Combat, or a Crime?
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...049,full.storyFour seconds in Afghanistan: Was it combat, or a crime?
A seasoned Army sergeant makes a split-second decision to stop a possible bombing. Now he's stunned to be charged with negligent homicide.
Sgt. 1st Class Walter Taylor's life collapsed in four interminable seconds in a dusty field in central Afghanistan.
His convoy was reeling from a roadside bomb, his fellow soldiers were engaged in combat with insurgents — and a mysterious black car had just screeched to a stop in the middle of the firefight. Some nine minutes later, a black door opens.
Second 1: A figure dressed in dark, bulky clothing emerges.
Second 2: The figure begins walking toward the trunk.
Second 3: Taylor, with five wounded comrades behind him, sees a thin trigger wire seeming to snake directly toward the black car. Could there be a second bomb in the trunk?
Second 4: Taylor squeezes the trigger on his M-4 carbine. The figure crumples to the dirt.
The figure was not an insurgent, but Dr. Aqilah Hikmat, a 49-year-old mother of four who headed the obstetrics department at the nearby Ghazni provincial hospital. Also dead inside the car were Hikmat's 18-year-old son and her 16-year-old niece. Hikmat's husband, in the front seat, was wounded.
Army prosecutors say Hikmat's killing in July 2011 was not just a casualty of combat, but a crime. Charged with negligent homicide and dereliction of duty, Taylor will face a hearing June 19 before a U.S. military judge in Germany to determine whether the case goes to a full court-martial, with the possibility of three years in prison.
This a crap. Soldiers on the ground should not have to worry about being prosecuted for the things they must do to protect themselves during a firefight (within reason, obviously). I have no idea why this guy is being thrown under the bus.
What we can ask, is that justice prevails. That the facts are fully covered and the judgement is based on those facts. In the past news the media had not done a good job in reporting a event. Missing facts can alter this story to go in any other direction. If the article is a representation of what happened, I hope the Sergeant is exonerated.
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Was it with in reason? Maybe some sort of panel, consist of military officers that have detailed and first hand information could decide in some sort of formal meeting?Originally Posted by TehSuig
x2
Hopefully his actions will be formally substantiated.
http://www.indiegogo.com/support-sfc-taylor
ran across this last week.
Powerful....thank you
Nine minutes is a long time.Some nine minutes later, a black door opens.
I spent some time in Afghanistan, and the two times I've come closest to shooting people both involved American soldiers being knuckleheads.
I hope justice is served.
**** like this is just going to make soldiers hesitate and put their lives at risk. They need to be confident that their actions aren't going to come back and bite them. In this guys case I believe he did the right thing. If he saw a wire that gave him probable cause. The civilian should have identified herself if she wanted to help the wounded.
How would she have identified herself to the American soldiers? Getting out of her car and walking to the trunk nine minutes after contact doesn't really sound that aggressive to me. That said, I have little faith that our modern news media will report the truth.
Hard to say without actually being there, but instead of approaching the group she could have approached a single soldier (on perimeter for example) to explain herself. The wounded may have appeared as a potential target in the Sgt's eyes and he was doing his best to protect them.
and honestly the soldier isnt going to way up the pro's and con's of his actions if he has only seconds to act
What about him being on full auto?, he sprayed that car and killed practically everyone in it.
Is it our place to judge on whats reported by the news, we were not there, and until the military exam the evidence presented, to which we here have no access, then any comments are just speculation.
I will add, if the car was going to be used as a vehicle borne I.E.D. then why go to the bother of stopping and waking back to the trunk to detonate it?
Connaught Ranger.
You were there Pipeboy? for one thing Full Auto? aint an Option with the M-4 issued to regular troops. IF you bothered to READ the article he didnt spray the car, he shot 1 person. Others shot the car.
Decisions are made in the heat of battle, and those are decisions that he will live with forever. But to Courtmartial him for making a command decision is wrong. methinks he's being sacraficed by his powers. I hope that all goes well for him.
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