Special Operations Commando Raids and Enemy Hors de Combat

摘要

United States Special Operations Forces (SOF) conduct commando raids resulting in defeated enemy soldiers who are either wounded or neutralized as effective fighting forces. Some scholars indicate that the law of war provides only two alternative statuses for them: prisoners of war or capitulated forces. If true, this conclusion could dramatically impact operations planning. The defeated soldiers' prisoner of war (POW) status would impose on SOF teams significant duties that would impede the accomplishment of commando missions. These duties include absolute obligations to protect, evacuate, and provide medical care, food, and clothing to the defeated soldiers. Alternatively, their capitulated-force status would impose on SOF teams duties that vary with the nature of the capitulation agreement. These duties might range from simply honoring a temporary ceasefire to providing complete POW protections. Neither the POW nor capitulated force statuses accurately reflect the relationship between SOF teams and the enemy soldiers they defeat during commando raids. Prisoner of war status begins with physical custody, but SOF teams lack effective control over the defeated enemy. Often, SOF teams release enemy soldiers from any temporary custody. The release occurs on the field and not through an authorized repatriation or parole program. These two statuses do not account for this reality. They can lead to confusion and therefore do not clearly describe the duties owed by SOF teams to defeated enemy soldiers. However, the law of war provides a third possible status for these soldiers: hors de combat. This status recognizes that they have laid down their arms and are no longer capable of defending themselves, and that SOF teams lack effective control over them. It imposes clear duties that fall between those owed to POWs and those owed to capitulated forces in terms of their logistical impact on SOF teams. These duties do not include a general duty to evacuate, but include humanitarian obligations to provide medical care to the wounded as feasible. During commando raids, SOF teams should treat defeated enemy forces as hors de combat and not as POWs or capitulated forces. This status provides clear and flexible humanitarian duties that are within the teams' operational capabilities. Special operations forces teams can thereby complete their commando missions without lingering legal uncertainties about the applicable standard of treatment for defeated enemy soldiers.