U.S. Pilots apologize for bombing Canadians

[Kanth]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34852-2003Jan23.html

Reuters
Thursday, January 23, 2003; 7:44 PM



By Jeff Franks

BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. (Reuters) - Two U.S. F-16 fighter pilots who mistakenly killed four Canadian soldiers and wounded eight others in a friendly fire bombing in Afghanistan apologized to the victims and their families on Thursday in an emotional close to their "Article 32" military tribunal.

Majs. Harry Schmidt and William Umbach, their hands shaking while they read prepared statements in the hearing room, said they deeply regretted the April 17 incident, which has been a wrenching case in Canada and an embarrassment to the U.S. military, but blamed it on the fog of war.

"Since the 17th of April, not a day has passed that I have not thought of that night, in the sky, in the darkness, and all that has happened since," Umbach said in a tight voice.

"If I could turn back time I would, but since I cannot I want you to know that I am truly sorry. Major Schmidt and I were doing our best to protect ourselves in a situation where we honestly believed we were under attack," he said.

Schmidt, reading rapidly in a low monotone, said: "My heart goes out to the families of the men killed and injured in what can only be described as a tragic accident in the fog of war.

"I will always regret what happened that night ... I think about the men who were killed and the men who were injured."

Claire Leger, the mother of Sgt. Marc Leger, killed in the attack, tearfully told reporters her son would have forgiven the men. But she said Schmidt's statement was self-serving.

"I have to say I felt he was offering a defense of himself first. I know his job's on the line, but those are our sons' lives on the line," she said.

Schmidt, 37, and Umbach, 43, are accused of involuntary manslaughter, assault and dereliction of duty for the bombing near the city of Kandahar.

The statements ended a nine-day Article 32 hearing, roughly equivalent to a grand jury, that was conducted to consider whether the men should face court martial. They could face up to 64 years in prison if convicted.

Flying together but in separate F-16s, they mistook a night-time anti-tank exercise by the Canadians for enemy fire in their direction.

Despite instructions from a nearby AWACS radar plane controller to hold fire, Schmidt said he was "rolling in, in self defense" and dropped a 500-pound (230-kg) laser-guided bomb on what the pilots later found out were members of the Third Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

The Canadian survivors, most still carrying the wounds from that night, testified that they had been firing an anti-tank weapon and machines guns only at targets on the ground.

20/20 HINDSIGHT

In his statement, Schmidt said he thought Umbach, the flight leader, was being fired on in an "ambush" by the Taliban.

"I was called upon to make a perfect decision in a rapidly unfolding combat environment. I had to make a decision that I now know with the acuity of 20/20 hindsight was imperfect information," he said.

A joint U.S.-Canada investigation into the incident blamed the pilots for the attack, saying they had recklessly violated proper flying procedures, perhaps because of an overeagerness to drop a bomb.

Witnesses in the hearing, after viewing a grainy video of the attack, gave the pilots mixed reviews, but most said their response was reasonable.

The pilots' lawyers argued the men had not been warned that the Canadians were below, practicing in an area known as Tarnak Farms, property that once belonged to Osama bin Laden.

They said inept air controllers, poor communications, fatigue and perhaps the adverse effects of Air Force-provided amphetamines contributed to the tragedy.

Schmidt and Umbach had been in the air for seven hours and taken the "speed" the military provides for tired pilots, which may have affected their judgment, the attorneys said.

During the closely watched hearing, the Air Force sent several spokesmen to brief the gathered news media on the importance of amphetamines in preventing accidents caused by pilot fatigue.

The two pilots were former full-time military pilots who are now members of the Illinois Air National Guard. Schmidt was a "top gun" pilot in the Navy flying school, while Umbach is a pilot for United Airlines.

Supporters of the pilots, who have raised more than $150,000 in donations for their legal defense, have complained that the men were charged with crimes only to placate Canada. The U.S. military has had numerous other "friendly fire" incidents in Afghanistan, but this is the only one to result in charges, they point out.

The results of the hearing will not be known for weeks. Presiding officer Col. Patrick Rosenow, who climbed into the cockpit of an F-16 fighter jet on Thursday to get a feel for what the pilots experienced, will eventually make a recommendation to 8th Air Force commander Gen. Bruce Carlson on whether to court martial the men.

Carlson will have several options, including court martial, administrative punishment, reprimand or dismissal of the charges.