THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, December 20, 1994 TAG: 9412200303
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
An Air Force captain in charge of AWACS controllers will face court-martial in connection with the April downing of two U.S. Army helicopters over Iraq, one of the military's worst cases of friendly fire.
But Capt. Jim Wang contended Monday that he was not derelict in his duty, saying, ``I acted in accordance with the training I received and with the tools I was provided.''
Charges against four other officers on the radar plane with Wang, including an officer based at Langley in Hampton, were dismissed, the Air Force said. Twenty-six people died in the shootdowns.
Lt. Gen. Stephen Croker, commander of the 8th Air Force, decided that Wang be referred for court-martial on three counts of dereliction of duty, the Air Force said in a statement.
If convicted, Wang could be imprisoned for several months and be dismissed from the service, Air Force officials have said.
In his own defense, Wang issued a statement saying, ``Failures that occurred were the result of systemic failures in the operation to which I was deployed.'' Operation Provide Comfort, he said, was ``tremendously flawed and destined for tragedy.''
``While the evidence will show that there was an absolute failure of command, it appears as if I am the only military member facing a court-martial,'' Wang said. ``Responsibility by those in charge has not, as would be expected, been acknowledged.''
No reason was given for Croker's decision to refer Wang for court-martial. Croker is the commander responsible for the Air Force's Airborne Warning and Control Systems aircraft.
The Army Black Hawk helicopters were shot down April 14 in the ``no-fly'' zone over northern Iraq by two Air Force F-15 fighters. The F-15 pilots believed the Black Hawks were Iraqi aircraft violating the restricted zone.
The AWACS officers were accused of: failing to warn the jet pilots that U.S. helicopters were in the zone, failing to ensure that the helicopters broadcast correct identification codes and failing to monitor the area properly. All five were accused of dereliction of duty.
The AWACS crews were part of a squadron from Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City.
The helicopters were carrying members of an international group that had been working with Kurds in northern Iraq since the end of the Persian Gulf War in 1991.
Killed were 15 U.S. citizens, military officers from Britain, France and Turkey, and five Kurdish workers employed by the United States.
Charges were dismissed against 1st Lt. Joseph Halcli, Maj. Douglas L. Martin, Maj. Lawrence Tracey and 2nd Lt. Ricky Wilson.
Martin had faced three counts of dereliction of duty. A veteran of 13 years in the Air Force, he was the ``airborne command element'' on board the AWACS plane assigned to track and control the U.S. aircraft in the Iraqi no-fly zone on the day of the incident.
One of the F-15 pilots, Capt. Eric Wickson, testified under a grant of immunity at a hearing for the AWACS officers. He was not charged.
The other pilot, Lt. Col. Randy May, based at Spangdahlhem, Germany, was charged with 26 counts of negligent homicide and dereliction of duty.
A military judge urged the dismissal of charges against May, but a final decision has not been announced.
May has apologized for the shooting but described it as the final link in a long chain of human error.
In a statement issued from Croker's office at Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier City, La., the Air Force said a military judge will be assigned to Wang's case and he will work out a trial date with defense and government attorneys.
The trial will be at Tinker Air Force Base, the statement said. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
U.S. Air Force Capt. James Wang faces a court-martial for last
April's downing of two Army helicopters in Iraq, which killed 26
people. Wang - who was in charge of the AWACS controllers on the
radar plane in the shootdown - said Monday that he was not derelict
in his duty. He said Operation Provide Comfort was ``tremendously
flawed and destined for tragedy.'' Charges against four other
officers, including his commander, were dismissed.
KEYWORDS: FRIENDLY-FIRE COURT-MARTIAL IRAQ FATALITIES by CNB