Friendly fire

NEW ORLEANS - The U.S. pilot who bombed and killed four Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan struck a deal on Thursday to avoid a court martial.

Smart guy I guess. He probably knew he didn't have much of a chance any other way.

In a court martial, he could have lost his flying privileges, could have been kicked out of the military, and could have faced prison.

Which is probably what he deserves, after what he did.

Schmidt and Umbach, both with the Illinois Air National Guard's 170th Fighter Squadron, believed the enemy was firing at them when they dropped the bomb on members of the then Winnipeg-based Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

They were flying near Kandahar Airport in the early morning hours of April 18, 2002, when they detected ground fire. They thought it was directed at them and dropped a 225-kilogram laser-guided bomb, even though they had been ordered to hold their fire.

I think that Umbach (the flight leader), should be flogged with rods. He's the one that could've stopped Schmidt from pressing the fire button. Their HQ had told them NOT to fire. Neither one of them seems very good at taking orders... that's not a desirable quality if you ask me. I feel sorry for the parents of the soldiers who died. Justice did not serve them today.

His hearing with his commanding general is scheduled for Canada Day.

How bloody ironic is that? It would be comical if it wasn't so shunty.

I'm actually quite surprised that friendly fire doesn't happen more often. I'm sure there are more than two trigger-happy pilots in the US air force, but it is a credit to those at HQ who take care of all the logistics work. They know where people are at. If only their orders werelistened to 100% of the time.