Overwatch and firing

[boersma8]

Before you told me that it's possible for a unit on overwatch to fire at a different target normally if the opportunity to use overwatch doesn't present itself. However, in the expanded rulebook it says under overwatch that "such a unit cannot move or fire in that phase..." ( By that phase I understood, the phase in which it is placed on overwatch; be it the movement or assault phase...) Which of the two is it; Can or can't a unit on overwatch choose to fire "normally" and is there a difference whether it was only just placed on overwatch during that very same phase, or whether that happened e.g. a full turn ago and the unit was left on overwatch?

Sorry to bother you with this again, but the rulebook and a previous answer of yours on this seemed a bit contradictive to me...

Thanks!

[Y2UAsk]

In the phase that the unit is placed on overwatch, it can't activate normally to move or fire. What's not clear in the rulebook is that this applies only to the owning player's half of the phase. After that -- including the other player's half of the current phase -- the unit can use overwatch fire or it can attack or move normally.* In practice, of course, you can't move or attack anyway (with the exception of defensive fire) during the opponent's half of the phase. If an enemy unit moves in a way that triggers any defensive fire (normal or overwatch) in the second half of that same phase, the overwatching unit can make either attack and lose its overwatch marker. In subsequent friendly phases, the overwatching unit can either activate normally to move or attack, or it can retain its overwatch marker by doing nothing. This is noted at the end of the third paragraph.

*Or, it could have already used normal defensive fire during the opponent's first half of the current phase, then be placed on overwatch during the friendly, second half of the phase.

Steve