One of the perils when our soldiers and policemen go on combat operations is the danger of getting killed, not by the enemy but by friendly fire.
This is exactly what happened on June 23 in Santa Rita, Samar when elements of the Army on combat operation engaged the elements of the Samar Police Field Force that resulted in six Police personnel being killed and nine being wounded in varying degrees of seriousness.
From what has already been reported in the media, the Police numbering 33 were after a group of NPAs when they stopped, ostensibly for a short break. In the same vicinity, an Army patrol composed of 17 soldiers who were apparently also on patrol and after the same NPA group detected the presence of armed men and engaged them in a firefight.
Being located on a higher ground, the Army men were able to gain the upper hand and inflicted heavy casualties on the Police patrol before the fighting stopped. This is the story that was published in the newspapers. A Board of Inquiry, composed of Police and Army officials, has now been formed to determine exactly what happened and try to find out whether there was negligence or which side was at fault.
The families of those slain policemen are once again demanding justice which basically means a thorough investigation. Since the incident is being described as a misencounter, the establishment of a BOI was the right and proper move. I hope the Board can come up with its findings very soon.
There are a lot of questions on why there were so many fatalities and why it happened at all. Unfortunately, getting killed by friendly fire happens all the time in combat. Wars are replete with stories of soldiers getting killed by friendly forces. This is not only true here in the Philippines, but everywhere where there is fighting going on.
This was demonstrated during the siege of Marawi City where 10 or 11 soldiers were killed in the bombing sorties by our Air Force. During the United States invasion of the tiny nation of Grenada in the Caribbean in the 1980s, most of the American casualties, if not all, were due to friendly fire. This was also true during the US invasion of Kuwait in Operation Desert Storm. Many of the US casualties there were due to friendly fire.
One tragic example of this was the case of the American football star Pat Tillman. In the aftermath of 9/11 he was one of the many young men who enlisted out of patriotism to fight in Afghanistan. On April 27, 2004, he was accidentally killed by his fellow soldiers in Afghanistan. It was initially described as a heroic death by the American Army but subsequent investigations later revealed the truth that he died due to friendly fire.
In the Samar case, President Duterte, as commander-in-chief, already assumed responsibility for what happened without waiting for the outcome of the inquiry. This may be due to his desire to stop the blame game before it even starts.
Harry Roque, his spokesman, also said that the Palace is hoping that this incident does not happen again. Unfortunately, getting killed due to friendly fire is going to happen again. That is just the way it is in combat. What we can only hope force is that it will not happen too often and too many casualties. Even in the best and most modern of armies that have all the necessary modern equipment, it is difficult to prevent this phenomenon. Soldiers are humans and there will always be mistakes in judgment. With better training, standard operating procedures and tighter supervision, these things will happen less and less.
When the Samar encounter took place, lack of coordination was the obvious place to start. Was their coordination between the operating elements and at what level? What were the SOPs in place not only for the PNP but also the Army? Since whole of Samar is an insurgency area, who is the overall Commander when it comes to all combat operations. What sins of omissions were committed by those making decisions and those that are executing the orders? Combat operations whether they are large or small are not really that simple as we always see them in the movies. A lot of things can go wrong at any time even in small unit operations.
On the part of the higher-ups, thorough supervision is needed. This includes ensuring coordination and giving precise instructions.
On the level of the operating elements, small-unit leadership is vital. The team leader’s right and precise instructions could spell the difference between life and death to everyone in the operating unit. As they say, be sure that your instructions can be understood even by an idiot.
In the end, perhaps the Board should also look at the training and quality of all those involved. Perhaps, something could be learned from it to prevent such things from happening. Training does not end when one graduates from a course. There is always a need for constant practice; one’s life will depend on it during combat operations.
Without prejudging the outcome of the Board of Inquiry, I believe there is a need for a thorough review of SOPs and the command arrangements between the PNP and Army elements operating in whole island of Samar to avoid a fire fight between friendly forces. The President and leadership of both services acted correctly in the aftermath of the tragic incident.