S!
The site where this occurred was a training area used by both U.S. and Canadian troops, including U.S. Special Forces. It was used on a regular basis, weekly at minimum.
The Canadian troops involved were from a highly experienced unit, which had 3 years previous combat experience from Bosnia and Croatia, (Canadian Peacekeepers there had numerous firefights with Serb Militias) as well as recent combat on the 'Whale Back' ridge mission in Afghanistan during which no casualties were suffered although snipers from the unit scored some of the highest kill numbers of any units involved, and in one instance suppressed an Afghan ambush which had taken U.S. Soldiers under fire. The particular platoon involved were Jump qualified and had extensive night and special forces training. They were trained specifically in night fighting techniques which emphasize holding fire until targets identified. The chances of them firing on an aircraft, (in particular a F-16, which has a very distinctive sound) is ZERO.
Someone f*cked up bigtime.
