On Combat

Some interesting contrasts have appeared in the week following Sgt Evan Vela’s murder conviction for killing an Iraqi non-combatant captive during a patrol south of Baghdad:
The Washington Times published the Rules of Engagement used by US Army MPs. (see U.S. Military’s Restraint Not Al Qaeda’s War Code) This look at normally classified rules indicate […]

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The Department of Defense released recent Al Qaeda video of Iraqi children being prepared for terror missions. An estimated 250,000 children are being used as soldiers in strife-ridden areas such as Africa. Some of the data collected to date on child soldiers may help better understand this crop of potential child terrorists:
Recruitment Motivation: Forced […]

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Sunday 10 Feb, Army Sgt van Vela was sentenced to 10 years in the killing of an Iraqi his patrol had detained. This is an affirmation that the US places a heavy emphasis on the distinction between lawful conduct of war, and the unlawful use of violence against non-combatants.
Just Conduct in War (jus in belo) […]

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Another F-15C was lost 2 Feb off the coast of Hawaii; the cause is yet to be determined, and may prove to be material failure or pilot error–we’ll have to wait on the USAF’s investigation. For the initial report see: Pilot OK after F-15 crash off Hawaii coast
This string of F-15C failures usually leads to […]

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Recent Washington Post coverage of Army suicide rates suggest the force is unravelling under the strain of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan:
Suicides among active-duty soldiers in 2007 reached their highest level since the Army began keeping such records in 1980, according to a draft internal study obtained by The Washington Post. Last year, 121 soldiers […]

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