Seeks 'Fair Treatment' In Friendly Fire Case
The American fighter
pilot caught up in a tragic case of friendly fire is getting some
much-needed support from Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.
The Governor is asking federal officials to ensure fair
treatment of the Illinois fighter pilot Maj. Harry Schmidt charged
in the deaths of four Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan. Blagojevich
also wants permission for one of his staff members to attend the
pilot's court-martial.
The governor's request, made in a letter sent Sunday to Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, came after Blagojevich met Maj.
Schmidt's wife, Lisa, last month. "I respectfully urge you and the
air force commanders pursuing this matter to ensure that Major
Schmidt is treated impartially and compassionately," the letter
reads. Lisa Schmidt said she and her husband feel the letter will
help him get a fair trial.
Schmidt faces a charge of dereliction of duty for mistakenly
dropping a bomb on a squad of Canadian troops in April 2002.
Schmidt has said he thought the Canadians' live-training exercise
was hostile fire aimed at him and another fighter pilot from the
Illinois Air National Guard's 183rd Fighter Wing, based in
Springfield.
Blagojevich "is the first person who has opted to listen in a
year and a half and we just respect him so much for that," Lisa
Schmidt said. "He is just not standing by, he is stepping in to
provide the check and balance that he is able to do as a
politician."
Maj. Schmidt's lawyer has complained that because he has been
denied the security clearance needed to discuss certain details of
the bombing mission, his client's defense has been hampered. Lisa
Schmidt said she has been banned from court proceedings even when
they do not involve classified information.
A Department of Defence
spokeswoman declined to comment on the letter, saying Rumsfeld was
out of the country. Officials at the Barksdale Air Force Base in
Louisiana, where the trial will be held, did not return calls
seeking comment.
Blagojevich thought Lisa Schmidt "had very compelling reasons
for him to get involved," spokeswoman Angelynne Amores said. "He
decided that sending someone down there to the court proceedings
was within our realm to do."
Maj. Schmidt's court-martial is scheduled to begin April 5. He
faces up to six months in prison if convicted. He and fellow
Illinois Air National Guard pilot Maj. William Umbach, the mission
commander, originally were charged with manslaughter and aggravated
assault. Military officials then recommended that the charges be
dismissed and that Schmidt face possible administrative punishment
instead.
Schmidt turned down the offer, and was ordered to be tried on
the lesser charge of dereliction of duty. Umbach, a commercial
airline pilot from Petersburg, was given a letter of reprimand and
allowed to retire.
If convicted, Schmidt faces six months in prison.