Posted on 03/30/2003 6:05:42 PM PST by areafiftyone
British soldiers injured when an American "tankbuster" aircraft attacked their convoy, killing one of their comrades, hit out angrily at the "cowboy" pilot today.
Troops wounded in Friday's attack accused the A-10 Thunderbolt pilot of "incompetence and negligence" while others privately called for a manslaughter prosecution.
The comments came as America's most senior military official vowed to make it his quest to stop future "friendly fire" tragedies.
General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, apologised for the deadly error by the A-10 in southern Iraq.
He told BBC1's Breakfast With Frost: "It's the absolute saddest tragedy that any of us can experience.
"I don't think we have to live with situations like that, and one of my jobs has to be to ensure that we get the resources and the technical means to ensure that in the future this never, never happens again."
But the crews of the two British forward reconnaissance Scimitars attacked by the A-10 could not contain their anger.
Lance Corporal of Horse Steven Gerrard, speaking from his bed on the RFA Argus in the Gulf, said: "I can command my vehicle. I can keep it from being attacked. What I have not been trained to do is look over my shoulder to see whether an American is shooting at me."
LCoH Gerrard, the commander of the leading vehicle, described to Patrick Barkham of The Times how the deadly A-10 attack began. The pilot made two swoops.
"I will never forget that noise as long as I live. It is a noise I never want to hear again," he said.
"There was no gap between the bullets. I heard it and I froze. The next thing I knew the turret was erupting with white light everywhere, heat and smoke."
He added: "I'll never forget that A-10. He was about 50 metres off the ground. He circled, because he can turn on a 10-pence.
"He came back around. He was no more than 1,000 metres away when he started his attack run. He was about 500 metres away when he started firing."
There was a Union Jack on the back of one of the engineers' vehicles.
"It's about 18 inches wide by about 12 inches. For him to fire his weapons, I believe he had to look through his magnified optics. How he could not see that Union Jack I don't know."
Packed with hundreds of rounds of ammunition, as well as grenades, rifle rounds and flammable diesel fuel tanks, the front two Scimitars exploded into flames.
One of their comrades, Lance Corporal of Horse, Matty Hull, 25, was killed.
LCoH Gerrard also criticised the A-10 for shooting when there were civilians close by.
He said: "There was a boy of about 12 years old. He was no more than 20 metres away when the Yank opened up.
"He had absolutely no regard for human life. I believe he was a cowboy. I'm curious about what's going to happen to the pilot.
"He's killed one of my friends and he's killed him on the second run."
Trooper Chris Finney, 18, added: "All the wagons have markings to say they are Coalition. I don't know why he shot a second time, he was that close.
"To be honest, I think they are just ignorant. I don't know if they haven't been trained or are just trigger happy."
Another of the injured, Lieutenant Alex MacEwen, 25, added: "A mistake has happened but too many things suggest it was down to pure incompetence and negligence."
Trooper Joe Woodgate, 19, the driver of the Scimitar in which gunner LCoH Hull was killed, walked away with holes in his bullet-proof vest and torn clothes.
He told The Guardian: "I don't suppose they have learned much from the first war. I can tell what an American tank looks like from every direction.
"How come somebody who is a top-notch Thunderbolt pilot can't tell what a British tank looks like?"
The Guardian reporter said some soldiers were also calling for the pilot to be prosecuted for manslaughter.
"I had a lot of time for Matty," said Trooper Woodgate.
"I respected him a lot and thought he was an awesome bloke. He was one of the nicest people I have ever met."
So far five British servicemen have been killed by friendly fire and four in combat with Iraqi forces.
On March 23 a Tornado aircraft was shot down by a US Patriot missile battery near the Kuwaiti border.
Another two British soldiers were killed when their Challenger 2 Main Battle tank was engaged by another British tank west of Basra.
I doubt the A-10 pilot just said, "I think I'll kill a couple of tanks for fun!" If he ignored ROE (as the F-16 pilots did in Afghanistan), then I'll join in on the manslaughter calls - but I would really like to hear his side. A license plate sized flag doesn't cut it for ID.
We should wait to hear the pilot's side. Terrible mistakes happen in war. I believe that British bombers killed about 700 American soldiers in WWII in one "friendly fire" incident. Were they "cowboys"? I realize that it's easier to make a mistake from a bomber from 10,000 feet than it is in a Warthog from 100 feet, but mistakes do happen.
I don't. I think the incident should be throughly investigated and if the pilot was at fault he should be permanently grounded, not prosecuted. Clearly, there was no criminal intent behind the attack. It's a war, for crying out loud. I think prosecution would set a terrible precedent for future pilots. Do we want our guys calling a JAG in Tampa everytime they roll in on a target?
Have FF incidents recent wars increased over previous wars? Or have we had so few hostile action casualties that FF casualties are blown out of proportion?
They may know what an American tank looks like, but they obviousl don't know what their own look like:
Another two British soldiers were killed when their Challenger 2 Main Battle tank was engaged by another British tank west of Basra.
And yes, our pilot probably should be out of the cockpit for a while - he pulled a big screw-up here.
I am me and only me, Sir. I am not military, retired or active.
I am questioning this story, as you should be also, in your armchair position now.
Certainly it would and the pilot will get that chance. But if I take this story at face value (and I don't know anything about the Sydney Herald) then this is what I see.
Pilots are supposed to study silouette manuals of friendly and enemy equipment. British vehicles, to me, do not resemble the old soviet stuff the Iraqi's are using. To not recognize a friendly vehicle indicates to me the pilot was derelict in his duties to know such things.
Furthermore, friendly vehicles are marked on the sides and tops with recognition markings, reflecting tape, etc. that can be clearly seen from a distance. To my knowledge the weather over there has been clear recently. If the pilot was within 1000 feet when he engaged, he had to have seen the markings.
Did the Brits act hostile after they were shot at the first time? Nevertheless the pilot attacked them again. That would be enough for me.
I am sick of these friendly fire incidents, even though they're inevitable. I can see them happening on the ground, where you often don't have the target in your sights, but from less than 1000 ft in the air?
If this guy's story is weak, then hopefully making an example of him will save the lives of our people in the future.
It is a bitch flying with those spurs on too .
Question it all you want but don't tell me what to do. One armchair speaking to another.
I am questioning. You are mandating manslaughter charges from your comfy recliner.
When a Brit uses the term "cowboy", it has nothing to do, really, with the image that you and I have of a man of the old West on horseback herding cattle. Unless I'm mistaken, it has a different meaning for them. Ask Ivan. He'll tell you.
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