Fog of First Responders

The most frequent comment these days on CNN Breaking News may well be "the first reports are usually wrong."

There are a number of news stories about recent police shootings.  The Cincinnati one has resulted in a campus police officer being charged with murder.

Col. Alan D. Campen, USAF (ret) wrote about the "Fog of War" in Signal Magazine several years ago.  A Google search will identify several articles in Signal.

Wikipedia currently has an entry on the Fog of War.  It says:

The fog of war (German: Nebel des Krieges) is the uncertainty in situational awareness experienced by participants in in military operations.  The term seeks to capture the uncertainty regarding one's own capability, adversary capability, and adversary intent during an engagement, operation, or campaign. Military forces try to reduce the fog of war through military intelligence.

The Wikipedia entry defines this for five (5) Levels:

1.  Grand strategic
2.  Military strategiv
3.  Operational
4.  Tactical
5.  Emotion/Computational

The Tactical Level entry states:

"Ambiguity stems from several factors at the tactical level, both by deliberate means by the enemy (including active deception and/or electronic attack on communications and sensors) as well as factors inherent to battle resulting in lack of comprehension by commanders as to the tactical environment, the logistic status of their own units, how they are interacting with each other, or their intentions. This lack of comprehension can stem from many factors, individually or in combination, such as poor reconnaissance; inaccurate intelligence; or faulty communication. The tempo of decision making at the tactical level is much greater than at other levels, increasing the risk of escalating ambiguity as assumptions build and resources are allocated based on those assumptions."

A former SEAL, described the First Responder arrival at the Navy Yard in July 2015, in Washington, DC, as "everybody show up".

The Fog of War at the Tactical Level is experience by First Responders.  When a policeman interacts with the community, there is a risk of the situation escalating and "getting out of control," if not "out of hand."

Since the O. J. Simpson case, all liberals have been concerned about Domestic Violence.  My personal observations indicate that this has led to serious abuse of 911 calls.  I was present when my ex-spouse called 911 reporting that someone was "breaking in."  Fortunately for me, there was a third person present.

My ex-spouse has not been punished for abusing 911.  She should be.

Every 911 call exposes the First Responder to a situation which is similar to the Fog of War.

I guess I need to hire Gloria Allred.

The Flag of the United States of America

The Flag Code is viewable at http://www.usflag.org/uscode36.html from which the following was extracted today July 3, 2015,

"Previous to Flag Day, June 14, 1923 there were no federal or state regulations governing display of the United States Flag. It was on this date that the National Flag Code was adopted by the National Flag Conference which was attended by representatives of the Army and Navy which had evolved their own procedures, and some 66 other national groups. This purpose of providing guidance based on the Army and Navy procedures relating to display and associated questions about the U. S. Flag was adopted by all organizations in attendance.

"A few minor changes were made a year later during the Flag Day 1924 Conference, It was not until June 22, 1942 that Congress passed a joint resolution which was amended on December 22, 1942 to become Public Law 829; Chapter 806, 77th Congress, 2nd session. Exact rules for use and display of the flag (36 U.S.C. 173-178) as well as associated sections (36 U.S.C. 171) Conduct during Playing of the National Anthem, (36 U.S.C. 172) the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, and Manner of Delivery were included.

"This code is the guide for all handling and display of the Stars and Stripes. It does not impose penalties for misuse of the United States Flag. That is left to the states and to the federal government for the District of Columbia. Each state has its own flag law.

"Criminal penalties for certain acts of desecration to the flag were contained in Title 18 of the United States Code prior to 1989. The Supreme Court decision in Texas v. Johnson; June 21, 1989, held the statute unconstitutional. This statute was amended when the Flag Protection Act of 1989 (Oct. 28, 1989) imposed a fine and/or up to I year in prison for knowingly mutilating, defacing, physically defiling, maintaining on the floor or trampling upon any flag of the United States. The Flag Protection Act of 1989 was struck down by the Supreme Court decision, United States vs. Eichman, decided on June 11, 1990.

"While the Code empowers the President of the United States to alter, modify, repeal or prescribe additional rules regarding the Flag, no federal agency has the authority to issue 'official' rulings legally binding on civilians or civilian groups. Consequently, different interpretations of various provisions of the Code may continue to be made. The Flag Code may be fairly tested: 'No disrespect should be shown to the Flag of the United States of America.' Therefore, actions not specifically included in the Code may be deemed acceptable as long as proper respect is shown."

All the above changes after 1942 happened while I was in the Washington, DC, area, a very protocol conscious area.