Rules of engagement limitations on soldier operational effectiveness

Rules of Engagement

Importance of Rule of Engagement

Rules of Engagement can be described as key elements that regulates the use of force, incorporating them a cornerstone of the Operational Law discipline. Some of the legal factors forming the ROE'S foundation are customary and conventional law principles based on the right of self-defense as well as the laws of war. Nevertheless, generally they do not stand alone; they also depend on non-legal issues like military mission limitations and political objectives in their construction and application. Every solder is obligated to fully abide by these rules even if sometimes the rules hinder the soldiers from implementing their job skills fully changing the outcome of the battle. Therefore it is important for reconsideration of the terms of ROE to allow soldiers implement their job fully.

Rules of Engagement should be guiding the military forces on the legal and non-legal activities they are required to be involved in or not, as part of strategy of winning a war. The soldiers are denied the opportunity to implement their job skill in the name of protecting them and respect to the international conventions of war. People like women, children and innocent civilians are protected by these rules during war when the targeted area by the soldiers harbors the enemies. However, the ROE has little consideration for soldiers who have in turn fallen in the hands of targeted terror groups leading to many soldiers loosing their lives as they carry out these rules.

Many of our soldier are left with no option but to abide by rules because they fear facing prosecution should they go ahead to violate these rules of Engagement. Our soldiers are left to fight in fear, which in many occasion creates hesitation and as soldiers hesitate they face the consequences as they in-turn fall prey to the enemy, this being the reason why many deaths on the part of the U.S. soldiers is recorded.

During the war at Ganjgal, among the thirteen U.S. forces, five were killed while the Afghan National Army lost eight soldiers. One of the soldiers reported that there was a dwelling in Ganjgal which was used by the Taliban and the area was also having women. The Taliban found it to be a safe place from which they could fire rocket-propelled grenades as well as other weapons taking advantage of the presence of women as they were aware that they could not be engaged, and indeed the command could not target the building due to the Rules of Engagement that guide them.

Rules of Engagement have been associated with winning hearts and mind as a strategy especially when the enemies hide within the civilians; to convince the civilians that soldiers are doing what is right by wiping out the enemies and may in turn gain the support of the civilians. It even brought more confusion during the battle where the military has to either follow the military law or the commander. As we know that the military commanders have the obligation of interpreting the current strategy to make military lawyer prepare and disseminate the legal training of the coinciding ROE to the military forces. While military are trained and advised by the military lawyer, the Army Manual on the other hand requires the soldiers to obey the commanders' ROE. Due to this sometimes military forces are left to wonder how they can act to some situations during the battle since as they follow the ROE from the commander they have to think about the military law so that they protect themselves legally to avoid ending up in court; and such sometimes makes soldiers not to act effectively to their mission hence delaying their operations.