Posted on 06/24/2004 12:04:31 PM PDT by Clive
NEW ORLEANS (CP) - All charges will be dismissed against a U.S. fighter pilot who accidentally bombed Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan in 2002, killing four, the air force announced Thursday.
Maj. Harry Schmidt has accepted an air force offer to face administrative punishment in exchange for dismissal of four counts of dereliction of duty, according to a statement from the air force.
Schmidt had previously declined the same offer.
Sgt. Marc Leger, 29, Pte. Nathan Smith, 27, Pte. Richard Green, 22, and Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer, 25, died in April 2002 when Schmidt dropped a bomb on a team of Canadian soldiers conducting a live-fire training drill in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Eight other Canadian soldiers were injured.
Schmidt later said he released the bomb because he mistook the Canadian troops' gunfire for an attack from Taliban soldiers.
A military investigation found that Schmidt should have flown out of the area instead of dropping the bomb.
Earlier this month, a military appeals court had cleared the way for a trial. If Schmidt had been convicted in a court martial, he faced a maximum sentence of six months in military prison.
I just responded to another thread on this topic. In any case, the man's career is over.
Fratricide happens. We could wish that it would not, but it does.
Friendly fire? They were Canadians, for God's sake!!
Nice.
Tacis, the Canadian troops aren't our enemies, they're the good guys. Only there aren't very many of them, and their government are a bunch of anti-American Froggie-Wannabees.
I'm glad our guys aren't being charged however, friendly fire happens, unfortunately.
Canadian soldiers supporting our operations in Afghanistan are MOST DEFINITELY friendly. While their government is wishy-washy at best, those soldiers are fighting and dying alongside American (and other nation's) troops. In fact, the new all-time record for a combat sniping is now held by a Canadian team. Canadian soldiers are being awarded medals by the US Army. I'd say that's pretty damn good.
Don't confuse the soldiers with their government.
Don't forget to vote Tory in the election. We need Mr. Harper as Prime Minister!
Thank you ... for both comments.
Already done ... advance poll. : )
Heck, his career was over two years ago. But at least now his life won't be over. A presidential pardon would be nice, but I don't suppose that would be a realistic hope. All I know is that if America's fighting men had been held in the past to the sort of standards they're being held to today, we would have been wiped out 100-200 years ago, because we would never have won a single war.
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