U.S. Pilots Face Criminal Charges
By Robert Burns
AP Military Writer
Friday, September 13, 2002; 1:26 PM
WASHINGTON –– The Air Force charged two F-16 pilots with involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault for their roles in a mistaken bombing in Afghanistan that killed four Canadian soldiers and wounded eight.
Both men are members of the Illinois Air National Guard and have been recalled to active duty to face the charges, the Pentagon said Friday in announcing that the charges were filed on Wednesday.
Maj. Harry Schmidt and Maj. William Umbach both were charged with four counts of manslaughter and eight counts of aggravated assault as well as dereliction of duty. Schmidt dropped the 500-pound bomb that caused the deaths and injuries; Umbach was his flight commander in charge of their mission.
The dereliction of duty charge against Schmidt was for failing to exercise appropriate flight discipline and not complying with the U.S. military's rules for firing weapons in Afghanistan. The dereliction of duty charge against Umbach was for negligently failing to exercise appropriate flight command and control and to ensure compliance by Schmidt with the rules for firing, the Pentagon said.
The Canadian soldiers were participating in a nighttime training exercise near the city of Kandahar on April 17 when Schmidt launched the bomb from his F-16. Schmidt told investigators he thought he was firing on hostile forces.
Lloyd Smith, father of Nathan Smith, one of the Canadians killed, said Friday in a television interview from his home in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia, that he was not surprised that the pilots had been charged. But he said he was "a little bit surprised" at the severity of the charges.
"I hope that as this investigation and what looks to be a trial now goes forward, we will receive some closure to this," he said. "The issue we really don't know is why" it happened. "The only ones who can answer that is the pilots."
The charges were filed by Air Force Brig. Gen. Stephen T. Sargeant, who was co-director of a joint U.S.-Canadian investigation board that studied the circumstances of the April 17 incident.
"These charges are only accusations," a Pentagon announcement said. "Both officers are presumed innocent."
Schmidt and Umbach are members of the 170th Fighter Squadron based in Springfield, Ill., which is part of the 183rd Fighter Wing of the Air National Guard.
The case is being reviewed by Lt. Gen. Bruce Carlson, commander of the 8th Air Force. He has three main options: dismiss the charges, prosecute the men in a general court martial, or convene what the military calls a special court martial in which the maximum penalty the pilots would face would be six months in jail and bad conduct discharges from the Air Force, according to Maj. Ted Wadsworth, a Pentagon spokesman.
If Carlson chooses a general court martial, the charges would be heard first under Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is akin to the grand jury process in civilian courts.
The inadvertent killings caused a public uproar in Canada. The joint U.S.-Canadian investigation faulted both pilots for failure to follow established procedures to ensure that they attacked a legitimate target.
Central Command publicly released the basic findings of the investigation in June but did not release details until Friday.
Schmidt spotted flashes on the ground as he was flying over the Canadians, who were conducting a nighttime live-fire exercise. He thought the fire was from hostile forces, but was told by a U.S. air controller to hold fire until further inquiry could clarify the situation, according to the investigation report.
Schmidt nonetheless declared he was "rolling in self defense" and dropped the bomb.
The inquiry that was completed in June determined that Schmidt and Umbach were largely to blame for the mistaken attack, although it also found undisclosed problems in the pilots' command structure.
© 2002 The Associated Press
