Friendly Fire: The Untold Story of the U.S. Bombing that Killed Four Canadian Soldiers in Afghanistan (Paperback)

~ Mike Friscolanti (Author)
Key Phrases: mission planning cell, close air support, accident investigation board, Air Force, Tarnak Farm, Harry Schmidt (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The text below is an excerpt from Friendly Fire. it is the early morning of April 18, 2002, following the mayhem of a bomb attack on a section of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, outside Kandahar, Afghanistan. the Edmonton-based soldiers were conducting a live-fire training exercise at a former al-Qaeda compound when a U.S. fighter pilot mistook them for the enemy.

At Tarnak Farm, A Company begins to board the trucks that will take them back to camp. Out of habit , Lt. Luft conducts a roll call of his platoon. 1 Section. Here. 2 Section. here 3 Section. Alastair stops himself. there is no 3 section. Except for Cpl. Chris Oliver, the troops are either dead or in the medical tent.

The guys left behind watch the trucks drive away. For nearly two hours, everyone has been operating on instinct, on training. but now, all the noise, all the adrenaline, are gone. It's suddenly real. Four men are dead. Outside the ambulance, Wilson and Speirs are chain-smoking Korea 88s, replaying the chaos and confusion of those first few minutes. could we have been faster? Did we save everyone who could be saved? there will always be doubts...

By now, there is little doubt about what happened. Some of the guys heard the jet. Some even saw it. They don't know the details yet. Nobody really does. but the Taliban doesn't have any F-16s. that was a U.S. bomb.

" How could this happen to us? Sgt. Favasoli asks Cpl. Filis. how could this happen to coalition forces?"

From the Back Cover

Tarnak Farm, near Kandahar, Afghanistan, pre-dawn, April 18, 2002

Two American F-16 pilots returning to their base after an uneventful support mission suddenly notice flashes of light from the ground. They have no idea that what they are seeing in the darkness is a company of Canadian paratroopers conducting a live-fire exercise. Convinced that his flight lead is under attack, Major Harry Schmidt unleashes a 500-pound laser-guided bomb. It is deadly accurate. The explosion kills four Edmonton-based paratroopers and seriously injures eight others. Moments after dropping the bomb, Major Schmidt calls over the cockpit radio to his flight lead. "I hope that was the right thing to do," he says. "Me too," Major Bill Umbach replies.

Based on years of investigative research, thousands of pages of classified documents and dozens of exclusive interviews—including conversations with Harry Schmidt and Bill Umbach—this book dramatically recreates (with cockpit imaging) the tragic event and its shock-wave aftermath: the Canadian families left bereft and heartbroken; the pilots’ supporters who rallied behind them; the high-profile military trials and the controversial outcome. Was justice done? No matter what you conclude, the pain of unnecessary death in a theater of war will never subside.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 604 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (September 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047083918X
• ISBN-13: 978-0470839188
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
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• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #841,065 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)