Misidentification
There is nothing worse than misidentifying your fellow soldier. That is what happened during operation Desert Storm. After a string of friendly fire incidents involving M1A1 tanks (seven destroyed) during the conflict, the tanks, and other U.S. vehicles were outfitted with Combat Identification Panels. They were installed on the rear of the sides of the turret. The panels came prepared with a four-cornered ‘box’ image on the side or front of the turret. The purpose of these panels was to decrease friendly fire, and we can thankfully say they’ve been successful. We think these are crucial during combat.