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Military

APPENDIX C

RAMP TRAINING SCENARIOS

CASE STUDY 1

RETURNING FIRE
DEFENDING AGAINST HOSTILE ACTS

SITUATION: A soldier is walking from the mess facility to his sleeping tent after the dinner meal. His route takes him near the perimeter of his Brigade Support Area, which is marked by a single strand of concertina wire and a protective berm of earth. The soldier's unit is deployed on the outskirts of the capital city in a small island country. Two days ago the U.S. Ambassador determined that American citizens present in the country were in danger due to political instability. At the request of the Ambassador, and at the invitation of the prime minister of the country, the President ordered military forces to conduct a noncombatant evacuation operation. In 12 hours, the soldier's company will deploy by helicopter to a marshaling area in the interior of the country to collect Americans residing there. His immediate mission is to rest up for the hard work ahead. He is armed with an M-16A2 rifle. In accordance with his commander's orders, the rifle is not loaded, but the soldier's ammunition pouches contain four magazines full of ammunition. The commander has ordered that the standing RAMP rules of force are in effect. Thus far, the presence of American military forces in the country has resulted in a no-hostile response by any of the police forces supporting an anti-American political faction. Although the soldier is walking alone, several fellow soldiers are within 50 meters of him. Because the engineer platoon has not yet completed building the protective berm, there are numerous areas along the perimeter that provide no cover from potential small arms fire.

EVENT: As the soldier passes near the perimeter, he looks to the left and sees a person about 150 meters away aiming a weapon toward him. The sniper fires, and a round hits the earth a few feet away. The sniper is visible, only partially obscured by vegetation, and is about 100 meters from three civilian women who are talking to each other when the first shot comes. The sniper is taking aim again at the soldier or at one of the other Americans in the area.

CONSIDERATIONS: The key rule here is to RETURN FIRE with aimed fire. The standing RAMP rules allow soldiers to defend themselves against attacks. Here, the sniper clearly attacked the soldier and U.S. forces by firing a deadly weapon. The soldier can return fire with aimed shots to defend himself and his unit, while reporting the incident to his chain of command so that other measures can be taken to eliminate the threat. Each of the other RAMP rules would support a decision by the soldier to return fire. If soldiers see clear indicators of hostile intent, they may ANTICIPATE ATTACK and use force first; this rule was immediately satisfied when the sniper committed a hostile act (and thus showed hostile intent) by attacking the security guards with aimed fire. No analysis of the SALUTE factors is necessary to determine hostile intent. Soldiers must MEASURE THE AMOUNT OF FORCE to fit the level of the threat, if time and circumstances permit. Under these circumstances, aimed shots fired back at a sniper constitute force that is properly adjusted in magnitude, intensity, and the duration to the threat. Given the closeness of innocent civilians, the soldier's commander would violate this rule if, for instance, he requested indirect mortar fire in the vicinity of the sniper. Again, because the soldier already has used deadly force, no progression through a scale of force -- that is, verbal warning or a warning shot, is necessary. The rule permitting soldiers to PROTECT LIFE WITH DEADLY FORCE supports a decision to fire because the lives of U.S. soldiers are in the direct line of the sniper's fire.

SUGGESTED RESPONSE: To find cover and concealment, place a magazine into the rifle, chamber a round, and fire aimed shots at the sniper.

REFERENCES: SMCT 181- 906-1506; Yoram Dinstein, War, Aggression and Self-Defense 200-02 (1988).

CASE STUDY 2

ANTICIPATING ATTACK
RESPONDING WITH FORCE TO A CLEAR DEMONSTRATION OF HOSTILE INTENT

SITUATION: A soldier stands guard in the early morning at a post outside his battalion compound. The compound is set in a series of buildings near a large airport. His unit's mission is to maintain peace in the capital city of a country where instability and civil war threaten U.S. interests. The soldier's mission is to safeguard the perimeter of the compound, where nearly 300 soldiers are now sleeping. The soldier is armed with his M-16A2 rifle. In accordance with his guard instructions, the rifle is not loaded, but one of the soldier's ammunition pouches contains a magazine with 10 rounds of ammunition. The commander has ordered that the standing RAMP rules of force are in effect. Six months ago, a terrorist killed 17 U.S. citizens and destroyed the U.S. embassy in the city by driving a truck loaded with explosives into the building. The area surrounding the compound contains individuals bearing small arms as well as rival factions armed with mortars and machine guns. In recent days, U.S. soldiers have been occasional targets of these weapons, although higher headquarters has not officially designated any forces as hostile. A parking lot outside the concertina wire marks the perimeter of the compound. This lot is in the soldier's sector of responsibility. Another soldier mans a post along the same portion of the perimeter 150 meters from the first soldier.

EVENT: Suddenly, a yellow truck that has circled the empty lot twice gathers speed, crashes through the concertina wire barrier, and barrels toward the main building of the compound. Within seconds it will be at the main building.

CONSIDERATIONS: The key rule here is to ANTICIPATE ATTACK on the main building. Even when only the standing RAMP rules are in effect, soldiers can fire their weapons before receiving fire, if they see clear indicators of hostile intent. Here the soldier can conclude that the truck driver's intentions are hostile because the SALUTE factors support that conclusion. Note the driver's activity (he has crashed a concertina barrier after circling the lot and gathering speed), the location (within a restricted compound), the time factor (only seconds before the truck reaches hundreds of U.S. soldiers), and equipment (a truck bombing recently occurred nearby). Each of the other RAMP rules supports a decision to fire at the truck driver. Soldiers can RETURN FIRE with fire, and respond to hostile acts with necessary force. They must MEASURE THE AMOUNT OF FORCE to fit the level of the threat, if time and circumstances permit. Under these circumstances, aimed shots at the truck driver are the correct measure of force to protect lives and accomplish the mission. Given the lack of time available, the soldier should not attempt lesser measures along the graduated scale of force -- verbal warning, warning shot, etc. Finally, the soldier can fire his rifle, the only lethal weapon available, because soldiers can PROTECT LIFE WITH DEADLY FORCE.

SUGGESTED RESPONSE: To place the magazine into the weapon, chamber a round, and fire at the driver of the truck.

HISTORICAL NOTE: This problem is patterned after a terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 241 Marines and sailors in Beirut, Lebanon, on 23 October 1983. The Department of Defense Commission that investigated the incident concluded that several factors detracted from the security posture of U.S. forces on that date. One factor was a "mind set" encouraged by the rules of engagement. The rules, as disseminated by the chain of command, left Marines with doubts about whether they could initiate fire under extremely threatening circumstances, such as those described above.

REFERENCES: SMCT 181-906-1506; Dept. of Defense, Report of the Commission on the Beirut International Airport Terrorist Act 67-103 (1983); Daniel P. Bolger, Americans at War: 1975-1986, An Era of Violent Peace 242-54 (1988).

CASE STUDY 3

MEASURING FORCE
USING FORCE NECESSARY TO ACCOMPLISH THE MISSION

SITUATION: A platoon has formed a hasty perimeter in a small village. The platoon leader is talking with one of the villagers through an interpreter. U. S. forces are deployed in a flat, hot, dry, famine-stricken country as part of a multinational coalition force. The mission of the coalition is to provide a secure environment for the distribution of humanitarian relief supplies. Armed bands have been frustrating these efforts for months and have even fired upon U.S. soldiers several times over the past few days. The mission of the platoon is to search the village and seize weapons and munitions that were sighted there the night before, when a firefight among rival bands had taken place. If necessary, the platoon also has the mission of disarming members of any of the bands found in the village. The platoon has completed a sweep of the village and has found a few small arms and live mortar rounds, but no armed individuals or bands. The soldiers of the platoon bear M-16A2 rifles, which are locked and loaded. The commander has ordered that the standing RAMP rules of force are in effect.

EVENT: Two unarmed men in white shirts suddenly dash through an alley in the village. The platoon leader orders several soldiers to chase after the men to determine whether they know anything about the firefight the night before. One soldier chases one of the men into an area outside the village. The soldier notices movement in the bush about 25 meters away and then sees the white shirt of a man running away from him and from the remainder of the American platoon.

CONSIDERATIONS: The key rule here is to MEASURE THE AMOUNT OF FORCE to fit the level of the threat. Under the standing RAMP rules, a soldier must use only the amount of force necessary to protect lives and accomplish the mission. The force used must fit the scale of the threat in magnitude, intensity, and duration. If possible, soldiers apply a graduated escalation of force when facing civilians who are unarmed, but also confrontational unfriendly. Here, the civilian man is unarmed and running away. The man poses no immediate threat to the safety of the soldier or his American comrades. No use of force is appropriate. Nor do the other RAMP rules support the use of force. Soldiers may RETURN FIRE with fire, but the man has fired no shots. Soldiers may ANTICIPATE ATTACK and fire first if they see clear indicators of hostile intent, but here, none of the SALUTE factors indicate hostile intent. Soldiers must PROTECT LIFE WITH DEADLY FORCE, but no lives are endangered by this fleeing unarmed man.

SUGGESTED RESPONSE: To continue chasing the man, but to refrain from firing the rifle.

HISTORICAL NOTE: This problem is roughly patterned after an incident that occurred in Somalia in February 1993. In circumstances similar to these, an American soldier shot and killed an unarmed Somali man. A panel of officers and enlisted men, after hearing numerous witnesses and examining ballistic and medical evidence, determined that the soldier had used excessive force, despite the soldier's claim that he had fired a "warning shot in the dirt" to the left of the fleeing man. The panel also found fault with the chain of command for not ensuring that the soldiers understood the rules of engagement. The rules of engagement were similar to RAMP in that they allowed for warning shots, but only if appropriate as part of a graduated show of force against a threatening element. The soldier's Division Commander set aside his conviction for negligent homicide.

REFERENCES: SMCT 181-906-1506; United States v. Mowris, (Headquarters, Fort Carson & 4th Inf. Div., 1 July 1993).

CASE STUDY 4

PROTECTING PROPERTY
APPROPRIATE USE OF DEADLY FORCE

SITUATION: A soldier sits on the passenger side in the front of a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV). He and the driver are in the first vehicle of a two-vehicle convoy in the center of a city. As the vehicles move through the city, they pass many civilian men, women, and children. U.S. forces are deployed in a flat, hot, dry, famine-stricken country as part of a multinational coalition force. The mission of the coalition is to provide a secure environment for the distribution of humanitarian relief supplies. Armed bands have been frustrating these efforts for months and have even fired upon U.S. soldiers several times over the past few days. Civilians frequently taunt coalition soldiers and attempt to steal items from passing vehicles. The immediate mission of the convoy is to link up with the remainder of the soldier's company. The soldier is armed with an M-79 grenade launcher that is loaded with a canister. The commander has ordered that the standing RAMP rules of force are in effect. As the vehicle rounds a bend, an unarmed boy puts his hand through the window, pushes back the soldier's head, and removes an expensive pair of prescription sunglasses. The vehicle moves forward, and the youth slips back into a crowd.

CONSIDERATIONS: The key rule here is to PROTECT WITH DEADLY FORCE ONLY HUMAN LIFE AND PROPERTY DESIGNATED BY YOUR COMMANDER. Under the standing RAMP rules, a soldier must stop short of deadly force when protecting other property. Here, the property stolen by the youth is not the sort of sensitive or mission-essential equipment that commanders must sometimes protect with deadly force. None of the other RAMP rules supports the use of deadly force in this situation. Soldiers may RETURN FIRE with fire, but the youth has fired no shots. Soldiers may ANTICIPATE ATTACK and fire first if they see clear indicators of hostile intent, but here, none of the SALUTE factors indicate hostile intent. Soldiers must MEASURE THE AMOUNT OF FORCE to fit the level of the threat, if time and circumstances permit. The force used must fit the scale of the threat in magnitude, intensity, and duration. If possible, soldiers apply a graduated escalation of force when facing civilians who are unarmed, but also confrontational and unfriendly. Here, the youth has used some force and has committed an aggressive act; however, the youth also is unarmed and has moved away from the departing vehicle. The youth poses no immediate threat to the safety of the soldier or his comrades. The soldier may shout verbal warnings in the native tongue to bystanders to disperse, stay away, or halt. He may visibly display his weapon to indicate available force. He may use pepper spray or some other irritant, if available, to ward off those who may reach toward a vehicle. He may use a riot stick or some other implement to ward off or even strike persistent individuals in nonvital regions. But he may not use deadly force under these circumstances when the standing RAMP rules are in effect.

SUGGESTED RESPONSE: To refrain from firing the M-79, while maintaining alertness for others who attempt to steal from the vehicle. Upon returning to the base camp, the soldier should ask the chain of command how to file a claim for the lost glasses.

HISTORICAL NOTE: This problem is roughly patterned after an incident that occurred in Somalia in February 1993. In circumstances similar to these, an American service member leaned out the window of the vehicle and discharged his M-79 over and behind his right shoulder. Fragments from the canister wounded two Somali boys. One of the boys had been standing nearby sipping grapefruit juice. A panel of officers and enlisted men, after hearing numerous witnesses and examining all available evidence, determined that the Marine had used excessive force.

REFERENCES: SMCT 181-906-1506; United States v. Conde, (First Marine Expeditionary Force, 6 April 1993).

Appendix B: A Soldier's Task: Use Force Appropriately
Appendix C, Part 2



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