War is horrible enough without resort to something this. Biological weapons, for
example, involve living organisms that are capable of mutating into heaven only knows
what. We could unwittingly unleash a plague upon the enemy upon ourselves, and
upon the world.
(2) The world community has not arrived at a consensus that would prohibit
nuclear weapons. Their use would involve a strategic-level determination that such
would not cause unnecessary suffering and would proportional to the objective to be
attained. The attack on Japan, for example, brought about a prompt end to the War,
thereby avoiding the need to invade mainland Japan. Given the fanaticism of the
Japanese soldiers and their willingness to die for the cause, such an invasion would
likely have produced millions of casualties on both sides.
g. Proportionality. This is the "P," The rule is one of common sense; don't
swat the fly by shooting it with a tank. The death/destruction must be proportional to the
military objective to be achieved. If an enemy soldier is firing at your unit from a window
of a hospital, you have the right to take him out. This doesn't mean that you need to
bring in the United States Air Force (USAF) to level the entire hospital as well as the
rest of the surrounding civilian community.
2-4.
GENEVA CONVENTION RELATING TO MEDICAL PERSONNEL/MEDICAL
EQUIPMENT
a. General. We noted earlier that the law of war protects certain categories of
persons from attack. Medical personnel consist of one such category.
b. Article 24 and Article 26, Personnel. Permanent medical personnel
(doctors, nurses, and so forth), chaplains (Article 24 personnel), personnel of the
National Red Cross, and other recognized relief organizations (Article 26 personnel).
The position of The Surgeon General's Office is that all AMEDD personnel assigned to
AMEDD duties are Article 24 personnel. This includes personnel assigned to the
Medical Corps, Dental Corps, Nurse Corps, Medical Service Corps, and Medical
Specialist Corps. It encompasses not just doctors and nurses, but also physicians'
assistants, medics, and so forth, so long as they are permanently assigned to medical
duties.
c. Medical Support Personnel. What about support personnel that do not
directly treat patients; that is, the ambulance driver or office staff? Those who look after
the administration of medical units and establishment are similarly protected, as they
form part of the medical service of the military, that is, they are an integral part of the
medical unit/establishment, which could not function without them. The same is true for
those assigned to staff positions within an AMEDD organization. To use an analogy, if
a MASH unit were overrun by the enemy, Captain Hawkeye would be protected, but so,
too, would Colonel Potter, Corporal Klinger, Corporal Radar, and so forth. None of
these people are combatants. These personnel "shall be respected and protected in all
circumstances," and may not be intentionally attacked. Upon capture, they are
MD0033
2-9
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