with todays rules he isnt allowed to just go shooting at free will he has to relay infomation and get a confirmation that your allowed to kill said target. you have to build up reasons of threat before you go shooting.
while he is a legal murderor, most if not all the people he killed most likely were going to kill or have killed before. whether or not they had valid reasons is unknown, they could have been revenge attacks because their wife, husband, child ect got killed in crossfire previously.
thats not to say though that he didnt have an awsome feet on the field. he died a legend and his name will live on but its still sad to think he went through all that then some weirdo shot him dead.. just goes to show the impacts on war and the effects it can have on you can really change some people. must be horrible seeing your friends shot, blown up and all the rest of it
I agree, while i can understand a lot of people on here thinking that it's just a case of pulling the trigger if you see someone with a weapon, the reality is so different.
ROE on tours is extremely strict, regardless of what you might have seen on youtube videos or heard in the papers, and while i respect everyone's opinion, as i've mentioned in a previous post, unless your in the forces or have been, you can't really comment on the actions of a soldier engaging the enemy.
I'll give you a few examples of the ROE and it's restrictions,from my own experiences as a Infantry soldier who served in both Iraq and Afghan as a private in a rifle company and a full screw in Recce platoon.
Iraq -Basra- OP TELIC
During this tour we had a lot of riots, some may remember the pictures in the news of Warriors getting petrol bombed and soldiers covered in flames.
ROE at the time was" Anyone seen carrying a weapon, be that your typical 47, petrol bomb or grenade were not to be contacted useless the soldier/section commander of the vehicle is certain that they pose an imminent threat to life, be that soldier or civilian.
What this meant for a soldier is that:
SMALL ARMS
Can't contact unless the weapon is into the shoulder of the user and the user is bringing the weapon to bare onto you.
If the user fires, then drops the weapon and runs off, you can't engage, even if he's just slotted one of your mates.
PETROL BOMBS & GRENADES
Can't contact unless the user is about to throw, has to be raised above waist height and moving in a forward motion.
Can't contact if the device is lit and at users side, can't contact if the device has left the users hands as he is no longer the threat, the device is.
Even if the user meets all the above, a warning MUST be given and proportional force MUST be used.
Any soldier found not sticking to the ROE could face the murder charge if it resulted in a death.
This is the reason why we saw so many burn injuries, due to soldiers sticking to the frankly ridiculous ROE Rules.
Afghan- OP HERRICK.
During my tours of afghan i was a Corporal in Support company, Recce platoon.
Most of the ops i took part in were mainly in the "OVERWATCH" role.
What this meant was that me, my spotter and a rear guard would normally flank a position that has been confirmed as FOB for Taliban insurgents, confirmation was Normally by SF or fast air.
Our task would be to basically provide cover for the attacking force going in.
ROE for us was just as strict when it came to this sort of situation.
For example,
On one op we were in an OP on some high ground overlooking a small compound while a company attack was taking place.
I was relaying info to HQ and the commanders on the ground through my spotter, as the attack went in, i spotted two insurgents.
One with an rpg-7 and the other with an Pkm, both of them had heard the attack start and fled out the back into some dead ground, still facing the compound but a 100 meters away from it.
I told my spotter who passed it through the channels, no option to contact them as at the moment they weren't a threat.
As the attack pushed up to the Limit of exploitation (still within the compound)
I Noticed both insurgents crawl up from the dead ground and as the guy with the Pkm covered the rear of the compound, the other prepped the rpg,
At this point i told my spotter but the order from HQ came back not to engage
I then got onto the net myself at informed HQ that as the guys on the ground were moving towards the back of the compound, they posed an imminent threat. Still i was told not to contact them.
It was at this point that the guys were almost at the back of the compound,
Both insurgents took on a firing position and i decided to contact them.
According to the ROE, i shouldn't have, but i know without a shadow of doubt, if i had let them go for a few seconds more, they WOULD have contact our boys as they came out the back resulting in casualties or death.
Forgive me for the long winded post and i'm sorry if it's a little hard to follow.
I just wanted to try and explain in my own words that killing someone as a soldier isn't as clear cut as some people on here would believe, infact, i'd say it's extremely difficult to kill the enemy, even if they are trying their best to kill you and your friends.
David
,