security and performing cordon duties during the clearance. Various witnesses described the roles in a way which is not contentious. Person 14 described the role of the primary assault patrols as follows:
… once we got to the compounds of interest and a cordon was set they would answer [enter] the compounds of interest and assault and clear.
297 Person 42 (a member of Person 29's patrol) described the role assigned to Person 6's patrol as follows:
I remember Person 6's patrol led us in. So they would to scout the path in. Clear the path in. They – they remained on the outside of the compound providing cover – cover and screening for us basically to the north of – of the compound whilst we did the clearance.
298 Person 18 referred to Person 6's patrol as the cordon team and the team which was the advance party. Person 6's patrol would do perimeter security on the north-western corner and Person 43's patrol would do security on the southern aspect of the target compound.
299 The troop stepped off from the VDOP at 1500DE. Again, I refer to the closed Court reasons and the entries in the Sametime chat record (at [5]–[6]).
300 As I have said, Person 6's patrol was the lead patrol for the movement of the troop from the VDOP to W108 and Person 14 was the scout or lead soldier. Person 6 engaged an insurgent on the way into W108. It seems that that EKIA was not photographed during the SSE process. A second insurgent was engaged by Person 24 approximately 500 metres south of W108. The information in a closed Court exhibit confirms the engagement (at [14]). A third EKIA was engaged by Person 14 at a point close to the compound. This insurgent was designated "EKIA50". Exhibit R5, an NPO document, comprises five photographs of his body. The information in a closed Court exhibit confirms the location of the engagement (at [28]). I am satisfied on the evidence that Person 14 engaged and shot an insurgent and that insurgent was designated EKIA50 in the reports prepared after the engagement.
301 Persons 14 and 24 were members of Person 6's patrol which was providing security by way of a cordon outside the compound. The location of Persons 14 and 24 at the time of the assault and clearance of W108 and for a period thereafter is important because each of them said that they saw the incident in which EKIA57 was shot and each of them gave a description of what they saw.
