Post by corsair67 on Feb 8, 2007 14:21:45 GMT 12
From The Times
Inquiry blames US for ‘friendly fire’ death
Michael Evans, Defence Editor.
February 08, 2007.
The official British board of inquiry report into the death of Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull blamed American pilots for shooting at the soldier’s armoured vehicle “without authorisation” and after inadequate checks on whether the target was friendly or hostile.
The report, which was published on the Ministry of Defence’s website yesterday, outlines the difference in culture and procedures between American and British pilots.
The conclusions of the report are far more critical than the US version of the March 2003 incident, when two A10 Thunderbolt tankbuster aircraft attacked Household Cavalry armoured reconnaissance Scimitars and Spartans near Basra, in southern Iraq. The American investigators concluded that it was a tragic accident and that the two pilots had followed the proper procedures.
Susan Hull, the soldier’s widow, who is a primary school teacher, said that she did not want to be political about her husband’s death. Speaking to the BBC, she said: “It’s not my intention. This is about a single person’s death and establishing the truth of the matter.”
After the leaking of the American A10 pilots’ taped recordings from the day of the incident, and the decision by the Pentagon to release all the material requested by the Ox-fordshire coroner at the inquest into Lance Corporal Hull’s death, Mrs Hull said she was pleased that the video footage had been made public.
She said: “It was immensely sad to see what you have always imagined in your worst imagination. [But] in some ways, knowing something is better than not knowing.”
Last night the US air squadron involved in the incident apologised to his family.
A spokesman for the Idaho National Guard said that it was “very sorry that this incident happened”.
Lieutenant Tony Vincelli added: “We’re obviously very, very sorry for the family and extend our sympathies to them,” In the British report, the board of inquiry panel said there were concerns expressed by individuals “as to the perceived differences in cultural approach and the very real differences in procedures, training and mission execution”.
It added: “Most of those interviewed expressed views on the US approach to CAS [close air support] and, in particular, the reduced degree of control and confirmation required before attacking a target.” The two pilots had only binoculars to identify the armoured vehicles, the report said.
The most damning remarks were made by a senior officer who added his judgment after examining the evidence and observations of the inquiry board.
He wrote: “The cause of this sad incident was that the US A10s, without having been authorised, engaged the UK patrol believing it to be hostile.”
He added: “While the coalition CAS procedures in force at the time were thought to have been adequate, the lack of passage of positional data and target coordinates between the US pilots and their US ground-control elements [the forward air controllers spotting possible targets], is worrying . . . All that can be said is that the pilots initially identified ‘orange panels’ [on top of the Scimitars to show they were friendly] and then later construed these as ‘orange rockets’. Their subsequent misi-dentification of the UK patrol as hostile is difficult to reconcile, but appears to have taken place as a result of a number of contributory factors.”
More details emerged last night of one of the pilots involved in the attack.
Colonel Gus “Skeeter” Kohntopp, who was a lieutenant-colonel at the time, now trains other American pilots in ground-attack skills.
The Sun said he was in his forties and joined the US Air Force from university. He left in 1999 and joined the reserves while taking a job as a commercial pilot, flying Boeing 737s.
The ill-fated assault was Colonel Kohntopp’s first of 27 combat missions. He was later awarded the Bronze Star.
In an interview with a state magazine, he said: “My best piloting experience has been flying the A10 in Iraqi Freedom.” He added: “You have to live with your actions so make them worthwhile to your loved ones and this great nation.”
Reports last night claimed the Oxford Coroner’s office can now bypass the US military and approach Colonel Kohntopp directly to give evidence at a rearranged hearing.
The Oxford coroner has adjourned the inquest until Friday next week.
