frindly - adjective (War and Weaponry) Of troops, equipment, etc.: belonging to one's own side in a conflict; in specific phrases (such as friendly fire, friendly bombing, etc.): coming from one's own side; especially, causing accidental damage to one's own personnel or equipment. Etymology: A specialized and slightly elliptical use of the adjective friendly in the sense 'not hostile'. History and Usage: This sense of friendly has been in use in military jargon
since at least the Second World War (and may go back even
further as a
noun meaning 'a member of one's own or one's allies' forces'); in the earlier uses, though, friendly tended to be followed by aircraft, ships, etc. The euphemistic phrase friendly fire had been used in the Vietnam War (it was chosen in the seventies as the title of a book and
film about the parents of a soldier killed by
his own side in Vietnam), but was brought to prominence in the Gulf War of 1991, when the
majority of fatal casualties among allied troops were attributed to it. 'There will be
other occurrences of
some of our troops potentially being a
victim of "friendly fire"',
Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Robert B. Johnston, the Central Command's chief of staff, told reporters on Feb.
2. National Journal 9 Feb. 1991, p.
335 Since the war began, more American troops are thought to have been killed by 'friendly fire' than by the Iraqis, most by air-launched missiles. Independent 22 Feb. 1991, p. 3
