Canadian Soldiers Killed

[Typhoon1244]

Disclaimer: I am not and never have been a military pilot. My military aviation experience was limited to changing out black boxes in UH-1's and -60's. I have a "Tom Clancy" level of familiarity with air combat tactics, but that's all. Forgive me for speaking out of turn, but after hearing this evening's news, I've got something to say.

Canadian public opinion is running pretty strongly against the United States and its Air Force lately. The accidental death of four soldiers is obviously a difficult pill to swallow...especially since we apparently dragged our feet about apologizing.

So, the U.S. government needs to show the Canadian people someone's head on a silver platter. It seems to me that no fighter pilot is completely on his own during an operation like this; surely there must be enough blame to go around. However, it sound to me like Majors Schmidt and Umbach are going to get screwed very firmly to the wall while everone else gets off...at least publically.

It doesn't sound to me like these guys are 100% to blame for this sad incident...but it does sound like their careers are going to be 100% destroyed.

Is that fair?

 

[Pistlpetet]

Ever since Tailhook the military has put in place numerous legal stop measures to ensure that nothing will come back on Commanders. In Tailhook only the higher ups were slammed really hard. The military has gone thru phases of dealing with punishment. It use to be that if you messed up YOU were the one to be punished. Now the name of the game is to fry the commander of the the individual for the infraction. The military realized this trend, and now one is bombarded with with mandatory briefings, procedures, and statements to prevent any blame being put on commanders. With these things in place they can now say....I TOLD YOU SO, or YOU WERE BRIEFED ON THAT, or IT WAS STATED IN THE S.O.P TO DO IT LIKE SO.
In the mid 90s the Army had learned it's lessons from the NAVY, and when they had problems with sexual harassment involving drill instructors...Generals came down on these guys with tactical Nukes to have nothing come back on them for being to lienient. I am sure they are still doing some serious time.
The military will definately on occasion serve up peoples heads if needed to diffuse a situation. The Army just handed an Army SGT over to do time in a Korean prison, after he accidently hit and put a Korean woman in a coma while driving his POV. With everything heated up there...he is paying the serious price for something that might have been handled differently before.