Air Force will not court martial U.S. pilots for friendly-fire deaths

19 June 2003

By Harry Levins

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

(KRT) - ST. LOUIS - The Air Force will spare Harry Schmidt and a fellow pilot in the Illinois Air National Guard from courts-martial for the friendly-fire bombing of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan last year.

At an Article 15 session, a commanding officer serves as both judge and jury and typically finds the defendant guilty. The maximum punishment is limited - loss of a month's pay (deducted over two months) and confinement to quarters for 30 days.