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[ Original Article ]
The commander in charge of an administrative hearing said that the U.S. fighter pilot who mistakenly dropped a bomb that killed Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan "acted shamefully" and found him guilty of dereliction of duty, according to a written statement released by the U.S. air force Tuesday.
Maj. Harry Schmidt, 37, faced four charges of dereliction of duty. He had been scheduled for a court martial, but recently agreed to an administrative hearing instead.
Lt.-Gen. Bruce Carlson, the commander of the 8th Air Force, handed Schmidt a letter of reprimand and ordered him to forfeit almost $5,700 in pay.
In addition, Schmidt will longer be allowed to fly Air Force planes, but can continue to serve in the Illinois Air National Guard.
In his written decision, Carlson said Schmidt was guilty of "exhibiting arrogance and a lack of flight discipline."
"I was astounded that you portrayed yourself as a victim of the disciplinary process without expressing heartfelt remorse over the deaths and injuries you caused to the members of the Canadian Forces," he wrote.
Carlson wrote that if Schmidt believed, as he stated in his defence, that he and his wingman Maj. William Umbach were threatened, he should have taken a series of evasive actions and remained at a safe distance to await further instructions from the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft controller, who directed Schmidt to "stand by" and later to "hold fire."
Instead, Carlson wrote, "you used the inherent right of self-defence as an excuse to wage your own war."
On April 18, 2002, Schmidt dropped a 225-kilogram bomb on a group of Canadian soldiers engaged in a night-time live-fire training exercise, killing four soldiers and injuring another eight.
Sgt. Marc Leger, Pte. Richard Green, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer and Pte. Nathan Smith were killed in the explosion. Eight others were injured. The men were all members of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. They were the first Canadian troops to be killed on duty since the Korean War.
Schmidt said that he dropped the bomb because he thought Taliban soldiers were firing on him from the ground.
Canadian and American inquiries found that Schmidt acted too hastily in his decision to drop the bomb. The U.S. investigation said he should have left the area instead of dropping the bomb.
Schmidt and Umbach were originally charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault and faced up to 64 years in prison.
Those charges were later dropped against Schmidt, who was offered administrative punishment rather than a court martial. At that time, he refused, saying he wanted to clear his name.
Military officials suggested he be tried for dereliction of duty.
All charges were dismissed against Umbach, 44, a United Airlines pilot. He was given a letter of reprimand and allowed to retire, as he had requested.
The commander in charge of an administrative hearing said that the U.S. fighter pilot who mistakenly dropped a bomb that killed Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan "acted shamefully" and found him guilty of dereliction of duty, according to a written statement released by the U.S. air force Tuesday.
Maj. Harry Schmidt, 37, faced four charges of dereliction of duty. He had been scheduled for a court martial, but recently agreed to an administrative hearing instead.
Lt.-Gen. Bruce Carlson, the commander of the 8th Air Force, handed Schmidt a letter of reprimand and ordered him to forfeit almost $5,700 in pay.
In addition, Schmidt will longer be allowed to fly Air Force planes, but can continue to serve in the Illinois Air National Guard.
In his written decision, Carlson said Schmidt was guilty of "exhibiting arrogance and a lack of flight discipline."
"I was astounded that you portrayed yourself as a victim of the disciplinary process without expressing heartfelt remorse over the deaths and injuries you caused to the members of the Canadian Forces," he wrote.
Carlson wrote that if Schmidt believed, as he stated in his defence, that he and his wingman Maj. William Umbach were threatened, he should have taken a series of evasive actions and remained at a safe distance to await further instructions from the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft controller, who directed Schmidt to "stand by" and later to "hold fire."
Instead, Carlson wrote, "you used the inherent right of self-defence as an excuse to wage your own war."
On April 18, 2002, Schmidt dropped a 225-kilogram bomb on a group of Canadian soldiers engaged in a night-time live-fire training exercise, killing four soldiers and injuring another eight.
Sgt. Marc Leger, Pte. Richard Green, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer and Pte. Nathan Smith were killed in the explosion. Eight others were injured. The men were all members of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. They were the first Canadian troops to be killed on duty since the Korean War.
Schmidt said that he dropped the bomb because he thought Taliban soldiers were firing on him from the ground.
Canadian and American inquiries found that Schmidt acted too hastily in his decision to drop the bomb. The U.S. investigation said he should have left the area instead of dropping the bomb.
Schmidt and Umbach were originally charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault and faced up to 64 years in prison.
Those charges were later dropped against Schmidt, who was offered administrative punishment rather than a court martial. At that time, he refused, saying he wanted to clear his name.
Military officials suggested he be tried for dereliction of duty.
All charges were dismissed against Umbach, 44, a United Airlines pilot. He was given a letter of reprimand and allowed to retire, as he had requested.