Order to shoot (police and military)

This article deals with the term “order to fire” in general. For the shooting order at the inner-German border, see shooting order .

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In the police and military, a shooting order is the command to the shooter to fire one (or more) shots . There is at least a conditional fire permit . In military or police operations, this command is used to coordinate the operation with a view to the target.

• In the military , the order to fire or to fire follows a more or less similar scheme in all armies of the world:
  • Unit: Here the commander designates a specific person or weapon group, for example “Recruit Maier” or “MG”.
  • Direction: The commander indicates the direction of fire, for example "half right" or a specific target point such as a bridge.
  • Distance: The commander gives the distance in meters, for example "two hundred". When specifying a specific target point, the distance is omitted.
  • Target: The commander describes the target, for example "MG in position".
  • Execution: The commander usually orders execution with the command “Fire!” . Orders such as “fire at my whistle” are possible as well as the so-called fire attack, in which the commander counts down from three and then the called soldiers open fire at the same time. In this part of the command, the commander can also specify the type of fire (for example “ single fire ”) and the amount of ammunition (for example “half a magazine”); if the type of fire is not specified, the soldier chooses it himself.

In the case of easily findable and unmistakable destinations, such as a convoy, the indication of direction and distance can be omitted.

With the command “Fire free!” The commander can leave the fire fight to the soldiers; they are then allowed to shoot at their own discretion until the command “Cease fire!” is given. In the event of a sudden enemy presence, fire is also valid.

• During exercises (for example on a firing range) the shooting order is primarily used for safety . The “open fire” command is only given when there is no danger to people.

• In police operations , protecting the lives of individuals is often the criterion for deciding whether and when the use of a firearm is ordered or decided by the shooter himself (the so-called final rescue shot ).

In Germany the post-war period until the so-called reversal of the term was firing order with instructions to DDR -Grenzsoldaten at the German-German border associated.