Some Technical Reflections on an Instance of ‘Friendly Fire’

Michael Mair1, Patrick G. Watson1, Christopher Elsey1 and Paul V. Smith2

University of Manchester1 Dept. of Sociology

2 Dept. of Education and SociologyBritish Sociological Association Annual Conference, Thursday April 16th 2009, Cardiff City Hall, UK

Background

28th of March, 2003, a column of 4 UK “Scimtar” light armoured tanks attacked by 2 US A-10 “Thunderbolt” aircraft

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/gallery/2007/jun/01/internationalnews1?picture=329963022

http://www.fas.org/programs/ssp/man/moremanpics/a-10_1.jpg

Attack results in Fratricidal (Friendly Fire) death of Lance Corporal of Horses (L./Cp.) Matty Hull and severe injury of L/Cpl. Alan Tudball

List of Friendly Fire Incidents and Accidents Prior to 28th March 2008

http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/gallery/2007/jun/01/internationalnews1?picture=329963022

• March 22: A British Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado jet is accidentally shot down by a US Patriot missile. The Tornado’s two crew members are killed.

• March 24: Two British soldiers are killed when their tank is mistakenly targeted by another British tank in southern Iraq.

• March 27: 37 US Marines are injured when US troops mistakenly fire at each other near the southern city of Nasiriyah.

• March 28: A British soldier is killed and four others injured in the region of Basra when a US A-10 ground attack aircraft fires on them.

• Accidents: • March 21: A US helicopter crashes in Kuwait killing eight British and four

American crewmen. • March 22: Two helicopters from Britain’s Royal Navy collide in mid-air

over international waters in the Gulf killing the seven crewmen on board. • March 23: Two US Marines are killed and four others are injured in two

separate road accidents in Kuwait and Iraq.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald (8th April, 2003) ‘Friendly Fire Incidents and Accidents’, http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/04/07/1049567623996.html

Main Protagonists

• Popov 36 and Popov 35 (Popov 36 leads the mission)

• Manila Hotel (Air Controller)• Andrew Walker (“the coroner”)

Introductory Remarks

• Four years following attack Oxfordshire coroner Andrew Walker finds “Unlawful Killing”

• No detailed analysis of what was happening in cockpit video before this point

• Not a competing version of prior assessments / adjudications of this incident

Analytic Commentary

• Cockpit video as access to “First Time Through” (Garfinkel, 2002)

• ‘What happened’ as a contingent course of activity

• Audio of straight forward conversation interspersed with “troublemakers” (ibid)

Analytic Commentary

“It has been suggested that the pilot had been told the area was clear. This is not the case … POPOV 36 said that he had seen a “four ship”. MANILA HOTEL: “I understand that was north 800 metres”. To assume that this meant that there were no friendlies in the area was a serious mistake. It would not and could not be reasonably taken as confirming that the area where POPOV 36 was flying was clear.”

Andrew Walker’s verdict(Crown, 2007, paras 19, 20 & 21)

Linear TranscriptExcerpt one: simplified linearised transcript

1 MANILA HOTEL Eh POPOV from MANILA HOTEL, can you confirm you engaged that eh tube and

2 those vehicles? 3 (1)3 POPOV 35 Affirm Sir. Looks like I have multiple vehicles in revets about {inhales} uh 800 4 metres to the north of your arty rounds. Can you eh switch fire, an uhm, shift5 fire, try and get some arty rounds on those?6 (1)7 MANILA HOTEL Roger, I understand those were the impacts that uh you observed earlier on

my 8 timing?9 (>1) 10 POPOV 35 Affirmative11 (>1)12 MANILA HOTEL Roger, standby …13 (1)14 POPOV 36 Hey, I got a four ship. Uh looks like we got orange panels on ‘em though. Do they15 have an uh, any eh, friendlies up in this area?=16 MANILA HOTEL =I understand that was north

800 17 metres

Walker’s Analysis

• Walker’s orientation to the transcript as an interactional map to orient to conversational outcome

• ‘Native’ understandings as resource to characterise moral propriety of engagement

• Popov 36’s wilful misunderstanding of what he had been told by FAC

• However this is not an instance of linear temporal succession in the transcript...

The Stage Play Transcript

• Given the impression that video combined with audio gives “gods-eye view”

• Cockpit video amalgam of different various audio communications, video of Popov 36, etc

• But Popov 36 could not hear Manila Hotel’s remarks

www.au104.org/Photo1/Images11-15/104Sigs14_10.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ZlMmGAA05zc/RkHXxjbN8NI/AAAAAAAAAGg/hDAzeE_j6rQ/s400/5-9-07b.jpg

Popov 36

Popov 35

Manila Hotel (Air Controller)

Multiple Vehicles in Rivetts 800m north...

Understand that was North 800m?

Confirm no friendlies this

far north uh. On the ground?

Hey, I got a four ship. Uh looks like we got orange panels on ‘em though. Do

they have any uh, any eh, friendlies up in this area?

How to Find a Friendly

• Popov 35 and Manila Hotel co-ordinating a separate attack

• The ‘they’ to find friendlies• Division of labour and communication of info

through co-ordinated pilot activity• Popov 35 as information conduit • No objective view outside of what is being

done

Conducting Combat Operations• Anthony King (2003)

Staying oriented to same conditions as essential to combat success

• Natural language and the practical idiom-in-use that can be tailored to the exigencies of particular situations

• CAS III and the conditions of battle – no ground spotters to guide pilots

http://www.jessan.com/images/jtac.jpg

CAS III

• “Follow the highway leading north until you cross the railroad track, and then turn right over a dark oily looking street. On the left, you will see a large yellow building, looks like a supermarket. Well, that’s not it. It’s on the second floor of the two-story gray [sic] building on the higher ground just behind the yellow one.” (Brown et al, 2006, pg. 1)

www.au104.org/Photo1/Images11-15/104Sigs14_10.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ZlMmGAA05zc/RkHXxjbN8NI/AAAAAAAAAGg/hDAzeE_j6rQ/s400/5-9-07b.jpg

Popov 36

Popov 35

Manila Hotel (Air Controller)

Let me ask you a question

Hey what type of rocket launchers you got up here?

Coordinating artillery attack on ‘riveted vehicles’

www.au104.org/Photo1/Images11-15/104Sigs14_10.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ZlMmGAA05zc/RkHXxjbN8NI/AAAAAAAAAGg/hDAzeE_j6rQ/s400/5-9-07b.jpg

Popov 36

Popov 35

Manila Hotel (Air Controller)

Are you able to Switch to Crimson?

Looks like they’re what we’re talking about

(To Popov 35 and 36)

Conclusion: How the Video Makes a Story

• Not interested in augmenting work of boards of inquiries or coroners, simply examining interaction angle

• Insights into “First time through” and interactional management of live combat situation

• Lynch (1993): if aim is to render actions comprehensible, requires descriptions of “extraordinary scope and specificity”

• “Universal observer” (video) not suited to full capture sense of what happened.