U.S. kills 4 Canadian soldiers. PILOT ERROR!

sbcanada

sbcanada

New Member
U.S. pilots in friendly fire attack may face hearing

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A joint U.S.-Canadian investigation into a friendly fire incident in Afghanistan in April has now been completed, and is expected to recommend the two Air National Guard pilots involved face an Article 32 hearing --- a process that could eventually lead to criminal charges, according to U.S. military sources.

An Article 32 hearing is a military procedure similar to a civilian grand jury proceeding. It could result in a number of courses of action including a variety of charges, sources say.

Four Canadian soldiers were killed and eight injured when Maj. Harry Schmidt of the Illinois Air National Guard dropped a 500-pound bomb on their live fire training exercise near Kandahar, mistakenly believing the Canadians were enemy forces. Schmidt and another pilot were flying two F-16s over the region during a routine nighttime patrol on April 18 when Schmidt reported ground fire.

The Canadians were operating in an established and marked training area and aircraft were restricted to altitudes above 10,000 feet to avoid any incidents.

The pilots reportedly requested permission to attack the site where they saw the ground fire, but permission was denied. They were told to "mark" the location for possible attack, but then Schmidt reportedly dropped his bomb when he believed again that the ground fire was threatening.

There was an AWACS aircraft also patrolling overhead, but it is not clear at what point its crew may have informed the F-16 pilots there were friendly forces in the region. The other puzzle to investigators is why the F-16s simply didn't climb to a higher altitude and await instructions, since the ground fire would then not have been able to reach their aircraft.

One military source told CNN that Schmidt's call sign is "Psycho" and that he is an experienced former Navy pilot, which makes the incident even more peculiar.
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Dumbass American pilots. I knew it all along. I think this calls for another showing of my animated gif... ;)
 
sbcanada

sbcanada

New Member
You also notice how it's always the Americans who are the ones to kill the friendlies? Saying SHIT HAPPENS is not an excuse. This incident was not just some freak occurrance/mistake. The pilot did not have permission to drop the bomb but he disobeyed orders and did so anyway. Self defense maybe? Nope. He could have easily just climbed to a higher altitude and awaited instruction. He was not in real danger. The Canadians were in a marked/established training area and took all the necessary actions that they were supposed to before heading out.

This incident cannot be dismissed as "oops, oh well, shit happens." This is not acceptable. The pilot deserves to be tried for 4 counts of first degree murder. The American forces need to reorganize the way that they communicate with each other, and probably do some psychiatric screening on pilots.
 
Justintime

Justintime

Guest
I agree, the pilot should have just went higher and awaited instructions, trigger happy i guess, maybe if some americans have training camps here we can bomb them too and say shit happens? :D
 
P

PT

Off 'Motherfuckin' Topic Elite
Few questions. Have any of you ever been in a war? Ever been shot at? If the answer is no, then you have no Fucking idea what you are talking about. When you've been there, then you can come back and tell me there is no excuse.
 
P

PT

Off 'Motherfuckin' Topic Elite
Ok, that may have been a little strong, but I want you to think about something. Do you really think that the pilot knew there was a training mission going on below him? Prove to me that he was told what it was, and then he dropped the bomb, and I will agree with you, he should be tried for murder. But if he was not told what was going on, he was flying a mission in hostile territory, and did what he thought was right. To defend himself, and to destroy the enemy.
 
sbcanada

sbcanada

New Member
He was flying over an established training area. He was denied permission to drop the bomb. A well trained pilot should be able to remain calm and do as he is told, even if he is being shot at, which he wasn't, because the Canadians sure as hell weren't firing up into the sky.

If he saw people shooting on the ground, how can he be sure they are enemy troops? It takes two sides to fire upon each other, so if there was more than one group of flashes, how would he know which is allies, and which is enemies? He obviously had no idea what he was blowing up and he disobeyed orders. He deserves jail time.
 
ris

ris

New Member
even the press knew there was a training camp in the area, you'd have thought a pilot would have been told too. he had an order, he disobeyed it.
 
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