Avoiding Friendly Fire Incidents Through Performance Assessment

FEATURE AT A GLANCE: During the combat operations phase of the Iraq War, Patriot air defense missile units were involved in two fratricide incidents. Patriot's unacceptable fratricide rate (18% of engagements) prompted the commanding general of the air defense center to request a human-performance-oriented assessment of the fratricide incidents to complement the official board of inquiry investigation. This article summarizes the results and recommendations from that assessment. Recommendations for solutions to the fratricide problem involved both command and control and training modifications. The article's primary focus is the 3-year follow-on effort to implement and evaluate selected aspects of the recommended fixes.