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Report finds communication issues to blame for June friendly fire deaths in Afghanistan
http://www.fayobserver.com/news/local/report-finds-communication-issues-to-blame-for-june-friendly-fire/article_2a57ed70-1c93-55d8-b448-6b4fa9e1bd55.htmlReport finds communication issues to blame for June friendly fire deaths in Afghanistan
By Drew Brooks Military editor
Posted: Thursday, September 4, 2014 11:12 pm | Updated: 7:13 am, Fri Sep 5, 2014.
A friendly fire incident that killed a Fort Bragg soldier and four other U.S. troops in June was caused by miscommunication, according to a report released by U.S. Central Command on Thursday.
According to the redacted investigation report, soldiers on the ground in Zabul province, Afghanistan, had repeated problems communicating with an Air Force B-1 bomber that was providing air support for a joint operation between U.S. and Afghan forces.
The B-1 mistakenly dropped two bombs on a friendly position held by five U.S. soldiers and one Afghan special operations soldier.
Spc. Justin R. Helton, 25, of Beaver, Ohio, was killed in the blast.