AIR FORCE OPERATIONS AN TE LA - afjag.af.mil

1 AIR FORCEOPERATIONSANDTHEAWLTHE JUDGE advocate general S SCHOOLUNITED STATES AIR FORCER eaders with questions or comments concerning this publication should contacts the Editors, Air FORCE OPERATIONS and the Law, at the following address:The Judge advocate general s School150 Chennault Circle (Bldg 694)Maxwell Air FORCE Base, Alabama 36112-6418 Comm.(334) 953-2802 or DSN publication is available at: the cover: pre-flight checks on a F-15E Strike Eagle ( Air FORCE photo/Airman First Class Joshua Kleinholz).iThird Edition 2014 Air FORCE OPERATIONS And the LAwPUBLICATION LAYOUT and COVER DESIGNMS.

2 THOMASA T. PAULCOLONEL KIRK L. DAVIES, USAF Commandant, the Judge advocate general s sChoolLIEUTENANT COLONEL ERIC M. JOHNSONMAJOR LAURA C. DESIOMAJOR SAM C. KIDDMS. THOMASA T. PAULP rofessional outreaCh divisionAir FORCE OPERATIONS and the Law is a publication of the Judge advocate general s School. This book is a reference tool for legal professionals who support military OPERATIONS and should be viewed as a secondary authority. As with any publication of secondary authority, this guide should not be used as the basis for action on specific cases. Primary authority, much of which is cited in this edition, should be carefully reviewed.

3 IiFOREWORDT hroughout our nation s history, the military has adapted to overcome national threats. We have done so, generation by generation, often armed with legal principles, many of which did not neatly fit our adversaries emerging means and methods of warfare. Technological advances in the 21st Century involving, for example, cyber forces, space assets, lasers, distributed OPERATIONS , and remotely piloted aircraft will continue to push us into unchartered legal territory. The success of commanders in this complex strategic environment largely depends on responsive legal advice that applies all relevant law to novel circumstances under increasingly compressed decision cycles.

4 Quality legal advice presupposes engaged JAG Corps personnel who are well versed in their unit s missions and can articulate, in operationally informed language, how the law applies to those specific Air FORCE defines OPERATIONS Law expansively: The domestic, foreign, and in-ternational law associated with the planning and execution of military OPERATIONS in peacetime or hostilities .. the application of law to a specific mission of the supported Air FORCE unit. AFI 51-108, Judge advocate general Corps Structure, Deployment, and Operational Support. Note the powerful implication.

5 Because all USAF missions involve support for military OPERATIONS in some way, this definition means that whatever law ap-plies to your commander s mission is OPERATIONS law. Do you have range control issues? Does your wing write contracts that support an operational mission? Does your com-mander face good order and discipline challenges? These all impact your commander s missions. Put otherwise: OPERATIONS law entails a general practice encompassing all law and regulation that influences the organizing, training, equipping, or employment of armed FORCE . Expansive robust concept of OPERATIONS law presupposes that every judge advocate and paralegal fully comprehends his or her unit s mission.

6 Do you? Can you explain your unit s mission? Are you conversant with the mission of the tenant units your legal office supports? Can you connect the dots to explain how your unit s mission supports the USAF core missions of (1) air and space superiority; (2) intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; (3) rapid global mobility; (4) global strike; and (5) command and control? (From Global Reach, Global Vigilance, Global Power for America, 2013).iiiStaff judge advocates must effectively tailor their legal practices and training programs to best suit the supported unit s mission.

7 This third edition is a tool to help you do just that, as the entire JAG Corps practices OPERATIONS law every day. This publication does not and could not cover every subset of OPERATIONS law. However, it will help get you started in addressing those challenging legal practice issues not readily covered elsewhere. And, it will enable you to deliver essential legal services in support of USAF old adage found on plaques and bookmarks, good lawyers know the law, great lawyers know the judge, can be modified for our purposes to read, good JAGs know the law, great JAGs know the mission.

8 You, of course, must know both and be prepared to apply that law to the mission to assist commanders across the entire spectrum of Air FORCE OPERATIONS . The mission s success depends on it, and the Airmen we serve depend on us to deliver the professional, candid, independent, and quality legal counsel that overcomes the threats and secures victory. CHRISTOPHER F. BURNE Lieutenant general , USAF The Judge advocate GeneralivCHAPTER ONE: INTERNATIONAl UsE OF FORCE by THE UNITED sTATEs AIR FORCE ..1 Background ..2 Law Governing When Nations Can Legally Use FORCE ..2UN Enforcement Actions.

9 3 Self-Defense ..4 Use of FORCE with Consent of the Territorial State ..6 Domestic Law and the Use of FORCE : The War Powers Resolution ..6 CHAPTER TWO: lAW OF ARmED CONFlICT (lOAC) ..9 Background ..10 United States View of The Law of Armed Conflict Generally ..10 Sources of The Law of Armed Conflict for Airmen ..11 Basic Principles of The Law of Armed Conflict ..13 The Laws of Aerial Warfare ..20 CHAPTER THREE: WAR CRImEs AND ENFORCEmENT OF l OAC .. and Classification of War Treaty Department of Defense Policy ..40 Methods of Enforcement ..43 Reprisals ..44 AIR FORCE OPERATIONS AND THE lAW Table of ConTenTsvProsecution of War Crimes Under Law.

10 44 Prosecution of War Crimes Under International Law ..47 Criminal Responsibility ..51 Defenses ..55 Non-International Armed Conflict ..59 Peacetime OPERATIONS ..62 CHAPTER FOUR: AIR AND sEA lAW ..65 Background ..66 Airspace and Air Navigation ..67 Aircraft ..69 Air Navigation ..72 Special Navigation Issues ..77 Self-Defense and Armed Conflict ..79 CHAPTER FIVE: sPACE lAW ..83 Introduction What Space Brings to the Legal and Policy Framework ..85 Major Space Principles and Their Implications for Military Space Activities ..89 Other Operational Considerations ..97 Conclusion.