Pte. Mark Anthony Graham 1 RCR - 04 Sept 06

[RHFC_piper]

Whatever the outcome, I'd like to meet the pilot(s).

 

[RHFC_piper]

I'm still waiting for the official outcome of the investigation, but I found this;

[quote author=Toronto Star]
Fatigue possible friendly-fire factor: Report
Article Link

OTTAWA – An American pilot may have been tired and struggling with confusing instructions when he opened fire on Canadian troops in Afghanistan last September, killing one and wounding 36, suggests a newly declassified report.

The "lessons learned" document also suggests an electronic vehicle identification system might have prevented the tragedy.

"Incidents of this nature will always be a reality of combat, however technologies that have not been fully exploited to their full potential exist which could reduce the number of incidents," said the report, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act.

The pilot of the A-10 Warthog mistakenly sprayed members of Charles Company, 1st Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment, with Gatling gun fire as they camped at the base of Ma'sum Ghar, a squat, rugged mountain outside of Bazzar-e-Panjwaii.

More on Link
[/quote]

 

[geo]

Hmmm.... so this guy was knackered AND in spite of this, was looking for targets of oportunity?

In Iraq, the A10 pilots fired on brit vehicles that had agreed upon ID markers - honking big orange tarps.... which they promptly declared to be orange missiles ...

Having been invited to provide CAS by a ground controller woulda been nice......... IMHO

 

[McG]

Hmmm.... so this guy was knackered AND in spite of this, was looking for targets of oportunity?

Follow the link.  The US pilots were in contact with the FAC.

 

[geo]

The three days previous to the accident had seen some of the bloodiest fighting of the newly launched Operation Medusa. Two American attack planes were ordered to repeatedly blitz Taliban positions, near the Canadians, north of the Arghandaub River – a tense, physically draining type of air operation.

"The two A-10s in this sortie had been strafing the enemy for over three hours and were about to hand over the (air operations)," says the document.

"The incident occurred in the shift from night to day. This could have been a factor."

The heavily censored, six-page Canadian review, stamped secret, pointed to a series of possible contributing factors, including the fact air controllers directed pilots to a reference point "common to both enemy and friendly positions."

..............  army ground controllers need to give pilots distinguishing landmarks that can be easily identified from the air.

The pilot also misidentified a garbage fire lit by Canadian troops for "fires on the enemy position on the North side of the river," the report said, but it's not clear whether the fire was a reference point given by controllers.

They were being controlled by someone - more or less - but .... something appears to have gone wrong - or someone was asleep at the switch.

 

[RHFC_piper]

Hmmm.... so this guy was knackered AND in spite of this, was looking for targets of oportunity?

In Iraq, the A10 pilots fired on brit vehicles that had agreed upon ID markers - honking big orange tarps.... which they promptly declared to be orange missiles ...

Having been invited to provide CAS by a ground controller woulda been nice......... IMHO

I think there were a few more circumstances besides lack of sleep, but I'm sure that will all come out after the findings of the investigation are released... when ever that will be.

And, I thought, the FF on the Brits was also in Afghanistan, in Helmand prov...  I could be wrong.


oh, yeah... that FAC was at our position.


It will all come out in the wash eventually... and unless the investigation finds something wrong with the pilot, his abilities and/or judgement, which would show lack of remorse and/or an air of malice in respect to his actions, I will hold no grudges.  The Pilots softened targets and probably saved our lives many times the day before, they did their jobs, and mistakes happen.  The pilot in question, above all else, will have to live with the knowledge that his actions cost the life of a Canadian Soldier, and wounded many more, which is quite a lot to rest on his conscience, as well as the legal consequences of actions.  And, we, as soldiers, must remeber that what happened could have been far worse had he not stopped his attack as quickly as he did.  Also, as I've probably said a million times, Stuff happens... If you stood on the middle line of a hiway long enough, you'd get hit by a car. There were lots of opportunities the day before, some even closer and potentially more destructive, but that's the nature of 'close air support'.  

 

[Loachman]

FACking is not the easiest thing to do, especially as things generally look remarkably different to the pilot and the FAC on the ground. Both will see things that the other does not, and will not see things that the other does. Our FACs do not have the benefit of significant cockpit experience - when I did my course some guys were able to get backseat rides but visibility from there is marginal at best - so understanding of what goes on in the cockpit and what the pilot sees may be lacking.

The critical part of a run doesn't last for very long, and any slight hiccup in the communication in that phase can be disastrous. As I understand this incident, the pilot had been directed onto a burning target and our guys' garbage fire was pretty much on a direct line between the A10 and the real target and probably would have been seen first. The pilot probably would have called "contact smoke" or "contact fire" or some such, and then been cleared hot by the FAC looking at the target and completely oblivious of the garbage fire.

Speculation, yes, but I've seen many examples on ranges in Canada where targets were misidentified and those were under circumstances where there was no life-or-death situation or pressure to engage an enemy shooting at one's allies and targets were pretty obvious (including being brightly painted in flourescent colours). In all cases in my experience the pilots were Canadian, and in two cases ordnance was dropped on or fired at real people (me included in one of them). In one of those, the pilot just happened to notice that a small speck right near to where his rounds were hitting appeared to be moving and he therefore stopped firing just before hitting the Iltis. This was twenty-two years ago, so further details escape me, but I got a pretty detailed explanation from some of the key players that I knew, including the CF5 pilot.

If you haven't tried FACking or flying, it's hard to understand what it's like.

 

[KevinB]

Also if you have not been in a TIC, its hard to explain -- everything can go sideways very easily.
HoM was on the ground there so well let him give the SME brief...

 

[HItorMiss]

I6 et all

I am in vacation ins mexico (yes you can all be jealous) so I don´t hage a huge amount of time to respond with the right amount of non class info to make any post clear.

I promise to reply with a more clear and sucsinct reply apon my return. Please be patient.

 

[TN2IC]

I6 et all

I am in vacation ins mexico (yes you can all be jealous) so I don´t hage a huge amount of time to respond with the right amount of non class info to make any post clear.

I promise to reply with a more clear and sucsinct reply apon my return. Please be patient.

Translation.. he is wasted right now.  ;D

 

[mom of two soldiers]

Not sure what most of the posts are talking about  but I have carefully read the article in the Toronto Star and I find no source for the report. I also note that the original report is dated Sept 9, 2006.
Is there any thing new in this article? It certainly feels like speculation at this time.
As the mother of Pte Mark Graham, I take offense to the fact that the Toronto Star would publish this on EASTER SUNDAY and that a reporter from our home town paper would call a family in the middle of EASTER dinner between coffee and dessert to ask our opinion. Not only are we grieving Mark's abscence but the loss of his grandmother too.
It is not news  or for that matter new. As Piper alludes to I am sure he, the other wounded and families of the fallen will be informed of the official reports. 
Thank you for the opportunity to express  the anger that I and the members of my family feel everytime one of these articles hits the front page.

 

[GAP]

Thank you for the opportunity to express  the anger that I and the members of my family feel everytime one of these articles hits the front page.

+1    You will always find support here.

 

[TN2IC]

Yes GAP is right. We are a tight family here. We are here to help each other out. If you ever want to vent about your issue. You are more than welcomed to post/PM here.


Blessings,
TN2IC

 

[Mike Baker]

Yes GAP is right. We are a tight family here. We are here to help each other out. If you ever want to vent about your issue. You are more than welcomed to post/PM here.


Blessings,
TN2IC

+1. Most any one can answer any questions you have, or point you in the right direction.

Cheers
Michael