Dead checking

Dead Checking

Any Brit who's been watching the news for the last couple of years would probably of heard of Royal Marine Sergeant Alexander Blackman.

The killing, on 15 September 2011, took place after a patrol base in Helmand the province that came under fire from two insurgents. One of the insurgents was seriously injured by gunfire from an Apache helicopter sent to provide air support and the marines found him in a field.

Footage from another marine's helmet-mounted camera showed Blackman shooting the Afghan prisoner in the chest with a 9mm pistol.

SGT Blackman thought the Taliban was dead, but even if he wasn't, they knew he wouldn't have survived. So they did that.

The result: SGT Blackman was subject to a court-martial and was found guilty of murder. 

The other members of the patrol who didn't even participate were all kicked out of the marines (I think one stayed in)...keep reading the story here

I can not speak for foreign militaries; I can only speak for the USA and a few of its allies I have trained with (the ROK Marines, Philippine Army, and the Indian Army mostly). The term used for this practice in the US Military is Dead Checking and it is a common practice during wartime; it is also just plain good old fashioned common sense.

Dead checking :

A real-life photo of a US Marine dead checking insurgents in Fallujah, Iraq.

War is ugly and I will not sugar coat it, Soldiers and Marines just don't have enough time in a firefight to prove someone isn’t playing dead. If a person who is dead checking is wrong they or their friend might pay for that mistake with flesh. Usually, I’ve seen Marines either muzzle thump (or kick) insurgents in the eye and if there was any movement then he’d shoot the insurgent in the head. On top of that, governments and military commanders usually have a policy of 'don't ask, don't tell' when it comes to the SF conducting operations.

If left behind almost all of these combatants are going to die a painful death from one of the many kinds of terrible wounds inflicted during wartime; like tension pneumothorax, exsanguination, a Cushing reflex, etc…, the worst-case scenario is he or she was faking it and you or one of your friends gets shot.

If a combatant requires medical care from a Corpsman or Medic then his only real chance is surrender and not playing dead.

Here is an example for those readers who aren't veterans and could use a movie to relate to: Remember this German guy in the movie Saving Private Ryan.

The enemy pictured above was released (not killed) by the Platoon Commander (played by Tom Hanks) blindfolded and it was assumed he would be captured; He did not get re-captured.

He ended up fighting against Captain Miller’s men a day or so later.

Any an experienced soldier who has fought in long-term kinetic engagements will acknowledge that dead checks are a fact of life and its wisdom is rather ancient in origin.

Standard procedure: "firefight is over"

Preliminary and common sense checks: if the enemy combatant has a .50 cal that's taken the back of his head off, there's no point looking any further, but if there's still ANY signs of life, You are then required by international conflict law to administer first aid there and then. Even if your own side has taken injuries, a medic has to see to this injured enemy.

I'm not saying that the enemy is treated before their own side, I'm saying at some point and depending on the severity of wounds, they have to care for them. They're then taken back to a field hospital and treated by doctors the same as they would do for their own side. Then the MP's might wanna interrogate them or whatever.

Alternatively if the enemy combatant is killed, then normally troops would 'bag them' (put them in a body bag) and await the locals to come and bury them.

Doesn't matter who you are and who the enemy is, according to law, you can't just shoot them in the head to see if they're dead.