Pilot commander says allied troop data not available

BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- Information on allied troop locations in Afghanistan was "basically nonexistent" for U.S. pilots last spring, when two Air Force pilots mistakenly bombed Canadian soldiers, killing four, the aviators' former squadron commander testified Saturday.

Col. David Nichols said he told his superiors before the April 17 bombing that he was concerned his fighter pilots were ill-informed about coalition troop locations.

Nichols testified for the defense in a military hearing to determine whether Majs. Harry Schmidt and William Umbach should be court-martialed for dropping a 500-pound bomb on the Canadian infantry soldiers, eight of whom were wounded.

The Illinois National Guard pilots are charged with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and dereliction of duty, and face up to 64 years in a military prison if convicted.

An Air Force investigation found that Schmidt, who dropped the bomb, and Umbach, who commanded the mission, recklessly attacked unidentified troops instead of waiting to determine if they were allies.

Earlier Saturday, Lt. Col. Richard Anderson II, who was in charge of all coalition pilots' combat orders, said Schmidt and Umbach were in no danger of small-arms fire and were under "extremely tight" restrictions on weapons use.

Standard procedure would have been to evade surface-to-air fire, not attack, Anderson said.

However, Anderson indicated under cross-examination that he was unaware that Schmidt had been briefed that Taliban forces possessed rocket launchers powerful enough to put Umbach's F-16 in danger.

On a videotape taken from Schmidt's F-16, a flight controller can be heard saying "hold fire" after Schmidt made what government witnesses have called an unusual request for permission to fire his 20-millimeter cannons toward gunfire on the ground.

Four seconds after the hold fire order, Schmidt said he was "rolling in, in self-defense." He dropped the guided bomb 39 seconds later.

Nichols testified Saturday that Schmidt's behavior was reasonable and called him "one of the best F-16 pilots I've ever seen."

Under cross-examination, Nichols indicated he has received a letter of reprimand because of the bombing. Nichols also has been reassigned in the Air Force and has had two distinguished flying crosses and two medals withheld.

The deaths of Sgt. Marc Leger, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer and Pvts. Richard Green and Nathan Smith were the first for Canadian troops in a military combat operation since the Korean War. They were all members of the 3rd Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, based near Edmonton.

Five Canadian survivors of the bombing testified earlier they were not firing into the air at the time of the bombing. They had been using machine guns and anti-tank weapons in exercises at Tarnak Farm, a firing range near Kandahar.

Defense lawyers have said Air Force-issued amphetamines, called "go pills," can impair pilots' judgment and may have been a cause of the bombing. Air Force officials have said Dexedrine, which pilots often take on long missions, is issued in small doses that have no effect on judgment or reaction time.

Nichols also defended the use of the pills, saying they are "critically important" to keep combat pilots awake and alert. "They are insurance against fatigue," he said.

Access to Saturday's testimony was blocked for a time Saturday morning because officials determined its content was classified.

The hearing is scheduled to conclude Jan. 24.

------

On the Net:

U.S. report: http://www.centcom.mil/News/Reports/Tarnak--Farms--Report.htm

Canadian report: http://www.vcds.dnd.ca/boi/00native/final-report.doc