Publication:Chattanooga Times Free Press
Date:Saturday, February 05, 2005
Section:Front Page; Page:1

DISPATCH Iraq

By Edward Lee Pitts Military Affairs

CAMP CALDWELL, Iraq — An election night friendly fire incident involving members of the 278 th Regimental Combat Team based here is under investigation, regimental officers confirmed Friday.

Lt. Col. Mark Hart, 1 st Squadron commander, said officials from both units involved in the Jan. 30 shooting are conducting inquiries and gathering sworn statements. No one was injured in the incident. The incident occurred when Lt. Col. Hart’s convoy of six Humvees, returning to Camp Caldwell after disposing of a homemade bomb near the town of Balad Ruz, tried to join another U.S. military convoy. That convoy, composed of American soldiers from various military branches here to oversee the elections, also was heading back to Camp Caldwell.

According to witnesses, the lead convoy of non-278 th soldiers discharged nearly 50 rounds of ammunition and left bullet marks on two 278 th Humvees. The firing occurred when Lt. Col. Hart’s group came within 800 meters of the lead convoy, which was escorting ballots from Sunday’s election, witnesses said.

"There were tracers (bullets) everywhere firing to the left and the right," said Sgt. Caleb Baker, 23, of Greenback, Tenn. "I thought we were being ambushed."

The incident happened about 9:30 p.m., said Cpl. Greg Dixon, 33, of Dayton, Tenn., who was the hatch gunner on Lt. Col. Hart’s front Humvee.

He said he heard three bursts coming from the rear Humvee in the lead convoy. The first burst sent bullet rounds to the left of the vehicles as a warning shot, but the second burst came right down the middle of the road toward Lt. Col. Hart’s convoy, passing within five to 10 meters of Cpl. Dixon’s face, he said.

"As soon as I saw that, I ducked down (inside the Humvee) and said, ‘They are shooting at us,’" Cpl. Dixon said. His Humvee driver swerved off the road and headed for cover behind a small mud hut when soldiers with the lead convoy discharged a third burst of gunfire toward the 278 th detachment.

LIKE "STAR WARS"

Sgt. Chad Crisp, 28, of Cleveland, Tenn., said two bullets ricocheted off the front ballistic windshield of the second Humvee, while another lodged into the driver’s side windshield of the sixth and final Humvee in the 278th convoy.

Every fifth round fired by a U.S. weapon is illuminated with a red glow that continues to burn along the flight path of the bullet. These tracer rounds allow soldiers firing at night to acquire a reliable aim on an intended target. "It was like watching the movie Star Wars up close and personal," said Sgt. Crisp, referring to the streams of red that tipped off the 278 th soldiers that the bullets were coming from fellow Americans.

The bullets came from a 5.56 caliber machine gun called a squad automatic weapon, or SAW, which is less lethal than the .50-caliber machine guns commonly found on the top of Humvees.

"I probably wouldn’t be here if it had been a .50 cal," said Spc. Michael French, 35, of Whitwell, Tenn., who was in the second Humvee that now has two bullet scars.

Sgt. Crisp said Lt. Col. Hart yelled over the radio to cease firing at friendly targets, but there was no response. Carrying the completed election ballots to Camp Caldwell where they would be guarded overnight, the lead convoy never stopped. After checking to make sure no one was hurt, Lt. Col. Hart’s convoy also continued its route to Camp Caldwell, this time staying a good distance back of the lead convoy, according to Sgt. Crisp.

Back inside Camp Caldwell, the soldiers in Lt. Col. Hart’s personnel security detachment, who travel everywhere with Lt. Col. Hart, confronted the suspected sources of the friendly fire. According to Sgt. Crisp, one of the passengers in the vehicle where the shooting came from said there were reports that insurgents in Baghdad had stolen a Humvee.

Despite the darkness, Spc. French said the gunner in the last Humvee of the first convoy should have seen the headlights of each Humvee in Lt. Col. Hart’s convoy and known they were U.S. forces.

"I almost had rather it been the enemy because you know what to do then," said Spc. French. "It is a hard situation when your own people are shooting at you."

An Iraqi Army-operated Nissan truck was the next to last vehicle in the convoy escorting ballots. But Lt. Col. Hart ruled out that vehicle’s involvement in the incident by wrapping his hand around the barrel of the .50-caliber machine gun mounted on the truck’s bed and confirming that the barrel was cold.

STILL IN SHOCK

Soldiers with the 278th received conflicting reports about who fired at them.

The occupants of the last Humvee in the convoy escorting ballots identified themselves as two officers from the U.S. Navy and a major and sergeant first class with the U.S. Army, according to a 278th soldier But Sgt. Baker said the shooters were nonconventional soldiers wearing a mix of camouflage and civilian clothing similar to what U.S. Special Forces are allowed to wear.

The suspected shooters told the 278th soldiers they were State Department employees sent to train the Iraqi police and Iraqi Army, according to other reports.

The 278th soldiers involved in the episode have completed sworn affidavits through the regiment’s legal office, Lt. Col. Hart said.

On Friday, five days after the incident, the 278 th soldiers said they still are in shock at what happened but thankful that no one was hurt.

"Everybody kept their heads and didn’t start shooting back," Spc. French said. "It could have gotten rough."

Cpl. Dixon said he felt helpless when soldiers from his own country fired at him, and he said he did not return fire because the convoy escorting ballots had tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles, which could have quickly escalated the incident with deadly results.

Sgt. Michael Weeden, 32, of Athens, Tenn., the gunner on the second Humvee in Lt. Col. Hart’s convoy, said soldiers are taught to have 100 percent positive identification on a target before squeezing the trigger.

"That takes seconds to do," he said. "If we had fired, we would have been no better than the people who fired on us. Once you pull the trigger, you can’t take the bullets back."

The members of Lt. Col. Hart’s personal security detachment said they are upset the officers involved did not have enough military discipline to refrain from firing and that the officers involved showed little remorse when challenged about the shooting once back inside Camp Caldwell.

"No one came to us to say, ‘We are sorry,’" Cpl. Dixon said. "They didn’t want to give us any names, and they were all quiet about it. I find it strange that so few people know who they are."

E-mail Lee Pitts at lpitts@timesfreepress.com

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