Blue on Blue: Fratricide in War

Abstract

Fratricide in war, in which personnel are killed or hurt by fire from “friendly forces” or forces fighting on their own side, is more common than is generally known. The word fratricide is derived from the Latin words frater meaning brother, and caedare meaning to kill. Another word for fratricide is amicide, derived similarly from ami, meaning friend.

Military forces in every nation are acutely aware that they are constantly handling weapons that can cause the most unspeakably terrifying injuries. They are conscious of the issue of fratricide and institute measures to prevent or mitigate the chances of friendly fire incidents. But unknown to most, such incidents are surprisingly common, and misinformation can affect the morale of the fighting forces and the mood of an entire nation at war. For this reason it is essential that the larger public, outside of the armed forces, has some awareness of how and why friendly fire accidents can happen, how common they have been in the past, and what can be done to avoid them.