A friend of mine immediately wondered aloud if this tragic accident might be "the abrupt retiring of a general". Details don't mention a General, particularly - but I'm wondering if the Quigley referred to here is any relation to Carroll Quigley, and whether the reference to Fort Campbell is significant or just coincidence. Dunno - developing, I guess.
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Tuesday March 13 3:51 PM ET
Officials: U.S. Serviceman Directed Kuwait Bombing
By Charles Aldinger
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. serviceman who directed a practice bombing in Kuwait that accidentally killed five American troops and a New Zealander belatedly called off the strike when at least two bombs went awry, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.
The officials, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters a military forward air controller mistakenly directed an F/A-18 attack jet from the aircraft carrier Harry Truman at a bombing range in Kuwait, then tried to abort the strike too late.
``Tragically, they (the bombs) hit near the service members that were at an observation post on the range,'' Navy Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters.
It was not clear whether the U.S. serviceman directing the attack might have been one of those killed.
Quigley declined to discuss details of the incident, other than to say evidence indicated two of the three 500-pound unguided gravity bombs dropped by the F/A-18 ``Hornet'' ripped into an air traffic control area on the range, causing six deaths and seven injuries.
``This was the site of the forward air controllers,'' he told reporters at a briefing.
Quigley said a veteran pilot who commands a U.S. Navy fighter squadron aboard the Truman was flying the F/A-18 jet when it dropped the bombs.
Cmdr. David Zimmerman, who has more than 3,000 flying hours and is commander of attack squadron VFA-37, was flying the jet when the incident occurred after dark at about 7:30 p.m. Kuwait time (11:30 a.m. EST) on Monday, about 50 miles from the Iraq border. He was flying the 79th of 85 sorties scheduled in the exercise, which was abruptly ended after the accident.
Cause Still Unclear
It remained unclear how the bombs landed on the air controllers' vehicles and a small observation post, but Quigley said those involved in the exercise were using night-vision goggles and that weather was not a factor.
Zimmerman, the son of a former naval aviator, is a native of Orange Park, Florida. He joined the service in 1982 and has been flying F/A-18s for eight years.
The U.S. Central Command, which is based in Tampa, Florida, and oversees American military operations in the Persian Gulf, said an investigation team headed by Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Mike DeLong would depart for Kuwait on Wednesday to begin a full investigation of the incident.
The three-star general is deputy commander of the Central Command.
Four U.S. Army troops, one U.S. Air Force serviceman and a New Zealand officer were killed in Monday's incident.
The Air Force on Tuesday identified the airman killed as Staff Sgt. Jason Farley, a tactical air controller with the 19th Air Support Operations Squadron at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
The U.S. Army dead were not immediately identified, but the New Zealand Defense Force said Acting Maj. John McNutt, 27, of the elite First NZ Special Air Service Group was killed.
Seven others were injured at the Udairi bombing range in the Kuwaiti desert -- four U.S. soldiers, one American airman and two Kuwaiti troops. All were taking part in the exercise as observers.
Three Americans Hospitalized
Only three Americans remained hospitalized with injuries that were not life threatening, the Pentagon said.
The Air Force identified one of those hospitalized as Staff Sgt. Timothy Crusing, also an air traffic controller from Fort Campbell. He was in stable condition.
President George W. Bush, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern Clark expressed sadness and regret for the accident. Rumsfeld and Clark promised a thorough investigation.
``Tragedies such as this occur without warning and for reasons that are difficult to understand. We will work hard to take care of the families involved, and to find out how such an accident could occur,'' Rumsfeld said in a statement.
``Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of our fellow service members, from the United States as well as New Zealand,'' added Clark. ``Military operations are dangerous by their very nature and these service members lost their lives in service to their country and their coalition.''
The U.S. military and Kuwaiti and foreign forces have set up a permanent training range at Udairi, where almost year-round exercises are held.
About 5,000 Americans are based in Kuwait.
The United States and Britain have air forces deployed as part of ``Operation Southern Watch,'' which patrols over southern Iraq to enforce a no-fly zone.
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