News & Politics - Killer of 4 fined $5,672 US

Timeo · 07-06-2004, 02:00 PM

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp..._friendly_fire

Quote:

U.S. pilot guilty of duty dereliction in Afghan bombing of Canadians
NEW ORLEANS (CP) - A U.S. fighter pilot who mistakenly bombed Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan (news - web sites) in 2002, killing four, was found guilty Tuesday of dereliction of duty, was reprimanded and will lose more than $5,000 US in pay, the air force said.

Maj. Harry Schmidt, 38, had blamed the bombing on "the fog of war," saying he mistook the Canadians' gunfire for an attack from Taliban fighters. The pilot said his superiors never told him that the Canadians would be conducting live-fire exercises near Kandahar airport that night.

In the reprimand, Lt.-Gen. Bruce Carlson, who handed down the verdict, wrote that Schmidt "acted shamefully on April 17, 2002, over Tarnak Farms, Afghanistan, exhibiting arrogance and a lack of flight discipline."

The four soldiers were the first Canadians killed in combat since the Korean War. Killed were Sgt. Marc Leger, Pte. Richard Green, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer and Pte. Nathan Smith. Eight other Canadians were wounded, including Cpl. Brian Decaire.

Decaire's mother, Maureen, said she understands that mistakes happen and that Schmidt didn't intend to cause harm but said the decision still leaves her unsatisfied.

"I would like to see him accept responsibility, which I don't think has happened," she said from Winnipeg.

"That's the only other thing I would like."

Schmidt, who turns 39 on July 16, was originally charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault, but the charges were reduced last year to dereliction of duty.

The Illinois National Guardsman was found guilty after a closed hearing held last week. Carlson, commander of the 8th Air Force, presided over the hearing at Barksdale Air Force Base in northwestern Louisiana.

The air force announced June 25 that it decided not to put Schmidt on trial to face dereliction-of-duty charges for the bombing. The pilot could have faced up to six months in prison if convicted in a trial.

Instead, the charges were shifted out of the air force's criminal court system to a lesser level, a "non-judicial" forum, overseen by the general. The sentencing options did not include a prison term.

In addition to the reprimand, the air force said Schmidt will lose one-half of a month's pay for two months - $5,672.

Schmidt had transferred to the National Guard in 2000 after a decorated career as a U.S. navy pilot and an instructor at the navy's top gun" fighter pilot school. He remains employed by the Illinois Air National Guard, but has agreed that he will never fly air force jets again.

Charles Gittins, Schmidt's civilian defence lawyer, has said an air force-issued amphetamine given to pilots to help them stay awake on long missions might have impaired the pilot's judgment.

The air force says the amphetamine, Dexedrine, is given to pilots only in small doses, with a mild stimulative effect.

In videotape of the mission taken from Schmidt's F-16, the pilot can be heard telling airborne air controllers that he and his mission commander, Maj. William Umbach, were under attack from the ground as the two flew at more than 3,000 metres. He then requested permission to open fire with his 20-millimetre cannon.

"Hold fire," an air controller responded.

Four seconds later, Schmidt said: "It looks like a piece of artillery firing at us. I'm rolling in, in self-defence."

Schmidt released the bomb 39 seconds after the "hold fire" order.

The bomb landed about a metre from a Canadian machine-gun crew, killing four Canadians instantly.

Fellow F-16 pilots testified at a January 2003 hearing that a "hold fire" order means a pilot should not attack. However, they also testified that a fighter pilot can disregard such an order if he believes he is under attack.

A U.S.-Canadian military investigation found that Schmidt should have flown out of the area instead of releasing the bomb.

Umbach was also charged with assault and manslaughter. Those charges were dismissed last summer and he was allowed to retire from the Air National Guard, as he had requested.

Looks like a life is really only worth a thousand four hundred and eighteen dollars.

LaraCroft01 · 07-06-2004, 02:16 PM

WHAT!?!?!

That's it?

It's bad enough Bush didn't even acknowledge what happened until about a day or two later!

This is so unfair! That guy should serve jail time or something! He killed four people and he loses pay? Where on earth is the justice here?!?!

Enigma, I.C. · 07-06-2004, 03:17 PM

I would either put them on trial for involuntary manslaughter or hand them over to the Canadians for prosecution or whatever they want to do.

thescoobygang · 07-07-2004, 06:23 AM

So, 2 years of investigation/trials and the end result is one solider retires and the other loses $5,672. Can that be any more pathetic?

Unfortunately, rulings like these only serve to re-inforce the belief around the world that the US is not serious about holding soldiers accountable for crimes and deadly mistakes. It's the same old slap on the wrist that other countries have been complaining about for years. If it hadn't been for all those disgusting photos at Abu Graif prison, I wonder if the US military would have even bothered to charge anyone in Iraq.

migamoo · 07-07-2004, 10:10 AM

This is horrible. Dishonorable discharge with jail time or something more than just losing pay. This just doesn't seem right.

Ashley

Timeo · 07-08-2004, 07:07 AM

Quote:

U.S. pilot who bombed Canadians tells lawyer to appeal dereliction of duty

Wed Jul 7, 4:32 PM ET

JOHN COTTER

(CP) - A U.S. fighter pilot whose bomb killed four Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan (news - web sites) has spoken with his lawyer about appealing his dereliction of duty conviction.

Charles Gittins said his client, Maj. Harry Schmidt, was in good spirits after a morning round of golf Wednesday, despite a severe reprimand handed down by a U.S. air force general that found the pilot acted shamefully in the April 17, 2002, bombing.

"He just told me to do it. He had just played golf," Gittens said from Virginia. "We can't let this affront to reason that the U.S. air force has passed off as fact go unchallenged."

An appeal of the ruling will be filed by Monday's deadline, Gittens said.

"The letter of reprimand was not based on the evidence. The general (Bruce Carlson) acted arbitrarily and capriciously and we believe he acted on evidence outside the record."

Schmidt was not available for an interview. Gittins said his client's comments about the reprimand "could not be printed in a family newspaper."

The attack killed Pte. Richard Green, Pte. Nathan Smith, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer and Sgt. Marc Leger - the first Canadians to die in combat since the Korean War.

Leger's widow, Marley Leger, said she was disappointed but not surprised that Schmidt will appeal.

"It just reiterates the fact that he (Schmidt) doesn't feel any remorse and just continues to drag this on," she said in Edmonton.

She hopes the U.S. military will deal with the appeal quickly so she can get on with her life.

"It has been a long haul and I am quite emotionally drained. I just need to be with my family."

Sgt. Lorne Ford, who lost an eye and suffered other wounds from the bombing, has not often agreed to talk about what happened, but he spoke Wednesday to say he was also upset at word of the appeal.

"It doesn't surprise me the little weasel is going to try to get out of it again," Ford told CFRN-TV in Edmonton.

Ford said he was pleased with the strong language of the reprimand, but wasn't sure it would have an effect on Schmidt.

"I hope somebody reads the reprimand word for word to that remorseless prick because I don't think he would read it. I think he would just shove it aside and he doesn't care," Ford said.

"I felt that as soon as I walked into the court house that first day and I saw him. He had a smug look on his face and all the families picked up on that."

People in Schmidt's community have rallied around him and helped raise $220,000 US for the pilot's legal defence fund, said John Russo, spokesman for VFW post 10302, a private veterans organization.

Russo said Schmidt's parents are planning another fundraiser this fall.

"People feel this should have never gone as far as it did," Russo said. "Nobody's downplaying what happened to the Canadians. It was an accident of war. This guy is probably one of the best pilots in the country.

"We all feel it is a political thing."

Under the U.S. military justice system, an appeal may be filed on any aspect of a reprimand, including dereliction of duty, said Col. Bob Kuster, chief of the military law division at U.S. Air Combat Command in Langley, Va.

Schmidt's written appeal must be filed through Carlson, but it will be judged by his superior officer, Gen. Hal Hornburg, Kuster said.

"The member who chooses to appeal is free to write up the reasons why he believes the punishment is unjust, or disproportionate to the offences," Kuster said.

Hornburg could overturn the reprimand, amend it or dismiss the appeal, he added.

Schmidt was also ordered to forfeit $5,672 US in pay.

Schmidt has blamed the bombing on "the fog of war," saying he mistook the Canadian gunfire for an attack from Taliban fighters.

The pilot said superiors never told him the Canadians would be conducting live-fire exercises near Kandahar airport that night.

Schmidt was originally charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault, which could have resulted in a jail term, but the charges were reduced to dereliction of duty.

Two weeks ago the charges were shifted out of the air force's criminal court. The new sentencing options did not include prison.

Schmidt remains employed by the Illinois Air National Guard but has agreed never to fly air force jets again.

He transferred to the National Guard in 2000 after a decorated career as a U.S. navy pilot and an instructor at the navy's "Top Gun" fighter pilot school.

Schmidt's mission commander on the flight that night, Maj. William Umbach, was also initially charged with assault and manslaughter. Those charges were dismissed last summer and he was allowed to retire from the Air National Guard.

What a pathetic example of cowardice and irresponsibility.

*Lauren · 07-08-2004, 08:04 AM

I have to ask though, was it his fault? If the guy didn't know the Canadians were doing maneovurs, is he supposed to ignore gunfire? I can't sit there and say, "He murdered them". I think his superiors should be the ones being raked over the coals.

While he should have held fire, if he honestly believed he was under attack, then I can't fault him for it. 39 seconds is not a long time.

Having said that, that guy is COLD. Whether through accident or not, he is responsible for the deaths of four men. To be playing golf and acting as if he dosen't care, is just sick.

Timeo · 07-08-2004, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by *Lauren
I have to ask though, was it his fault? If the guy didn't know the Canadians were doing maneovurs, is he supposed to ignore gunfire? I can't sit there and say, "He murdered them". I think his superiors should be the ones being raked over the coals.

While he should have held fire, if he honestly believed he was under attack, then I can't fault him for it. 39 seconds is not a long time.

I don't blame him either. In war, accidents occur, and while unfortunate, are sometimes unpreventable. I feel that he could've and should've withheld fire, but that was in the heat of the moment, and I know I would be confused as well as to what to do.

But that's not the point. The point is that the sentence that he got was incredibly light. It just reinforces the idea that like thescoobygang said already, the US military does not take these issues seriously. A reprimand and the loss of half a month of salary? For killing four people? Where's the justice in that? If it was the other way around, the US military system would be running around, crying foul. The fact of the matter is that the US military justice system should be ashamed of itself and its lack of accountability and "justice". Even more shameful however and kind of like a slap in the face, is that this guy is deciding to APPEAL this decision. It's equivalent to a dictator getting tried for war crimes, then only being found guilty of involuntary manslaughter of one person, then getting fined a few thousand dollars and then said dictator appealing the decision. It's weak, pathetic, and very irresponsible on his part. If it's anyone who should be appealing the verdict, it should be the family of those four victims and the 8 other wounded soldiers. He's a miserable little person, and shows only his weak character. His family and friends should be ashamed of even knowing him. I certainly would be.


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