Moral of the Story: Better safe than sorry...
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/16/national/16PILO.html
In his testimony today, Colonel Stutzrem described a detailed process
in place to consider targets that were proposed suddenly by pilots,
ground forces or intelligence sources: first, they must be located with
precise coordinates; next, they must be positively identified; and
finally and most importantly, he said they must be deconflicted.
That process, which could take hours, he said, involves checking to
ensure that the targets are not actually special operations forces,
other American or allied ground forces or government agents, or
nongovernment agencies, journalists or others who do not constitute a
threat.
The two pilots should have known of those orders, said Colonel
Stutzrem, who was a senior officer in the air operations center that
oversaw all air combat in Afghanistan. Instead, he described listening,
stunned, as Major Schmidt requested permission to shoot his 20-mm cannon
and, then, after being told twice to hold his fire, said he saw men
firing artillery at him and Major Umbach, declared self-defense, and
dropped the bomb.
