- white being the colour of the kings of France.
See also
- Fragging, intentional killing of a friendly soldier
- Christopher Finney, British soldier awarded the George Cross for bravery under friendly fire during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
- Afghanistan friendly fire incident, Four Canadian Soldiers accidentally killed by US troops.
- Harry Schmidt, U.S. military pilot responsible for friendly fire incident in the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan.
- Pat Tillman, famous American football player and friendly fire victim in Afghanistan
- Giuliana Sgrena, the Italian journalist who was almost killed by US troops after her liberation.
External link
- Friendly Fire Notebook, List of U.S. friendly fire incidents