 |
| Feature: |
| |
| You are here: Home > Features > Military & Security in North America |
|
| |
| Jump to . . . |
| » Introduction » Integration and Defence » National Missile Defence » Politics of Security » Border Security » Can CDN Defend Itself? » Globalization and Americanization » Friendly Fire Incidents » Sleeping Elephant » Links to Information |
| More Information |
| « NA's Weakest
Link « Terrorism & Mobility « Terrorism: CDN's Role « National Identity Cards « State of the CDN Military « Canada, Peacekeeping, and the World Order |
| External Info & Links |
| « Dept of Nat'l Defence « US Dep't of Defense « US State Department « Homeland Security « CDN-US Relations « NORAD « NATO « CIA « CSIS |
Friendly Fire Incidents
Accidental deaths, sour relations
One of the sorest spots in recent Canada-US military relations is the result of the April 18, 2002 ‘friendly fire’ deaths of four Canadian soldiers.
US F-16 pilot Major Harry Schmidt dropped a 250-kilogram laser-guided bomb on the nighttime live fire military exercise being conducted by the Canadian troops outside Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Schmidt was charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter and eight counts of assault, while pilot William Umbach was charged with four counts of aiding and abetting manslaughter, and eight counts of aiding and abetting assault.
But, commander of the US 8th Air Force, Lieutenant General Bruce Carlson, decided that both pilots should receive punishment outside the courts.
- Harry Schmidt now faces two counts of dereliction of duty for not being positive that he was dropping a bomb on the enemy and for disobeying air controllers' instructions to "standby" while information was verified. If the non-judicial hearing does proceed, Schmidt could receive a reprimand, forfeiture of a month's pay and confinement to barracks.
- William Umbach agreed to accept a reprimand and retire from the Air Force.
The Canadian soldiers killed were…
- Sergeant Marc Leger: 29, of Lancaster Ontario; he was in the army for nine years.
- Corporal Ainsworth Dyer: 24, of Montreal, Quebec.
- Private Richard Green: 21, of Mill Cove Nova Scotia; he joined the military in September 1998.
- Private Nathan Smith: 27, of Porter’s Lake, Nova Scotia; he joined the military in 1998.
Eight more soldiers were injured: six returned to Canada the following week, while the other two were treated for minor injuries and remained with their unit in Afghanistan.
Reaction to the Friendly Fire Incident
In the incident's aftermath, two weeks of official mourning concluded with a highly emotional memorial service at the soldiers’ home base in Edmonton.
The US military’s announcement that it would not prosecute the two Air Force pilots devastated the families of the soldiers killed, and disappointed many Canadians. Both the Canadian and American military investigations into the incident concluded that the pilots had acted recklessly.
Marc Leger’s mother, Claire Leger, commented that she wanted the Pentagon to learn a lesson from the tragedy and try to prevent more "friendly fire" deaths. But based on similar mistakes in the war in Iraq, she said “it's obvious the U.S. hasn't made life any safer for coalition troops.”
Some of the families have considered launching a civil lawsuit.
For more background on the friendly fire incident, see CBC’s report.