Pilot referred to court-martial

  • Published
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. (AFPN) --  Lt. Gen. Bruce Carlson referred Maj. Harry Schmidt to court-martial for dereliction of duty June 30 after Schmidt refused to accept nonjudicial punishment June 25.

The 8th Air Force commander referred Charge 1 of the original charges against Schmidt for a bombing incident which killed four Canadian soldiers and injured eight others near Kandahar, Afghanistan on April 17, 2002.

The charge specifies that Schmidt willfully failed to exercise appropriate flight discipline over his aircraft and that he failed to comply with the applicable rules and special instructions.

Carlson did not refer to trial the involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault charges.

The Air Force Trial Judiciary’s Central Circuit will assign a trial judge and a trial date.