Justice, More or Less, Done

U.S. 'friendly fire' pilot found guilty of dereliction of duty
Last Updated Tue, 06 Jul 2004 15:42:26

NEW ORLEANS - The U.S. fighter pilot who accidentally dropped a bomb on Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan two years ago, killing four of them, has been found guilty of dereliction of duty by the U.S Air Force.

Major Harry Schmidt will receive a written reprimand and have to forfeit $5,600 US in pay.

Well, in the end this was about all Canadians could hope for. Schmidt, who unlike his flying partner William Umbach, never admitted any resposibility for his actions nor showed any compassion for the families of his victims, has finally been called to account. While it would have been more heart-warming to see Schmidt actually do time, this will have to suffice. In my thinking, the most important sentence in this article is the penultimate one (emphasis added by me):

Schmidt will be allowed to remain in the Illinois Air National Guard, but not as a pilot.

So no other family should ever have to suffer at the hands of this idiot. At least so we can hope...