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Iraq
Britain tells America how to avoid ’friendly fire’
2003-03-05
The army is training the American military to identify British troops so that they do not inadvertently kill them in "friendly fire" incidents in Iraq. Army sources said Britain believed its troops could be in danger because America's identification methods were "sub-standard". The Army's intelligence corps is understood to be briefing the US army and air force on how to spot British tanks, uniforms and battle formations. "They have all the kit but they are useless when it comes to spotting who is on their side," said one army source. "We are showing them how to do it, so our boys aren't hit."
We're always willing to learn. We don't like killing people we like...
In the Gulf War in 1991 nine British soldiers were killed when an American jet attacked British armoured vehicles by mistake, believing they belonged to Iraq. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said yesterday: "It's not simply a question of the specific type of kit, it is about how we operate."
Let's all pray for zero friendly fire casualties.
Posted by:Steve White

#7  This is just intelligent and probably overdue. Combat can be highly confusing, particularly in poor weather and/or night.

I hope it helps.
Posted by: jonesy   2003-03-05 18:37:53  

#6  I would suggest, also, that the DOD round up some prints of "Gods and Generals", fly them over to Kuwait priority, and have the whole expeditionary force watch the movie, so that they have an object lesson on just how disastrously costly "friendly fire" can actually be.
Posted by: Joe   2003-03-05 16:42:04  

#5  We lost more peoole over there in GW1 to friendly fire then we did to the Iraqis. Anything that can be done to rectify that situation is worth trying.
Posted by: tu3031   2003-03-05 13:29:38  

#4  The UK lost 15 men in the last Gulf War, nine of which to that one A10 friendly fire incident. That's a regrettable statistic. Can't blame the army for trying to reduce the effect of what was the major cause of British casualties last time round.
Posted by: Bulldog   2003-03-05 10:49:50  

#3  substandard identification methods, eh?

hmmmm, I'm actually very curious about this. Since most of the friendly fire incidents involved either close air support, or attacks on our own armor it's intriguing to think of what the brits will offer the US in the way of instruction. Sighting anything through FLIR is a bit tricky. I wonder if they are just talking about familiarization or some kind of marking scheme.

Interesting.

-DS
"the horns hold up the halo"
Posted by: DeviantSaint   2003-03-05 10:27:29  

#2  Amen to that.
Posted by: Ptah   2003-03-05 09:22:31  

#1  And after that unfortunate incident in Afghanistan when we killed those Canadian troops, I'd say this is long overdue.
Posted by: Dar Steckelberg   2003-03-05 08:30:17  

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