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The U.S. fighter pilot punished for bombing Canadian troops in Afghanistan in 2002 has lost the first round of his appeal of his punishment.
Maj. Harry Schmidt, 39, was found guilty of four counts of dereliction of duty earlier in July. He was reprimanded and ordered to forfeit $5,000 US in pay.
Lt.-Gen. Bruce Carlson, the commander of the 8th Air Force, also barred Schmidt from flying Air Force planes, but he can continue to serve in the Illinois Air National Guard.
Schmidt appealed the punishment, claiming he was made a sacrificial lamb to cover up mistakes made higher up in the chain of command. He said the reprimand was issued as a "desire to mount a public relations campaign rather than actually attempt to see justice done."
On Monday, the U.S. air force said Carlson had rejected the appeal. The case will now be forwarded to Gen. Hal Homberg, commander of the air force combat command, for a final decision. His decision is not further reviewable.
On a night in April 2002, Schmidt claimed self defence and dropped a bomb on Canadian troops engaged in a live-fire night-time training exercise near Kandahar.
The attack killed Pte. Richard Green, Pte. Nathan Smith, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer and Sgt. Marc Leger. Eight others were injured.
Schmidt claimed he thought the gunfire was an attack by Taliban fighters. He also said his superiors never told him the Canadians would be conducting training exercises that night.
In his letter of reprimand, Carlson said Schmidt "acted shamefully" and exhibited "arrogance and a lack of flight discipline" in the bombing.
"You used the inherent right of self-defence as an excuse to wage your own war," Carlson said in his ruling.
Schmidt was originally charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault, but the charges were reduced last year to dereliction of duty.
With files from The Associated Press
The U.S. fighter pilot punished for bombing Canadian troops in Afghanistan in 2002 has lost the first round of his appeal of his punishment.
Maj. Harry Schmidt, 39, was found guilty of four counts of dereliction of duty earlier in July. He was reprimanded and ordered to forfeit $5,000 US in pay.
Lt.-Gen. Bruce Carlson, the commander of the 8th Air Force, also barred Schmidt from flying Air Force planes, but he can continue to serve in the Illinois Air National Guard.
Schmidt appealed the punishment, claiming he was made a sacrificial lamb to cover up mistakes made higher up in the chain of command. He said the reprimand was issued as a "desire to mount a public relations campaign rather than actually attempt to see justice done."
On Monday, the U.S. air force said Carlson had rejected the appeal. The case will now be forwarded to Gen. Hal Homberg, commander of the air force combat command, for a final decision. His decision is not further reviewable.
On a night in April 2002, Schmidt claimed self defence and dropped a bomb on Canadian troops engaged in a live-fire night-time training exercise near Kandahar.
The attack killed Pte. Richard Green, Pte. Nathan Smith, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer and Sgt. Marc Leger. Eight others were injured.
Schmidt claimed he thought the gunfire was an attack by Taliban fighters. He also said his superiors never told him the Canadians would be conducting training exercises that night.
In his letter of reprimand, Carlson said Schmidt "acted shamefully" and exhibited "arrogance and a lack of flight discipline" in the bombing.
"You used the inherent right of self-defence as an excuse to wage your own war," Carlson said in his ruling.
Schmidt was originally charged with manslaughter and aggravated assault, but the charges were reduced last year to dereliction of duty.
With files from The Associated Press
