friendly-fire incidents appear to involve the Air Force (and its predecessor Army Air Corps) and Army and Marine Corps ground forces.
Interesting from the legal standpoint (in terms of self-defense and justification defenses) are the unusual, but not completely unheard-of, instances of friendly-fire recipients defending themselves though knowing their attackers to be friendly forces.
When examining the efficacy of the military justice system in the friendly-fire context, one should start by looking through the prism of the applicable criminal standard.
Two offenses likely to be charged under the UCMJ in a friendly-fire incident are involuntary manslaughter, under article 119, and the lesser included offense of negligent homicide.
APPLICATION OF THE MILITARY JUSTICE SYSTEM TO FRIENDLY-FIRE INCIDENTS
Throughout American military history, reported instances of use of the military justice system in response to friendly-fire incidents have been exceedingly rare.
One of the best known friendly-fire incidents in American military history involved the shooting of Confederate general Thomas J.
Another significant friendly-fire incident in which no courts-martial resulted, although such action was seriously considered, occurred during the World War II invasion of Sicily.
The Korean War saw one of the few successful friendly-fire prosecutions.
