Four US Airmen Disciplined Over Afghanistan Friendly Fire Incident

Green Beret Leaders Were Cleared of Wrongdoing, However

Just over a week after it was revealed that SOCOM had cleared the Green Beret soldiers involved in the deadly June friendly fire attack on US forces in Afghanistan, it is revealed that lower-ranking airmen were indeed disciplined over the deaths.

Details are scant, and officials are refusing to say what the disciplinary actions were, citing the Privacy Act. It is noteworthy that they were disciplined at all, however, with SOCOM  so adamant that no wrongdoing occurred.

The June 9 incident killed five US soldiers and an Afghan. The Green Berets assumed that the B1-B bomber they were in would detect US troops on the ground, with their standard marking devices, but the plane was being flown far too high to pick them up, and the US troops were attacked instead.

Previous investigations found the incident was “completely avoidable” if the Green Berets had followed standard procedures, but they did not. The Green Berets, in turn, complained the airmen should’ve explained that to them at the time, and it seems that’s what got them punished.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.