Analyses and video evidence emerged over the weekend showing that the air strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Girls’ Primary School on February 28—that killed over 160 girls aged 7 to 12—was carried out by the US military.
The girls’ school in Minab is in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province close to the Persian Gulf. The school was effectively pulverized by multiple blasts, and many of those killed were obliterated and could only be identified through DNA analysis. Footage showed bodies and body parts partially trapped under collapsed floors, alongside scattered schoolbags, notebooks and dust‑covered textbooks.
I can’t speak for what actually happens, or what even what SOP in the armed forces might be in this situation.
SO…I googled it. Here’s the levels of complexity involved in a Tomahawk missle strike:
Command and Authorization (Top-Down Flow)
Authorization: The process starts with a decision by the President, often passed through the National Security Council to the Secretary of Defense, and then to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Command Channel: The Joint Chiefs convey the order to a regional commander (e.g., U.S. Central Command or Indo-Pacific Command). Execution Order: The regional commander transmits the target information and engagement requirements to the specific launch platforms (ships or submarines).
Transmitting the Order to the Specialist
Secure Communications: The order is sent via secured, encrypted digital communications to the vessel’s Tomahawk Strike Coordinator (TSC) or equivalent senior operator. TTWCS Integration: The data is directly integrated into the Tactical Tomahawk Weapons Control System (TTWCS) on board. Mission Planning: The TTWCS allows the crew to plan the route or receive pre-planned, digital target coordinates, known as a Missile Sequence Number (MSN) task.
Action by the Specialized Operator (Launch Team)
Mission Assignment: The firing platform’s operators receive a digital tasker, which includes primary and sometimes backup assignments. Validation: Specialists on the bridge/combat center verify the target and launch authorization. Targeting Data Entry: The TTWCS is updated with the new target data, which may include GPS coordinates. Block IV missiles can be reprogrammed in-flight, but the launch command requires pre-defined parameters. Launch Sequence: The operators execute the final launch sequence, which involves the missile being ejected by a solid-fuel booster from the Vertical Launching System (VLS).
SO, at which point should the crew have refused the order? Where does the blame lay?
Me thinks the lady doth protest too much. Did something like this happen to you or someone you know? It did indeed happen to a couple of my family members, but that doesn’t make it excusable. Growing up in a military city has taught me there is no end to the amount of technical mumbo-jumbo an organization will come up with to dodge accountability for an immoral act.
They assist their grunts in this accountability-dodging too, for better compliance (so they don’t go home and shoot themselves). The better part of them choose to drink themselves to death anyways because they know, deep down, that what they have done is wrong regardless of how many loopholes you try and bake in to the process.
This is why the PROCESS needs to change. We need to find some way to give them the information they need, the accountability, AND the permission to deny orders without repercussion.
Dunno what to tell ya. The process is what it is. What we are seeing is a failure of of the entire system of checks and balances. The legislative and judicial branches refuse to reign in the executive branch. IMHO, our Congress members and Supreme Court are more culpable for those girls’ deaths than the soldier who fired that missile.