Communication breakdown blamed for 'friendly fire' incident

WASHINGTON -- On the Iraq war's deadliest day for American troops, March 23, 2003, as many as 10 Marines were killed by U.S. airstrikes ordered by a Marine air controller who mistook their vehicles for enemy forces, according to an investigation report released Monday.

The lengthy investigation recommended "appropriate administrative or disciplinary action" against the air controller and left it to the Marine Corps to decide what specific action to take.

The investigators determined that the A-10 pilots acted appropriately under the circumstances.

Eighteen Marines were killed in the fighting that day around the city of Nasiriyah, of which investigators said they could be certain that eight were killed by hostile fire.

They could not conclusively state how many of the 10 others were killed by the mistaken U.S. airstrikes.

"The intensity of enemy fire, combined with friendly fire, makes it impossible to conclusively determine the exact sequence and source of fires that killed the other 10 Marines," the report said.

That same day, four days after the invasion began, 11 Army soldiers were killed when the 507th Maintenance Company was ambushed after taking a wrong turn in Nasiriyah. U.S. forces also mistakenly shot down a British Tornado fighter jet that day, killing the two British pilots.

Gen. John Abizaid, the commander of Central Command, wrote in a memorandum attached to the investigation report that gun camera tapes which recorded the attacks on the Marines by the Air Force A-10 planes were not preserved for investigators, even though it was clear a probe would be called for. The lack of video evidence "did hamper investigative efforts," he wrote.

Family members of the Marines killed and wounded in the incident were briefed on the investigation's results over the weekend and on Monday.

The Marines who were attacked were members of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment. They had taken control of a bridge on the northern edge of Nasiriyah -- a mission that was key to opening an attack route for the main body of Marines driving toward Baghdad.

The investigators found "communications problems throughout the battalion." While under heavy fire from Iraqi artillery, rocket propelled grenades, mortars and small arms, Charlie Company requested close air support, and two A-10 attack planes responded to the call, the report said.

The Marine forward air controller who was southeast of the bridge cleared the A-10s to fire on vehicles north of the bridge, not realizing they were Charlie Company vehicles. The attack planes made multiple strikes until they were eventually told to cease fire.

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On the Net:

Investigation report at www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/newsfeatures.asp