Harry Schmidt (Air National Guard)

Harry Schmidt (Air National Guard)

Infobox Military Person
name=Harry Schmidt
lived=
placeofbirth=


caption=Maj Harry Schmidt with his wife
nickname=call sign Psycho
branch= air force|United States
navy|United States
serviceyears=1987–2007
rank=Major
commands=
unit=170th Fighter Squadron
battles=Operation Desert Storm
Operation Enduring Freedom
awards=Air Medal w/ combat V
laterwork=
portrayedby=

Harry Schmidt is a major in the Illinois Air National Guard and was at one time an instructor at the Navy's elite TOPGUN fighter pilot school. On April 17, 2002 over Afghanistan, while flying an F-16, Schmidt mistook Canadian anti-tank and machine-gun exercises as enemy fire and dropped a 500-pound laser-guided bomb on members of the 3rd Battalion of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. The Tarnak Farm incident resulted in eight wounded and four dead: Sgt Marc Leger, Cpl Ainsworth Dyer, Pte Richard Green and Pte Nathan Smith. On July 6, 2004, Schmidt was found guilty of dereliction of duty and is no longer allowed to pilot Air Force aircraft.

Schmidt (whose flight name was "Psycho"), and his flight lead, Major William Umbach, were returning from a 10-hour patrol, at more than 15,000 feet, when they spotted surface fire. Claiming Umbach was under attack, Schmidt asked flight control permission to fire his 20 mm cannons, to which flight control replied "hold fire." Four seconds later, Schmidt said he was "rolling in, in self defense." He dropped a laser-guided bomb 35 seconds later.

On September 11, 2002, Schmidt and Umbach were officially charged with 4 counts of negligent manslaughter, 8 counts of aggravated assault, and 1 count of dereliction of duty, but Schmidt's charges were later reduced (on June 30, 2003) to dereliction of duty. He was initially offered non-judicial punishment proceedings before Lt. Gen. Bruce Carlson, 8th Air Force Commander, on June 19 2003, which he declined to accept, demanding trial by court-martial. The charge was referred to a court-martial on June 30 2003. On June 24 2004--in connection with negotiations between the prosecution and Schmidt's attorneys--Schmidt was allowed to reverse his earlier demand for trial by court-martial and accept the previously offered non-judicial punishment proceedings. [Ariel Hart, "National Briefing | South: Louisiana: No Court-Martial In Mistaken Bombing." New York Times, June 25, 2004 (by subscription)] The charges against Umbach were later dismissed.

According to the defense lawyers of the two pilots, Schmidt and Umbach were told by their superiors to use "go pills" (amphetamines) on their missions, and blamed the incident on the drugs. Schmidt's defense also blamed the fog of war, specifically poor and needlessly complex communication procedures regarding the identification of friendly forces on the ground.

After a closed, non-judicial punishment hearing held at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, Schmidt was found guilty on July 6, 2004 of dereliction of duty and was docked nearly $5,700 in pay and reprimanded. The reprimand, written by Lt. Gen. Carlson as part of the non-judicial punishment said Schmidt had "flagrantly disregarded a direct order", "exercised a total lack of basic flight discipline", and "blatantly ignored the applicable rules of engagement."

On July 8 2004, Schmidt's lawyer Charles Gittins announced plans to appeal the ruling and to file a lawsuit against the Air Force over the public release of documents in the case. [Ariel Hart, "National Briefing | Midwest: Illinois: Pilot Loses Appeal In Deaths Of Canadians." New York Times, August 5, 2004 (subscription)] On April 7 2006, Schmidt filed a lawsuit complaining of violations of the Privacy Act for the release. On September 20 2007 the lawsuit was dismissed, with the judge writing in her decision that "the competing public interest in disclosure clearly outweighs Schmidt's privacy interest." [http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2007/09/22/4518590-ap.html]

The eight wounded in the incident were Sergeant Lorne Ford, Corporal René Paquette, Corporal Curtis Hollister, Corporal Brent Perry, Corporal Brian Decaire, Private Norman Link, Master Corporal Stanley P. Clark and Corporal Shane Brennan.

Major Schmidt is a 1987 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy where he was the starting goalie on the soccer team.

ee also

*Friendly fire
*Tarnak Farms

Notes

References

* [http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/friendlyfire/verdict.html Verdict and Letter of Reprimand] July 6 2004
* [http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2004/07/08/world/schmidt040708 U.S. "Friendly Fire" pilot suing Air Force] CBC Newsworld] , July 8, 2004
* [http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/06/05/friendly-fire-050605.html U.S. "Friendly Fire" pilot relives incident" CBC Newsworld] , June 6, 2005


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Harry Schmidt — The individuals named Harry Schmidt include: *Harry Schmidt (Air National Guard), an American fighter pilot instructor, who bombed a platoon of Canadians, in Afghanistan. *Harry Schmidt (USMC), commanded the Fourth Marine Division, in the Pacific …   Wikipedia

  • Schmidt — is a German surname that is a cognate of Smith , an occupational surname for a blacksmith. Other variations of the name include Schmitt, Schmitz, Schmid, Schmidtke, Schmidtchen, Schmied, Schmit, Schmits, Schmith, and Smits.Schmidt may also refer… …   Wikipedia

  • Harry S. Truman — This article is about the United States president. For other uses of the name, see Harry Truman (disambiguation). Harry Truman 33rd President of the United States …   Wikipedia

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Detroit, Michigan — Location of Detroit in Michigan …   Wikipedia

  • United States — a republic in the N Western Hemisphere comprising 48 conterminous states, the District of Columbia, and Alaska in North America, and Hawaii in the N Pacific. 267,954,767; conterminous United States, 3,022,387 sq. mi. (7,827,982 sq. km); with… …   Universalium

  • Tarnak Farm incident — Maj. Harry Schmidt and wife Lisa enter the Tarnak Farms Article 32 hearing room. Date April 17, 200 …   Wikipedia

  • List of Barack Obama presidential campaign endorsements, 2008 — This is a list of prominent groups who formally endorsed or voiced support for Senator Barack Obama s presidential campaign during the Democratic Party primaries and the general election. Contents 1 Campaign endorsements 1.1 U.S. Presidents and… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Puerto Ricans — This list of Puerto Ricans includes people who were born in Puerto Rico, people who are of Puerto Rican ancestry, and many long term residents and/or immigrants who have made Puerto Rico their home, who are significantly notable for their life… …   Wikipedia

  • Friendly fire — For other uses, see Friendly Fire (disambiguation). Blue on blue redirects here. For other uses, see Blue on blue (disambiguation). Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one s own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage… …   Wikipedia

  • List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft, 1950-1974 — This is a list of notable accidents and incidents involving military aircraft grouped by the year in which the accident or incident occurred. For more exhaustive lists, see the [http://www.baaa acro.com/ Aircraft Crash Record Office] or the [http …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”