On Combat

Alex Kershaw’s The Few: The American “Knights of the Air” Who Risked Everything to Save Britain in the Summer of 1940 is an exciting biographical narrative about three American flyers who left the United States in 1940 to fly against Hitler’s Germany.
The heroic profiles penned by Kershaw paint a vivid picture of the joys […]

[Read more →]

This week’s testimony of a Marine Lieutenant in a hearing on a shooting in Iraq (”Marine Snipers’ Killing Rules Weren’t Clear, Lieutenant Testifies” Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2008) probes the gray areas between use of force and restraint in a counterinsurgency campaign:
“Lt. Dominic Corabi said that as he and his Marines deployed to Iraq, […]

[Read more →]

The US Army is experimenting with new basic rifle marksmanship (BRM) skills based on lessons of recent combat. (see Jackson Testing New Weapons Qualification Method) Building solid habits on the training ranges is an essential step to applying the actions needed in battle. World War II saw a restructuring of marksmanship training (partially instigated by […]

[Read more →]

The USAF has approximately three hundred and fifty specially-trained snipers, many serving in “close precision engagement teams.” Close is a relative term for the USAF, which operates long-range strike aircraft such as the B-2, air-launched cruise missiles with hundreds of mile ranges. Precision is an appropriate term for a sniper due to the extreme accuracy […]

[Read more →]

Brigadier General Paul Tibbets died Thursday, 1 November 2007, age 93. He was the pilot of the Enola Gay and dropped the first atomic bomb. Tibbet’s passing gives pause to wonder: how were a few men able to apply such a killing force?
In a 2005 interview with The Columbus Dispatch (on the 60th anniversary of […]

[Read more →]

In 1999, Korean War civilian deaths at No Gun Ri (click for an in-depth summary) captured prominent media attention. After a joint US-ROK investigation, President Clinton formally apologized for the incident.
Although the investigation did not find any USAF or USN tacair involvement, a contemporary memo was found in the National Archives within the 5th AF […]

[Read more →]

Navy Seal Marcus Luttrell’s SEAL team was discovered and engaged by a large Taliban force in Kunar Province, January 2005. Luttrell’s team killed 35 Taliban, but all three of Luttrell’s teammates died in the firefight and Luttrell was seriously wounded. As Luttrell hung onto life, a group of Afghans found him, cared for him, and […]

[Read more →]

There may be no greater emotional shock in combat than the violent death of a comrade. Survivor’s guilt, rage, or thirst for revenge are very strong emotions that naturally spring from the heart of any human being. These emotions are amplified by adrenaline and arousal inherent to highly stressful situations. Some of these emotions may […]

[Read more →]

How can Iraqis carry out this killing within previously peaceful neighborhoods? NPRs’ Ann Garrels recent trip to Iraq shed some light on growing sectarian violence. In her 10/10/06 report “Violence Forces Iraqis to Seek New Homes” there are several enablers of violence in action apparent.
The setting: Sectarian militias and criminals are forcing different sects out […]

[Read more →]

Exceeding the limits on allowable violence appears to be a continuing element of the human dimension in battle. These excerpts from the NYT this month indicate violations of LOAC by professional soldiers who should have known better.
The role of their chain of command is uncertain from current reporting, but here is some speculation: At worst, […]

[Read more →]