Lawful enemy combatant

Okay, so imagine you and your friend are playing a game of tag. But in the game, there are two sides: the Red Team and the Blue Team. If you are on the Red Team and you tag someone on the Blue Team, that means you caught them and they have to sit out of the game for a little bit.

Now let's say that you and your friend decided to divide up the playground into two sides. The Red Team can only play on one side, and the Blue Team can only play on the other side. If someone from the Blue Team accidentally runs onto the Red Team's side, they can still be caught and tagged by someone on the Red Team. But if someone from the Blue Team is purposely trying to tag people on the Red Team's side, that's not allowed. They are being sneaky and not following the rules.

In a way, the same thing happens in war. There are two sides, and each side has agreed to follow certain rules so that everyone stays safe. But sometimes, people on one side will try to be sneaky and not follow the rules. They might dress up like someone on the other side or hide in a building that's not allowed to be used for fighting.

A lawful enemy combatant is someone who is fighting a war, but they are doing it the right way. They are dressed in a way that makes it clear which side they are on, and they are not trying to be sneaky. If someone catches a lawful enemy combatant, they are allowed to be held as a prisoner of war until the war is over.

But if someone is being sneaky and not following the rules, they are not a lawful enemy combatant. If they get caught, they are not allowed to be held as a prisoner of war. Instead, they might be punished for not following the rules.

So, in short, a lawful enemy combatant is someone who is following the rules of war and is allowed to be held as a prisoner of war if caught, while someone who is being sneaky and not following the rules is not considered a lawful enemy combatant and can be punished instead of being held as a prisoner of war.