How does ROE address fratricide risk during contested movement or fires?

• A. Relaxes PID to accelerate movement
• B. Enforces PID, deconfliction, and escalation procedures to prevent friendly-fire incidents
• C. Remains neutral with no escalation procedures
• D. Remains only about civilian casualties

Answer: (B)

Preventing fratricide during contested movement or fires hinges on ROE that enforce positive identification, deconfliction, and escalation procedures. Positive identification ensures you engage only designated enemy forces, not friendlies. Deconfliction coordinates signals, locations, and timing with adjacent units and supporting assets so friendly forces aren’t placed in the same kill area or fired upon accidentally. Escalation procedures provide a clear, stepwise approach for target verification and engagement: verify the target, seek confirmation if there is doubt, and pause or adjust fire rather than proceeding with uncertain engagement. This combination directly reduces the chance of friendly-fire incidents while still enabling effective action against the enemy. Relaxing PID would speed movement but raise fratricide risk; having no escalation procedures leaves ambiguity in critical moments; and focusing only on civilian casualties misses the broader purpose of ROE to protect all forces and maintain disciplined, lawful fire.