Mistakes Happen, And Our Soldiers Die

HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah — An F-15E Strike Eagle deployed from the 492nd Fighter Squadron, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England, releases a GBU-28 "Bunker Buster" laser-guided bomb. The 492nd deployed here for the Air-to-Ground Weapons System Evaluation Program mission commonly known as Combat Hammer. The GBU-28 was designed and first used during the Persian Gulf War in 1991 to destroy hardened targets such as bunkers and underground command centers. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Michael)

Sergeant Called In F15 Crew To Bomb His Own Soldiers By Mistake -- Times Online

A soldier who called in an airstrike that killed three of his comrades admitted yesterday that he confirmed the wrong map co-ordinates to the crew of a US fighter bomber.

Sergeant Mark Perren told an inquest that the noise and confusion of battle led him to mistakenly confirm the location of his own troops, and not that of the enemy.

The inquest has heard that three privates in the Royal Anglian Regiment, Aaron McClure, 19, Robert Foster, 19, and John Thrumble, 21, were killed when a 500lb bomb dropped by the US F15 landed 500m short of its target in Afghanistan in August 2007. The men were part of a patrol that had come under heavy fire from Taleban forces in the village of Mazdurak in Helmand.

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My Comment: Blue on blue friendly fire happens .... and when it does casualties are usually a consequence of such an event. Our prayers are for the families and their love ones.