This collection examines the subject of friendly fire through the eyes of international experts in the field.

Fratricide, or 'Friendly Fire', is a persistent and unwelcome feature in war. Can it be avoided? How can it be properly understood? Beginning with a historical analysis, Fratricide in Battle examines all aspects of the problem, covering both human and technical factors, before looking at a range of measures currently in use to tackle the issue. Charles Kirke brings together an international group of experts in the field, from both military and academic backgrounds, to provide a thorough examination of this crucial subject. Taken together, their contributions offer a comprehensive understanding of fratricide in its historical context and suggest important lessons for future generations.

How different were the men who fought at Blenheim and at Goose Green? Is there a human thread that connects the redcoat of 300 years ago with the British soldier of today? What would they find in common if they faced a common foe? This book is about the people in the Army, and the very human interactions between them in their daily lives. It marries the disciplines of Social Anthropology and Military History to provide a novel way of looking at the anatomy of the British Army at unit level from an entirely human perspective. Concentrating on the attitudes, expectations, and concerns expressed by the people involved, it sets out a set of simple models of life at regimental duty that can be used to describe, analyze and explain their behaviour over the past 300 years. The book is grounded on what soldiers of all ranks have said, using the author's research interview material for the modern witnesses, and memoirs, diaries, and letters (published and unpublished) for earlier ones.

Friendly fire incidents often disrupt the close and continuous combined arms cooperation so essential to success in modern combat, especially when that combat is conducted against a well armed, well trained, and numerically superior opponent. This study, by presenting selected examples in their historical settings, is intended only to explain a few of the most obvious types of friendly fire incidents and some of the causative factors associated with them. By directing the attention of commanders and staff officers responsible for the development, training, and employment of combat forces to the hitherto little explored problem of friendly fire incidents, this study is intended to generate interest in and solutions for the problems outlined. The scope of this study is limited to incidents involving US forces in World War II and Vietnam, although some evidence is available from other conflicts in the twentieth century has also been considered. In sum, this study can claim to be no more than a narrative exposition of selected examples. Although its conclusions must be considered highly speculative and tentative in nature, this study can be of substantial value to an understanding of the problem of friendly fire in modern war. Chapters one through 5 of this report discuss: Artillery Amicicide; Air Amicicide; Antiaircraft Amicicide; Ground Amicicide.

On Feb. 7, 1991, during Operation Desert Storm, a Bradley and an M113 were destroyed by 2 Hellfire missiles fired from an Apache helicopter. Two U.S. soldiers were killed, and 6 others were wounded in the incident. This report provides a detailed discussion of the incident, including related events and factors that contributed to it, and an analysis of the U.S. Army's investigation of the incident. It addresses: whether equipment failure caused the incident, the Apaches' performance, and whether the name of the Apache gunner was improperly released to the press.

A groundbreaking work from "Time" magazine's Jerusalem bureau chief combines a dazzling narrative with a bold insight--that the deep divisions within both Israeli and Palestinian societies must be resolved before true peace can be achieved.