An Analysis of U.S. Army Fratricide

http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA517325&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf


An Analysis of U.S. Army Fratricide Incidents during the Global War on Terror (11 September 2001 to 31 March 2008)


By Catherine M. Webb and Kate J. Hewett


Fratricide is a harsh reality during combat operations. Over the course of 2004-2007, the number of fratricide incidents per year increased, and experts speculate this is due to the high operational tempo and the reliance on technology during the current war. The objective of the present study was to classify the causes of U.S. Army fratricide incidents using the well known Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) and the recently developed Fratricide Causal Analysis Schema (FCAS) to determine the leading causes of U.S. Army fratricide incidents and to provide recommendations for potential countermeasures. The FCAS and HFACS analysis revealed that many of the causal factors of U. S. fratricide incidents were related to human error (e.g., leadership, judgment and decision making, and emotional states). In addition to a need for more objective risk assessments, improved supervision and leadership may have the greatest potential to reduce U.S. Army fratricide incidents.