“Sometimes not firing can be tough,” Raddatz writes.  “Pilots say it’s hard to watch their fellow soldiers on the ground taking fire.” But that’s what they do, under orders from top American commanders.

By: Byron York at Washington Examiner

ABC News reporter Martha Raddatz was allowed to fly in an Air Force F-15E fighter jet on a combat mission in Afghanistan.  The plane was loaded with 500-pound bombs and ready to protect coalition forces on the ground.  But the guiding principle of the mission, Raddatz writes, was to exercise “courageous restraint,” that is, to not fire at the enemy if there were the possibility that civilians might be hurt or if buildings might be damaged — even if that meant that American or coalition forces were in great danger.

“Sometimes not firing can be tough,” Raddatz writes.  “Pilots say it’s hard to watch their fellow soldiers on the ground taking fire.”

But that’s what they do, under orders from top American commanders.  On this mission, when a French officer on the ground requested a bomb be dropped on the enemy, the U.S. pilot said no, opting for strafing instead because it would be safer for those on the ground — except, of course, for the coalition forces.  From Raddatz’s account:

Our mission was to provide close air support and “over watch” for 600 French troops on patrol in Kapisa Province.

The pilot, Col. Joe Beissner, has flown about 500 combat hours. He told me one of the things stressed again and again in the briefings, is to look out for collateral damage, namely for civilian casualties. But the air crews go out of their way to not only avoid hitting civilians, but also take care to avoid hitting property.

“Our primary issue that we discuss with our ground commander is how do we establish the positive identification of the target,” said Beissner, who is vice commander of the 455th Air Expeditionary Wing. “Once that’s complete, we next ask is there any civilians or any potential of civilians being in the area of the weapons, and then we ask is there any potential for collateral damage.”

But in this war, making sure you kill the enemy — and no one else — can take far more discipline and even courage, as we would soon find out. In fact Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who is the commander in Afghanistan, calls this discipline, “Courageous Restraint.” It means even if someone on the ground is in trouble, you have to make sure you know what your target is and that you do your best not to hurt innocent civilians.

Sometimes not firing can be tough. Pilots say it’s hard to watch their fellow soldiers on the ground taking fire.

“We have to use restraint when it’s tough,” Col. Jack Briggs said. “We’re listening to these kids on the ground, and they’re taking fire.”

FULL STORY

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