Army commander offers testimony
Army commander offers testimony
Colonel says he was unaware of Marines’ March 4 mission
JENNIFER HLAD
January 24, 2008 - 8:20AM
DAILY NEWS STAFF
Marine Special Operations Fox Company repeatedly failed to coordinate their missions with the Army commander in the area, who was unaware the unit was even out on a mission the day their convoy was attacked by a suicide bomber, the commander testified Wednesday in a court of inquiry.
Col. John Nicholson testified via a video teleconference from the Pentagon in a court of inquiry into the actions of MSOCF on March 4, 2007.
Nicholson was the commander of Task Force Spartan and the Army’s 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, at the time, which means he was in charge of all non-special operations American forces in Afghanistan’s eastern region.
The court of inquiry is an administrative fact-finding process, not a criminal proceeding. The three-member panel is charged with examining the actions and circumstances surrounding the events then offering recommendations.
Maj. Fred Galvin and Capt. Vincent Noble are designated in the inquiry. Galvin was the MSOC-F company commander and Noble the platoon commander at the time.
The Marines say they were traveling in a six-vehicle convoy on the region’s only paved highway when a vehicle-borne suicide bomb exploded in front of the second Humvee. Then, Marines say, enemies fired at the convoy and the Marines returned fire. A few hundred feet down the road, they say they were attacked again.
But Army officials and Afghan witnesses have said the Marines fired indiscriminately over an extended area of roadway and killed numerous civilians.
Wednesday, Nicholson explained that he did not have command authority over MSOC-F, but he was in charge of the region they were operating in and had specifically asked Galvin to coordinate the unit’s operations through him.
Shortly after MSOC-F arrived in Afghanistan and Nicholson met with Galvin, Nicholson learned the unit was conducting operations outside of their assigned area.
“Frankly, it caught me by surprise,” he said.
Though Nicholson said MSOC-F was asked to focus on their area, Galvin had asked about conducting operations in other areas as well, Nicholson said. He told Galvin about one area where the unit’s reconnaissance capabilities might be needed, he said — but “it was not a blank check to conduct operations outside (their area) anywhere they wanted to.”
He asked the Marines why they were operating outside of their area, and they “expressed interest in a target” that Nich- olson described as “a very lowlevel individual.”
But, Nicholson said, there were other units that were supposed to work targets. MSOC-F was supposed to focus on reconnaissance — specifically in the Nangahar province, where Osama Bin Laden was last seen and poppy production is still heavy.
On March 4, Nicholson said he was again surprised to learn MSOC-F was conducting an operation he knew nothing about. He said he was in Jalalabad when he heard there was a suicide bomb attack and possible small arms fire — but at first did not even know which unit was involved.
Almost immediately after the attack, reports of civilian casualties began coming in, he said. He was alarmed at the number of casualty claims, which he said were the highest from ground actions he saw in his 16 months in Afghanistan.
Still, he said it was difficult to truly determine how many people were injured or killed, partly because the Marines left the area after the incident.
The Army standard procedure was to stay on the scene, treat civilian casualties, find out what happened and then hand the scene off to Afghan officials.
“We would stay and remain in possession of the battlefield,” Nicholson said.
Because of the civilian casualties, the Shinwari tribe — the main tribe living in that area — asked the Afghan president to help stop all operations in that area, Nicholson said.
Unlike in Iraq, where insurgents routinely operate in urban areas, the Afghan insurgency operates mainly in sparsely populated areas, Nicholson said.
Part of the reason is that civilian deaths are very significant in Afghanistan, and the Taliban has lost support after causing civilian deaths.
In the culture of the area, when someone is killed, “their honor is stripped of them,” Nicholson said. For honor to be restored, there must be some sort of condolence payment or justice, he said.
“There is a very high level of sensitivity to civilian casualties,” he said.
In May, American service members organized a ceremony to give condolence payments to people who claimed they suffered injury, damage or loss of a family member on March 4.
Nicholson spoke at that ceremony, and later read part of his comments in a press conference.
Addressing the Afghans at the May ceremony, he called the incident a “terrible, terrible mistake,” according to a Department of Defense transcript.
“I stand before you today, deeply, deeply ashamed and terribly sorry that Americans have killed and wounded innocent Afghan people,” he said. “The death and wounding of innocent Afghans at the hand of Americans is a stain on our honor.”
Nicholson did not address those comments in the open session of testimony.
The court of inquiry continues today.
Contact staff writer Jennifer Hlad at jhlad@freedomenc.com or 353-1171, ext. 8467.
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