Pubdate: Wed, 15 Jan 2003
Source: Detroit Free Press (MI)
Contact:  2003 Detroit Free Press
Website: http://www.freep.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/125

F16 PILOTS GOT PILLS PRIOR TO FATAL BOMB INCIDENT 

BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. -- Two U.S. pilots who mistakenly dropped a
bomb that killed four Canadians in Afghanistan had been issued amphetamines
before the mission to stay awake, a defense lawyer argued Tuesday at the
opening of a military hearing to determine whether they should be
court-martialed. 

The pills issued by the Air Force may have impaired the pilots' judgment,
said David Beck, lawyer for Maj. William Umbach. He also said the pilots
were given antidepressants upon returning from their mission. 

Umbach and Maj. Harry Schmidt are charged with involuntary manslaughter for
dropping the guided bomb near Kandahar on April 17. The Air Force has said
they failed to make sure there were no allied troops in the area. 

Beck and Charles Gittins, Schmidt's lawyer, have said the pilots were not
told Canadian troops were conducting live-fire exercises and believed their
F16s were under attack. 

Beck said Tuesday that the Air Force issues amphetamines called "go pills"
to help pilots stay awake during long missions. He promised to raise the
issue later in the hearing, which is expected to last about two weeks. 

The Air Force has said that use of the pills is voluntary, and that their
effects have been tested. 

The attorneys also said Tuesday that Canadian forces on the ground did not
take adequate steps that could have prevented the bombing that also wounded
eight Canadian soldiers. 

Gittins and Beck said the Canadians either ignored or did not know about
safety measures that could have averted the tragedy. Capt. Joseph Jasper,
the Canadian commander in charge of the April 17 training exercise, said he
was not aware of a U.S. military procedure of planting a bright light in the
ground to designate themselves as friendly forces. 

A military inquiry found that both pilots erred by not waiting for
authorization from their commanders to respond to the fire from the ground.
Air Force investigators said the pilots should have left the area when they
first saw the gunfire. 

The charges could result in 64-year prison terms for both pilots.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Doc-Hawk