Families don't want pilot punished

Canadian Press via Sun Media ^ | June 19, 2002 | Alison Auld

[Clive]

Relatives of Canadian soldiers killed and injured in an accidental bombing in Afghanistan reacted with sadness and resignation Wednesday to a report that blamed an American pilot for the tragedy.

Joyce Clooney, whose grandson Pte. Ricky Green died in the April incident, said the report by U.S. military investigators confirmed what she and many other families had long suspected -- that the pilot who dropped the bomb acted improperly.

"I always felt sure the Canadians were in the proper place," Clooney said from her home in Bridgewater, N.S.

"The pilot just made the decision quickly. I'm not angry, but we're hurt. We trusted that Ricky would be safe over there."

The New York Times reported that U.S. military investigators have concluded the pilot who dropped a 250-kilogram bomb on the Canadian soldiers defied military procedures.

The classified U.S. report said the pilot thought he was under attack by hostile forces and rushed to attack the ground troops, who were involved in live-fire training exercises.

According to the report, the pilot, who was joined by another U.S. aircraft, should have left the area to assess the threat and then possibly launch a counterstrike, as military protocol dictates.

The pilot, thought to be based in Springfield, Ill., received an alert from a radar plane that there were allies on the ground, but the warning came seconds after the pilot dispatched the bomb, killing four and injuring eight Canadians.

The report allegedly recommends the two U.S. pilots face a hearing similar to a civilian grand jury, where they could face criminal charges.

But several relatives of the Canadian soldiers said that kind of process would serve little purpose.

"Nothing anybody is going to do will make it better," said Suzanne Leger, aunt of Sgt. Marc Leger, who was killed in the bombing.

"Marc's not going to walk in the door tomorrow because this pilot is prosecuted or people are still investigating the issue. People have to understand it happened in a war zone," she said from her home in Lancaster, Ont.

Many of the relatives said they felt badly for the fighter pilot, reported to be a member of an elite squadron with the Illinois Air National Guard. He was stationed in Kuwait at the time of the incident.

"He didn't do this on purpose," Maureen Decaire, whose son Cpl. Brian Decaire was injured in the attack, said from Winnipeg.

"He may have not followed procedure and quite possibility deserves to be punished for that. But do I want to see him flogged? No."

Capt. James Key, a U.S. military lawyer, said Wednesday the pilot was "extremely troubled" by the bombing and wanted to express his sorrow to the Canadian families.

The four fallen soldiers were members of the 3rd battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

A Canadian inquiry is to present its final report to Defence Minister John McCallum on Friday. It will be released publicly at the same time as the report by the U.S. board in late June or early July.

[Clive]

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[egarvue]

"We trusted that Ricky would be safe over there."

What the heck? Its a FRICKIN' WAR ZONE!!!!! Nobody is "safe". Pvt. Green, being a professional soldier, knew this, and yet bravely went into harm's way anyway. Don't get me wrong, I am sorry that these good soldiers died needlessly. But I suspect this kind of thinking is what has almost destroyed the good military in Canada, where PC rules the day and soldiers should only be used for "peacekeeping", not fighting.

[ctonious]

Accidents do happen. Sometimes they are the fault of no-one - and sometimes they happen because of violations of rules of engagement, rules specifically designed to avoid catastrophes like this. This case is clearly the latter.

We civilians are held accountable for traffic deaths caused by our negligence, and this Air Force veteran thinks the pilots should be duly punished. Furthermore, a guilty conscience on their part don't hack it, any more than it hacks it when a negligent motorist kills a few people.

Accountability fer cryin' out loud. Let's see if the Air Force can manage an open and shut case like this. I have lots of doubts.

[leadpenny]

We trusted that Ricky would be safe over there

When she said that, I'm sure she meant he would be safe from being hurt by "friendlies." No one has the right to go against the 'Rules of Engagement."

[egarvue]

Oh, I know - I didn't mean to sound like I was bashing Grandma. But it is symptomatic of how mushy-headed Western thinking has gotten over the role of the soldier & the military.

[fourdeuce82d]

"He didn't do this on purpose," Maureen Decaire, whose son Cpl. Brian Decaire was injured in the attack, said from Winnipeg.

"He may have not followed procedure and quite possibility deserves to be punished for that. But do I want to see him flogged? No."

I thought this woman showed more sense than 90% of my fellow americans.

somebody screwed the pooch, and our friends and allies got killed. I'm not competent to assign/assess blame, but I like Ms. Decaire's attitude.

I sent an email to the Canadian embassy expressing sorrow at their loss, and gratitude for their support.

Might not hurt if a few of the rest of us did too.

[tonycavanagh]

re : Oh, I know - I didn't mean to sound like I was bashing Grandma. But it is symptomatic of how mushy-headed Western thinking has gotten over the role of the soldier & the military.

Rubbish letters sent to and from soldiers in the First World War and before that the women wrote that they hoped that their Lover/Husbusd/son father would try and stay out of harms way.

Stop blaming everything on the late 20th century.

My mum always wrote to be to stay out of harms way, and each time I went into a danger zone I wrote and told her I was safe in a base, and nothing much was happening.

Cheers Tony

[McGavin999]

What good people Clive. This pilots life is pretty much over though, he won't be able to fly again with this on his conscience. My heart breaks for the families, and my heart breaks for the pilot.

[dead]

One would expect honorable Canadian military men to have families who act with grace and class during a difficult time.

They did not disappoint.

[tonycavanagh]

What I meant was I was always in a nice safe area.

Good luck to your mates out there, I got a two mates out there at the moment.

Cheers Tony

[pfflier]

I agree with you. I also hope that we remember the courageous Canadian ambassador who helped to smuggle out Americans who had escaped from the Iranians when they took over our embassy.

Our countries share the most cordial relations in the world. The Canadians are among our few true allies.

[ClancyJ]

In the middle of grief - who knows what someone says. The attitude of these relatives reflects the type people they are and probably the type soldiers that were killed.

May God bless them and comfort them. Such wisdom and kindness in the midst of their sorrow.

[Entropy Squared]

I saw one of the Canadian soldiers widows on the news today. She understood the danger her late husband was in and in no way blamed the pilot. She said she would have expected her husband to have done the same thing the pilot had done if her husband had been in the pilot's position. She made me proud to be a Canadian.

[Conservative til I die]

I agree. I like Canada. It's my favorite state and I hear they may even get the CAT scan in their clinics by 2007!