News-Record.com

The following is a Counterpoint column.

I wanted to comment on your fine May 26 article about the death of George Preddy, leading P-51 “Mustang” ace of all time, killed by friendly fire on Christmas Day 1944. Our town can never pay sufficient tribute or honor to a family losing both sons in war.

George Preddy remains the all-time No. 6 ace of the United States.

Some corrections are needed, however.

The caption with the photograph of George’s brother Bill, also a P-51 pilot, states that he, too, “died by friendly fire.” In fact, he died of injuries sustained after enemy fire downed his aircraft in 1945.

The story stated that the Preddys were in “the Army Air Corps,” the predecessor of the modern U.S. Air Force (USAF). During World War II, the organization was part of the Army and known as the “United States Army Air Forces” (USAAF), the predecessor of the modern USAF. The Army Air Corps preceded the USAAF.

Concerning Pat Tillman, the article states that the Army reported that “its sniper had no way of knowing Tillman wasn’t the enemy.” If I remember correctly, Tillman fell in a hail of gunfire from several other Army soldiers, not from a single shooter or an Army sniper.

I have studied friendly fire extensively. The basic causes?

One: The shooter’s lack of “situational awareness,” i.e., he does not know his own location or the locations of allies or enemies.

Two: Failure, as in the Tillman case, to positively identify the target as enemy.
Three: “The fog of war.”

The first two causes can be prevented somewhat by training, planning and discipline, but the fog of war has always been and always will be inherent in combat, notwithstanding preventive measures.

The fog of war is confusion inherent in warfare, the “friction” that makes the simplest task a nightmare. It is the failure to follow directions. It is the unforeseen event or action by friend or foe; it is combatants “not following the script.”

The list of the elements of fog — what can go wrong in warfare — is nearly infinite.
The old saying is that “No plan survives first contact with the enemy.”

The writer is a colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. He is a Greensboro native who lives in Norfolk, Va.