[SaharaSon]

Part 1. Many more civilians, than military personel, are killed and wounded in Active Combat Zones. Also, many more civilians suffer from Combat PTSD (The PTSD one obtains from being in an Active Combat Zone). If a civilian supports one side of a conflict, and they are perceived as a threat or a potential threat by an armed force, then they are the "enemy". These civilians are often targeted by one of the armed forces. According to the Geneva Convention this is what makes them a "combatant". It is not that they are wearing green fatiques, or have the ability to defend themselves by having access to weapons that determines whether or not one is a combatant. It is whether or not 1) you are targeted and 2) you are at risk to be killed, 3) as an "enemy", by an armed force, 4) in an Active Combat Zone.

[SaharaSon]

Part 2. The Geneva Convention Parts III and IV addresses who is a lawful and who is an unlawful combatant. My dad and I fell under Part IV, unlawful combatants. Being who we were, practically and historicly in war, in most places in the world, we could have easily been put up against a wall and shot. My dad was a USN Commander, and I was providing logistical, security, communications and tactical support, off and on, for him. For all intents and purposes, I was under his command. I answered directly to him. I was a child warrior. We were in Active Combat Zones more than once. We both served our country, he was predominantly military and I was predominantly civilian, but sometimes these lines get very hazy, very hazy indeed.

[SaharaSon]

Originally Posted by SaharaSon

Part 2. The Geneva Convention Parts III and IV addresses who is a lawful and who is an unlawful combatant. My dad and I fell under Part IV, unlawful combatants. Being who we were, practically and historicly in war, in most places in the world, we could have easily been put up against a wall and shot. My dad was a USN Commander, and I was providing logistical, security, communications and tactical support, off and on, for him. For all intents and purposes, I was under his command. I answered directly to him. I was a child warrior. We were in Active Combat Zones more than once. We both served our country, he was predominantly military and I was predominantly civilian, but sometimes these lines get very hazy, very hazy indeed.

Part 3. For further clarification of who is a "combatant", I submit the following. Because the word "combatant" has confused people needing a definition, the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz, sought to provide a definition. In an official, Department of Defense, docuement, on July 7, 2004 the Secretary provided a definition. It was quite simple. An enemy "combatant" is an individual who was part of, or supporting, forces hostile to the U.S.. A more generalized restatement is that a "combatant" is an individual who was a part of, or "supporting", forces hostile to an enemy. Combat PTSD applies to civilians, as well as military personel, who support, in some tangible way, the US armed forces, particularly, those in Active Combat Zones, against a threatening enemy.