Should the pilot who killed the Brit solider come out and apologize?

Question

He hasnt even got the guts to say sorry to the soldiers wife.

If the american military has cleared him of any wrong doing, then what has he got to be afraid of?

At least an apology might go someway towards helping the situation. But oh no .... too gutless to come forward. People go on about how brave the men in the military are. Brave is coming forward to face the woman you have just widowed. The pilot makes me sick. Be a man for once .........

Answer 1

I feel awful about this. To die in battle is horrifying, to die by friendly fire, how tragic.

I'm sure that the soldier feels terrible. It may be that his commanding officers are not allowing any contact with the family at this point.

The United States military needs to made restitution to this grief stricken family, and also needs to review protocols to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.

I don't believe the soldier is being insensitive, I can't imagine what he could possibly say to the widow that could make her grief and loss any less painful.

We have had American soldiers lost by friendly fire as well. It is always a national tragedy. My condolences to the U.K. as well as the family of the dead soldier.

Answer 2

Clearly you know NOTHING of military practice. A jet fighter's job is to target and hit military targets like strategically important buildings, bridges, and power stations. Orders for a jet fighter pilot to shoot to ground do NOT come from the pilot but from controllers in a place far away from the scene of the battle who co-ordinate his movements in the air. This has always been a problem throughout all the history of air warfare. Steps are being taken to identify targets better but, so far, this is the only system that works. Because, without these controllers, the pilot would have no way of identifying his target from a height of 20,000 feet.

As for the death of the British soldier by so-called 'friendly fire', yes, it is a tragedy. No doubt about that. But, in war, people die. The real question is, how much longer can lives go on being lost in a war that appears to have no end in sight? Dedicate your energies to the answer to that and you will be a part of the solution, not a complainer about the problem.

Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFdJ4X_wWj0

Answer 3

It would be nice if he did, but the pilot bears only a portion of the blame here, and he may be afraid that any admission of guilt would be detrimental to his future. He may also have been ordered not to issue any comments on the ongoing case, in fact, that's highly likely.

All modern forces rely on several layers of battlefield management. In this case, the person on the ground providing guidance to the pilots told them the area was clear of friendly forces (so they were free to engage anything that looked like a target).

At 1337 UTC, they are cleared to attack by the statement that there are no friendlies in the area. Seven minutes later, at 1344 UTC, they are warned by a different station (possibly using a different source of information) that there ARE friendlies in the area, but this is after the attack, it's too late. That's when you start hearing the pilot statements of remorse and fear that have received such a large amount of coverage in the media.

I'm sure the pilot and everyone involved is indeed very sorry, sick about it. No sane person wants to kill innocent people, friends, fellow soldiers. I don't know, and you don't know, where all the blame lies for this situation. I for one am very sorry this happened, and for the thousands of times friendly fire has accidentally killed compatriots.

I looked over the transcript from The Sun (see link). Portions of that are reproduced below.

1337.21 MANILA HOTEL:
That is an affirm. You are well clear of friendlies.
...
1339.09 POPOV36:
They’ve got something orange on top of them.

1339.10 POPOV35:
POPOV for MANILA 3, is MANILA 34 in this area?

1339.14 MANILA HOTEL:
Say again?

1339.15 POPOV35:
MANILA HOTEL, is MANILA 34 in this area?

1339.19 MANILA HOTEL:
Negative. Understand they are well clear of that now.

1339.23 POPOV35:
OK, copy. Like I said, multiple riveted vehicles. They look like flatbed trucks. Are those your targets?

1339.30 MANILA HOTEL:
That’s affirm.

1339.31 POPOV35:
OK.
...

1343.54 LIGHTNING 34:
POPOV 34, LIGHTNING 34.

1344.09 POPOV35:
POPOV 35, LIGHTNING 34 GO.

1344.12 LIGHTNING 34:
Roger, POPOV. Be advised that in the 3122 and 3222 group box you have friendly armour in the area. Yellow, small armoured tanks. Just be advised.

1344.16 POPOV35:
Ahh s***.

1344.19 P0POV35:
Got a — got a smoke.

1344.21 LIGHTNING 34:
Hey, POPOV34, abort your mission. You got a, looks we might have a blue on blue situation.

Answer 4

You're an ***.
Why don't you be a man and join the military.
I'll assume you have been in a few combat situations and understand how things work in those situations. Sorry, for a second i thought you were a man. Why should he apologize? Do we apologize to enemies families, no, so why should he? If he wants to, he can do it in person, not on television for all to see and scrutinize, its a personal thing.
again, you're an ***.

Answer 5

If you listen to the tape you will hear the remorse the pilot's express. After they realized what they have done they genuinely felt bad. I think the military would prevent them from actually apologizing to the family, but I think if given the chance they would.

Answer 6

Been in many combat situations have you? I doubt it. Things happen. It is war. Soldiers die. Youmake me sick with your moaning and groaning. Be a man, join up, fight and then tell us how brave men do things. Wait, the mother's milk is dripping off of your little chin.

Answer 7

I dont think so, what he did is an honest mistake and he already explained to the higher up of the Armed Forces. Its his commanding officer or George W. Bush should apologize or the whole US government because they are the one who initiated the war.

Answer 8

Your inability to learn facts before you spew your uneducated rants bewilders me. Some on here felt the need to explain how things ACTUALLY work in a war, so I won't go there. I just needed to state how amazing it is that you haven't at least ACCIDENTALLY learned a fact or two on here yet.

Answer 9

My husband is in Iraq and if he were to be killed by friendly fire, I would be devastated. After worrying the whole time of him getting killed by the enemy only to be killed by an ally...

It was an accident though.

Answer 10

No, our military is the one that needs to apologize. The pilot was following protocol. Obviously there is something wrong with protocol.