nomadawhat Posted September 13, 2002 Share Posted September 13, 2002 Thought some might be interested in this: US Pilots Charged US Pilots Charged with Manslaughter in Friendly Fire Fri Sep 13, 1:24 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two U.S. F-16 fighter pilots have been charged with manslaughter and assault in the April "friendly fire" bombing of Canadian troops in Afghanistan ( news - web sites) that killed four soldiers and injured eight, the Air Force said on Friday. The highly unusual criminal charges by the Air Force against Illinois Air National Guard pilots Maj. Harry Schmidt and Maj. William Umbach followed a long joint investigation of the April 18 bombing. Schmidt, who launched a 500-pound laser-guided bomb on Canadian troops conducting a night live-fire exercise near Kandahar, and flight leader Umbach each faced four counts of involuntary manslaughter and eight counts of assault. Schmidt was also charged with failing to exercise flight discipline and not complying with the military "rules of engagement" in the area. And Umbach was charged with negligently failing to exercise appropriate flight command and control and ensure compliance with the rules of engagement. The charges were the first criminal accusations against pilots in the year-old Afghan war against the al Qaeda and Taliban in which a number of friendly fire attacks killed U.S. and allied troops and Afghans. The pilots said they thought they were under attack from ground fire. In 1999 a U.S. Marine Corps pilot aboard an assault jet that clipped an Italian gondola cable was sentenced to six months in jail on charges of conspiring to obstruct an investigation into the accident that sent 20 people on the gondola plunging to their deaths. BOTH 'PRESUMED INNOCENT' -- AIR FORCE President Bush ( news - web sites) and Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien ordered investigations by their countries into the April attack on soldiers of the Third Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, who had been firing only on surface targets in a recognized training ground. If convicted of all the charges, the two pilots could face prison terms and other punishment. The Air Force said on Friday that the charges, brought by the 8th Air Force based at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, were only accusations and that "both officers are presumed innocent." A joint U.S.-Canadian investigation concluded that Schmidt and Umbach, who thought they were being fired at failed to use proper procedures and exercise caution. Investigators said Schmidt did not check properly before he dropped his bomb and Umbach, an Air National Guard squadron commander, let things get out of control. Air Force Brig. Gen. Stephen Sargeant who led the investigation brought the charges. The long investigation report released in June said Umbach got permission from a nearby U.S. AWACS (airborne warning and control system) radar plane to determine the precise location of what the flight thought was surface-to-air fire. While the lead pilot was trying to get those coordinates, the pilot of the second F-16 requested permission to fire on the location. The radar plane told the pilots to stand by, investigators said, but Schmidt provided the coordinates and then radioed that he was "rolling in, in self-defense." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest --zeSto-- Posted September 13, 2002 Share Posted September 13, 2002 grrr.... People make mistakes. People die in war. I just hope that the truth comes out and that these pilots aren't just being scapegoated for their superiors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rip Posted September 13, 2002 Share Posted September 13, 2002 thats such bull shit. canida is a bunch of fuckin pussys. all they do is complain, then when we whoop the shit outta sadam theyre gonna be like "we were behind america 100%.......mmmmmmmmmmmmm k" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest --zeSto-- Posted September 13, 2002 Share Posted September 13, 2002 ^ yeah!! just like in when we were all like.... "we were 100% behind vietnam, the bay of pigs and bikini atol." :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rip Posted September 13, 2002 Share Posted September 13, 2002 fuck canada, bunch of pussy ass bitches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cletus Posted September 13, 2002 Share Posted September 13, 2002 trigger happy americans at it a again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rip Posted September 13, 2002 Share Posted September 13, 2002 Originally posted by cletus trigger happy americans at it a again. yeah i se canada doing alot to stop sadam and terrorists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest --zeSto-- Posted September 13, 2002 Share Posted September 13, 2002 Canada's doing more than every other country save for the US and GB. why dont you go wave some flags and learn to play nice with your peers. and rip... did you ever stop to think that Germany, France, China, Russia, The U.N. NATO aren't rushing into war? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rip Posted September 13, 2002 Share Posted September 13, 2002 i know there not fuck every country. the U.S. is the mutha fuckin U.N. who is the first country to supply shit and people for their peace keeping missions? us. so fuck the U.N. and all you other faggot countrys we could take u all out alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest --zeSto-- Posted September 13, 2002 Share Posted September 13, 2002 "Even Rome Fell" "Nobody like a bully" "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" "The harder they come..." "Walk soft and carry a big stick." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FameWhore Posted September 13, 2002 Share Posted September 13, 2002 "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" yea my teacher said that in class one time, its a fuckin good saying.and rip, shut the fuck up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
non-hetero Posted September 13, 2002 Share Posted September 13, 2002 OKAY FUCK YOU! Four families were torn apart... why? NO REASON. That pilot did not follow procedures and was given orders NOT to FIRE. That's manslaughter. I hope he burns for what he did. ---PROUD CANADIAN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyHorton Posted September 13, 2002 Share Posted September 13, 2002 Originally posted by rip yeah i se canada doing alot to stop sadam and terrorists. you can't be much older than 16... get an education and then you can come correct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
non-hetero Posted September 13, 2002 Share Posted September 13, 2002 The truth about the whole Iraq thing... AMERICA IS AT A BIG FAULT. Bush wants to preserve domocracy by going behind your senate to war. Bush wants to preserve international relations by going to war behind the UN's back. Great country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
effyoo Posted September 13, 2002 Share Posted September 13, 2002 i'm glad that somebody was actually charged and the US has taken responsibility for their actions. Because we all know that the US has the final say in matters like this. If they wanted to brush this off and pretend it never happened they could have. This matter sounds very straightforward. If the incident had involved a decision made by someone higher up the chain of command, i think we would have never heard about this case again, meaning it would have been covered up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nomadawhat Posted September 14, 2002 Author Share Posted September 14, 2002 Originally posted by non-hetero The truth about the whole Iraq thing... AMERICA IS AT A BIG FAULT. Bush wants to preserve domocracy by going behind your senate to war. Bush wants to preserve international relations by going to war behind the UN's back. Great country. Bush actually wants to garner support from the senate and the UN, hence the speech to the UN yesterday urging the UN to get involved. This quite possibly is just a political move though. But i think he is prepared to do what he wants and use his power if he doesn't get that support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ledzep Posted September 14, 2002 Share Posted September 14, 2002 the two U.S. F-16 fighter pilots answered by saying -"oops" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.T Boy Posted September 14, 2002 Share Posted September 14, 2002 damn, i dont even knoe what to say Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.