Thread: Incomprehensibly Stupid Army Regulation Killing Americans in Afghanistan

Why does the U.S. Army continue to adhere to rules of engagement that unnecessarily kill our soldiers?

January 5, 2012

Incomprehensibly Stupid Army Regulation Killing Americans in Afghanistan

By James Simpson
25 Comments

The U.S. military has developed the best system in the world for dealing with combat casualties. As medical technology has advanced over the last century, new methods of treatment have been developed, and the speed and efficiency of transport from the battlefield to essential medical services has greatly increased chances for combat wounded to survive. So it is particularly galling that with all these improvements, the U.S. Army has not similarly adjusted its regulations regarding deployment of medical evacuation (medevac) helicopters in combat zones to compensate for the realities of modern warfare. It is bad enough that the Obama administration has imposed deadly rules of engagement to reflect its leftist worldview. The U.S. Army has been racking up its own body count due to nothing more than bureaucratic intransigence.A new article in Soldier of Fortune magazine (yes, that Soldier of Fortune -- still kicking after 35 years), by Dalton Fury, former Delta Force Commander and bestselling author of Kill Bin Laden, has explained the problem. Army regulations require that medevac helicopters follow the Geneva Convention, which specifies that they must be unarmed and display prominent Red Cross markings. Furthermore, Army regulation forbids medevac choppers from entering a combat zone without armed helicopter escort. If armed escort is not immediately available, medevac helicopters remain grounded, regardless of the emergency. Once they do go in, they become a conspicuous target for enemy forces, most of whom have never read the Geneva Convention and would laugh it out of existence if they had.

A recent tragedy in Afghanistan highlights the high cost of these restrictions. As reported by veteran combat reporter Michael Yon, Army Specialist Chazray Clark was severely wounded on a night mission after stepping on an IED:

Chazray was facedown. One arm and both his legs were gone, and yet this man had the strength and presence to call out from the dust and darkness. Chazray answered, "I'm okay[.]" ... Although Chazray had answered that he was okay, everyone here knows that when someone calls out 'I'm okay,' the sound of their voice only means they are still alive. Fellow Soldiers located Chazray in the dark, and quickly put on tourniquets and unfolded a stretcher.

The medevac was very late. It took us about 20 minutes to get back to the Landing Zone (LZ). Based on my significant experience down here in southern Afghanistan, I know that the helicopter could and should have already been on orbit waiting for us. Chazray was dying but fully conscious and talking the entire time. We waited, and waited. Finally a radio call came that the medevac was "wheels up" from KAF. It was unbelievable to us that the medevac was just taking off from Kandahar Airfield, twenty-five miles away.

The helicopter could not leave the ground until escorted, and since no Apache helicopter gunships were immediately available, it sat on the tarmac while Chazray bled out. Even more outrageous, there were Air Force helicopters at that same airbase that could have come immediately. These choppers are heavily armed and need no escort, or could have served as escort. But Army regulations forbid their use.
All these protocols must be followed. According to Army field commanders, they have zero discretion. They have been complaining about it for years, to no effect.

In the Soldier of Fortune article, Fury (a pseudonym) traces the development of Army protocols regarding medevacs in the field. The U.S. Army manual on medical evacuation quotes Geneva Convention regulations regarding Medical Aircraft (emphases mine):

MEDICAL AIRCRAFT
A-6. Medical aircraft exclusively employed for the removal of wounded and sick and for the transport of medical personnel and equipment shall not be attacked, but shall be respected by the belligerents, while flying at heights, times, and on routes specifically agreed upon between the belligerents concerned.

A-7. The medical aircraft shall bear, clearly marked, the distinctive emblem together with their national colors on their lower, upper, and lateral surfaces.

A-8. Unless agreed otherwise, flights over enemy or enemy-occupied territory are prohibited.

A-9. Medical aircraft shall obey every summons to land. In the event that a landing is thus imposed, the aircraft with its occupants may continue its flight after examination, if any.

A-10. In the event of involuntary landing in enemy or enemy-occupied territory, the wounded and sick, as well as the crew of the aircraft, shall be prisoners of war; medical personnel will be treated as prescribed in these Conventions.

SELF-DEFENSE AND DEFENSE OF PATIENTS

A-11. When engaging in medical evacuation operations, medical personnel are entitled to defend themselves and their patients. They are only permitted to use individual small arms.

A-12. The mounting or use of offensive weapons on dedicated medical evacuation vehicles and aircraft jeopardizes the protections afforded by the Geneva Conventions. These offensive weapons may include, but are not limited to machine guns, grenade launchers, hand grenades, and light antitank weapons.

A-13. Medical personnel are only permitted to fire in their personal defense and for the protection of the wounded and sick in their charge against marauders and other persons violating the Law of War.

This is simply stunning. With al-Qaeda and the Taliban, we are fighting an enemy who mass-murders schoolchildren, beheads people with medieval lust, and engages in real torture and every imaginable form of barbarity, all while camouflaged as civilians to capitalize on our restrictive rules of engagement designed to minimize civilian casualties.