War is often depicted in the textbooks as a well-orchestrated,
albeit violent, exercise in which opposing units strive to achieve
tactical and strategic objectives. That each side will suffer
casualties in the process is taken for granted; they are the
inevitable, if regretable, consequence of such a deadly
undertaking. That each side is almost certain to suffer casualties
inflicted by its own forces is not generally taken for granted,
Yet, in each of America's wars, especially those of the twentieth
century, a significant number of soldiers have been killed or
wounded as the result of friendly fire. The fact that the
percentage of casualties resulting from friendly fire from World
War I through Vietnam has been extremely low does not make the
accidental killing or wounding of one's own troops any less tragic
or unpalatable. Nor does it offer much consolation to the commander
responsible for the lives of his troops or to the soldier who runs
the risk of falling victim to the fire of his own forces. It may
well be that in the "fog of war" friendly fire casualties are
inevitable, but this solemn observation does not absolve the armed
forces from doing everything in their power to eliminate the
problem. To be sure, each branch of the Army and each of the Armed
Services employ measures calculated to prevent incidents of
friendly fire. But such measures offer only partial solutions,
especially on the modern battlefield where joint and combined
forces operate under often obscure conditions. A more comprehensive
study of the causes and consequences of friendly fire is needed.
That one has not yet appeared is attributable to several factors,
foremost among them being the nature of the evidenceon which such a
study must rely. The required raw data are scattered throughout a
variety of primary and secondary, official and unofficial sources.
Before one can undertake a serious and comprehensive analysis of
friendly fire, these data must be found and brought together in one
place. In Amicicide: The Problem of Friendly Fire in Modern War,
LTC Charles R. Shrader has taken a major step toward the
compilation of these data. From his survey of much of the existing
literature on World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the
Vietnam War, he has extracted examples of friendly fire involving
U.S. ground forces and has categorized them according to types of
incidents. In his well-informed narrative, he draws tentative
conclusions about the causes and effects of friendly fire and
offers recommendations for those who expect to study the subject
further. He has, in short, produced a superb reference book and a
springboard for a deeper and more comprehensive analysis of this
grim and complex problem. William A. Stofft Colonel, Armor
Director, Combat Studies Institute
General
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