In military or police operations, the rules of engagement (ROE) determine when, where, and how force shall be used (for example, a Russian submarine cannot open fire on American vessels without an official declaration of war). A military is an Organization authorized by its Nation to use force usually including use of Weapons in defending its Country (or by attacking Police are agents or agencies usually of the executive, empowered to enforce the law and to effect public and social order through the legitimatized use of force A declaration of war is a formal performative Speech act or signing of a document by an authorised party of a government in order to initate a state of War Such rules are both general and specific, and there have been large variations between cultures throughout history. The rules may be made public, as in a martial law or curfew situation, but are typically only fully known to the force that intends to use them. Martial law is the system of rules that takes effect when the military takes control of the normal administration of justice A curfew can be one of the following An order by a Government for certain persons to return home daily before a certain time
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British Military ROE
The British Ministry of Defence officially defines ROE as:
- "Directives issued by competent military authority which delineate the circumstances and limitations under which UK forces will initiate and/or continue combat engagement with other forces encountered. The Ministry of Defence ( MoD) is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters The ComBat was an Aluminium Cricket bat and the subject of an incident that occurred at the WACA cricket ground in Perth in December 1979. " [1]
The ROE deal with four issues:
- When military force may be used,
- Where military force may be used,
- Against whom force should be used in the circumstances described above, and
- How military force should be used to achieve the desired ends.
The ROE take two forms: Actions a soldier may take without consulting a higher authority, unless explicitly forbidden (sometimes called 'command by negation') and second, actions that may only be taken if explicitly ordered by a higher authority (sometimes called 'positive command'). Also, in the event that there is a clear and present danger.
In addition to a typically large set of standing orders, military personnel will be given additional rules of engagement before performing any mission or military operation. These can cover circumstances such as how to retaliate after an attack, how to treat captured targets, which territories the soldier is bound to fight into, and how the force should be used during the operation.
The ROE are extremely important:
- They provide a consistent, understandable and repeatable standard on how forces act. Typically they are carefully thought out in detail well in advance of an engagement and may cover a number of scenarios, with different rules for each.
- They assist in the synchronization of political-diplomatic and military components of a strategy by allowing political commanders to better understand, forecast and tailor the actions of a force.
The first rule of engagement for British Armed Forces is always the right to use force in self-defense. The Armed forces of the United Kingdom, commonly known as the British Armed Forces or Her Majesty's Armed Forces, and sometimes legally the Armed Forces
U. S. Military ROE
The 1999 Marine Corps Close Combat Manual (MCRP 3-02B) presents a “Continuum of Force” the following breakdown:
- Level 1: Compliant (Cooperative). The subject responds and complies to verbal commands. Close combat techniques do not apply.
- Level 2: Resistant (Passive). The subject resists verbal commands but complies immediately to any contact controls. Close combat techniques do not apply.
- Level 3: Resistant (Active). The subject initially demonstrates physical resistance. Use compliance techniques to control the situation. Level three incorporates close combat techniques to physically force a subject to comply. Techniques include: Come-along holds, Soft-handed stunning blows, Pain compliance through the use of joint manipulation and the use of pressure points.
- Level 4: Assaultive (Bodily Harm). The subject may physically attack, but does not use a weapon. Use defensive tactics to neutralize the threat. Defensive tactics include: Blocks, Strikes, Kicks, Enhanced pain compliance procedures, Impact weapon blocks and blows.
- Level 5: Assaultive (Lethal Force). The subject usually has a weapon and will either kill or injure someone if he/she is not stopped immediately and brought under control. The subject must be controlled by the use of deadly force with or without a firearm or weapon.
ROE failures
In any engagement, the ROE need to balance two competing goals: The need to use force effectively to accomplish the mission objectives and the need to avoid unnecessary force. (Marcus Luttrell's "Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Red Wing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10" is a critique of America's rules of engagement for professional soldiers. Marcus Luttrell (born 1975 is a former Petty Officer First Class and United States Navy SEAL. Operation Red Wing was a failed counter insurgent mission in Kunar province, Afghanistan, involving four members of the U [1]) This creates room for two types of error:
- Excessively tight ROE can constrain a commander from performing his mission effectively, called a Type I error. In Statistics, the terms Type I error (also α error, or false positive) and type II error ( β error, or a false negative It is typical for the political leadership to constrain the actions of military commanders. This is often a source of tension between the political leaders, who are trying to accomplish a political or diplomatic objective, and the military commanders, who are trying to make the most effective use of their forces. Sagan [2] provides an excellent discussion of this topic. The UN Peacekeeper's ROE (see UNAMIR) during the Rwandan Genocide is a tragic example of too restrictive ROE. The United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda ( UNAMIR) was a mission instituted by the United Nations to aid the implementation The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Rwanda 's minority Tutsis and the moderates of its Hutu majority
- Excessively loose ROE can facilitate the escalation of a conflict which, while being tactically effective, negates the political objectives that the use of force was meant to achieve. This is a Type II error or "escalatory" error. In Statistics, the terms Type I error (also α error, or false positive) and type II error ( β error, or a false negative
Current Issues
The late 1990s and early 2000s has seen an increase in the use of private military contractors particularly from United States and Britain. A private military company ( PMC) provides specialized expertise or services of a military nature sometimes called or classified as Mercenary ("soldiers for hire" Such contractors are not bound by the same rules of engagement, standing orders, or levels of accountability as are members of a national military force.
See also
- The Moscow Rules, an example of the use of the ROE term in tradecraft. The Moscow Rules is the name for Rules of engagement said to have been developed by the CIA during the Cold War to be used by spies and others working in Tradecraft is a general term that denotes a skill acquired through experience in a trade
References
- ^ Death by rules of engagement by Diane West
- USDOD. DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms: NATO Only Terms. United States of America: Joint Doctrine Division, J-7, Joint Staff, Department of Defense. December 17, 2003.
- Sagan, Scott D. , Rules of Engagement, pp 443 - 470 in: George, A. , Avoiding War: Problems of Crisis Management, ISBN 0-8133-1232-9.
- Private Military Companies, Taljaard, R. Yale Global Online 9 December 2003. Modern Day Mercenaries.
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