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Ed Lavandera: Military hearing begins in formalities
BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, Louisiana (CNN) -- A military court hearing began Tuesday to decide whether two Illinois Air National Guard pilots should face a court-martial in the friendly fire deaths of four Canadian soldiers last April in Afghanistan. The pilots argue they believed at the time that their actions were in self-defense, saying they were not notified that Canadian troops were conducting exercises in the area. CNN Correspondent Ed Lavandera is covering the hearing and filed this report: LAVANDERA: Much of what has happened so far in today's hearing has been just formalities, preparations on all sides: the defendants in this case -- the two pilots -- and the government representatives who are putting together their case here. Maj. Harry Schmidt and Maj. William Umbach arrived this morning at a nondescript building here at Barksdale Air Force Base. The only people allowed in this room where this hearing is taking place are the investigating officer, who is essentially the judge in this case, the government representatives who -- for lack of a better term -- would best be described as prosecutors, and the pilots. News media and family members are kept outside the room. They are allowed to watch from another room on a TV monitor. That is because much of the information that is expected to be presented over the course of the next two weeks here at this hearing is classified information. As soon as testimony turns to a classified subject the cameras will be shut off and the hearing will continued behind closed doors. These two pilots each face charges of four counts of involuntary manslaughter, eight counts of aggravated assault and one count of dereliction of duty. If it is decided that the pilots go to court-martial and they are convicted they could face up to 64 years each in prison. Last April these two pilots were flying over Kandahar, Afghanistan, over an area they believed to be controlled by al Qaeda fighters. They observed ground fire coming from below and asked for permission from military planners to attack the source of the ground fire in self-defense. They were not granted permission at first. The ground fire continued and that's when they felt they needed to attack the source of the ground fire in self-defense. Umbach's wing man at the time, Maj. Schmidt, dropped a 500-pound bomb and unintentionally killed four Canadian soldiers who were conducting a live-fire training exercise at the time. It was at that time that the pilots were told that there were friendly forces in the area. The attack killed Canadian army Sgt. Marc Leger, Cpl. Ainsworth Dyer and privates Nathan Smith and Richard Green -- the first Canadian troops killed in combat since the Korean War. Another eight soldiers were wounded. Attorneys for the two pilots are expected to say that there was a communication breakdown that led to the tragedy. They also are expected to blame the incident -- at least in part -- on Air Force use of so-called "go-pills," Dexedrine given to pilots who fly long missions. The pilots were flying a 10-hour mission that night. The Air Force says the pills are given in small amounts and should not cause any problems. But the pilots say the drug is essentially speed and even the FDA says people under the influence of this drug should avoid operating heavy machinery. Those are just a couple of examples of the testimony we're expected to hear over the next two weeks of this hearing.
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