Posted on 08/07/2007 4:10:46 PM PDT by Clive
OTTAWA (CP) - A U.S. military machine gunner, who mistakenly opened fire on Canadians soldiers in the midst of desperate, pitched battle with the Taliban last year, had not been warned that friendly troops were anywhere in the vicinity, a Canadian investigation concluded Tuesday.
The board of inquiry that looked into the March 29, 2006 attack that claimed the life of Pte. Robert Costall blamed the "fog of war" and more specifically a lack of co-ordination between Canadian, U.S. and Afghan forces, all of which were occupying a dusty, hilltop base that was in danger of being overrun.
Canadian military justice officials said that they are not contemplating any charges in relation to the incident in Sangin, located in Helmand province about 300 kilometres from Kandahar.
The military's technical investigation found the U.S. special forces commander in charge of remote Sangin outpost did not draw up a defensive plan that showed where all friendly forces were located.
Troops were not briefed on the disposition of the roughly 600 coalition forces and Canadian soldiers were not wearing infrared markers that might have identified them as friendly units.
In the heat of the battle, which was fought at night and with powder-like dust kicked up around them, Costall's section rushed out to reinforce the outer edge of the base's northern perimeter.
As he passed the American machine gun position, the Canadian section leader hollered out to his allies, but in the din of incoming rockets and tracer fire, "he did not receive an acknowledgment, nor did he wait for one," the inquiry report said.
The overall commander of the Canadian quick reaction force did not tell the junior U.S. special forces soldier in charge of defending Sangin that a Canadian section had moved in front of American units, which further compounded the confusion.
Withering Taliban fire prompted Costall's section to take cover behind a berm and within seconds of the Canadian unit returning fire, a U.S. soldier targeted and sprayed the Canadian position with machine-gun fire.
Costall was killed instantly and three others wounded.
The Canadians called over the radio for the Americans to stop firing.
They did, but seconds later the same U.S. troops opened up again on another position, killing a American soldier and wounding another.
In July, a U.S. army investigator recommended no charges be filed against the machine-gunner who killed Costall.
Canadian Chief of Defence Staff General Rick Hillier says he's satisfied with the board's findings and that new rules have been incorporated into the military's standard operating procedures to improve the safety of soldiers.
In a statement, Costall's family said he should be remembered for what he lived for, rather than how he died.
"Rob Costall was a true Canadian son who valued life and lived it to the fullest with everything our beautiful country could offer him," the statement read.
"He was the type of person who would hold a door open for a complete stranger, with a smile and a hello. He should be remembered for holding the door of hope open to the people of Afghanistan."
Fratricide happens.
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