Possible Pred/Reaper Frat?

[Hacker]

http://www.freep.com/article/20110413/NEWS06/104130333/Michigan-dad-wants-answers-son-s-combat-death?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

The father of a Navy corpsman from west Michigan -- who was killed last week in what appears to be the first case of American troops killed by friendly missile fire from a drone aircraft -- said he needs to know how his son died.

"I'm proud of Ben, extremely proud," Robert Rast said Tuesday. "But I have no official answers. Nothing."

Seaman Benjamin Rast, 23, of Niles was killed last week while coming to the aid of another unit. Rast was deployed to Afghanistan with the 1/23rd Reserve Marines, the Houston-based Lone Star Battalion.

According to reports from the area, another Marine unit from Patrol Base Alcatraz in Helmand Province became locked in a firefight with insurgents, and Rast's unit was dispatched as backup.

Robert Rast of South Bend, Ind., said he was unofficially told that his son and Staff Sgt. Jeremy D. Smith of Arlington, Texas, were killed by a Hellfire missile from a remote-controlled drone aircraft.

"I saw him at Christmas, and we talked about enemy fire," Rast recalled, but added that he's now tormented by the thought of his son possibly dying from American action.

The Associated Press, citing two unnamed senior U.S. defense officials, reported Tuesday that there is an investigation under way and that the men may have been mistaken for enemy insurgents.

Officials said this is the first case they know of in which a drone may have been involved in a friendly fire incident in which U.S. troops were killed, and they are trying to determine how it happened, according to the AP.

Last week, the International Security Assistance Force posted a statement that "a formal investigation will determine the circumstances that led to the incident."

Military officials in Afghanistan did not respond to e-mail questions Tuesday.

Rast said he will continue pushing for answers.

"I've requested all the after-action reports, any investigations and any videos and photographs," he said.

"I want to know who gave the order to fire and who pushed the 'enter' button," Rast said. "I think I'm entitled to that."

Benjamin Rast graduated for Brandywine High School and Lake Michigan College. A football and baseball player in school, Rast played with the Indiana Titans, a semipro football team.

Despite playing south of the state line, "Ben was pure Michigan," his father said.

Benjamin Rast enlisted in the Navy in 2009 and went to Field Medical Service School at Camp Pendleton, Calif., before reporting to the Marines.

His remains are expected to be returned home today with visitation 4-8 p.m. Friday in Niles at the Brandywine High School gym. A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, again at the school gym.

"Everyone is invited," his father said. "We're proud of Ben."

Interment will be at Fairview Cemetery in Mishawaka, Ind.

Contact Joe Swickard: 313-222-8769 or jswickard@freepress.com

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5guMfinZBAN37m9ioE9ubA4hlljqQ?docId=91916fa7c8ec4cbfb1177ab12856bc05

Sources: Predator drone may have killed US troops

(AP) – 21 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The military is investigating what appears to be the first case of American troops killed by a missile fired from a U.S. drone.

The investigation is looking into the deaths of a Marine and a Navy medic killed by a Hellfire missile fired from a Predator after they apparently were mistaken for insurgents in southern Afghanistan last week, two senior U.S. defense officials said Tuesday. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Unmanned aircraft have proven to be powerful weapons in Afghanistan and Iraq and their use have expanded to new areas and operations each year of those conflicts. Some drones are used for surveillance and some, such as the drone in this case, are armed and have been used to hunt and kill militants.

Officials said this is the first case they know of in which a drone may have been involved in a friendly fire incident in which U.S. troops were killed, and they are trying to determine how it happened.

Marine Staff Sgt. Jeremy Smith of Arlington, Tex., and Seaman Benjamin D. Rast of Niles, Mich., were hit while moving toward other Marines who were under fire in Helmand province.

Military officials in Afghanistan declined to provide any details, saying only that it was a friendly fire incident. "A formal investigation will determine the circumstances that led to the incident," the International Security Assistance Force said in a statement last week.

But reports from the field indicate that the Marines who were under attack mistook Smith and Rast for militants heading their way and called in a strike from a U.S. Air Force Predator, one official said.

Smith, 26, and Rast, 23, were with the 1st Battalion, 23rd Marine Regiment, a reserve unit in Houston.

Smith's father, Jerry, said he didn't want to place blame for what happened.

"Whoever that young man or woman was, they didn't send that drone over there to kill my son or Doc Rast," Jerry Smith told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "If it was a royal screw up, it was a royal screw up. Make corrections because I don't want another family to have to go through this."

He said "trying to put a bigger burden on that person who fired the missile is not something I would do."

"I guarantee you if he was standing in front of me, he'd be asking for forgiveness, and I would give it to him," Jerry Smith said.

The Marines have been in a fierce fight in the south, battling insurgents in key Taliban sanctuaries such as Sangin, a militant stronghold.

Currently, Air Force Predators and Reapers, the high-flying hunter-killer drones, are logging 48 of the 24-hour air patrols a day, moving toward a goal of 65 in 2013. The aircraft are prized for their intelligence gathering proficiency and ability to pinpoint targets, reducing the risk to U.S. pilots and other personnel.

Under pressure from Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the Air Force has dramatically increased the number of armed and unarmed drones in the war zones over the past three years.

Other military services have their own drones, ranging from the Army's smaller shoulder-launched Ravens to the sophisticated, high-altitude Global Hawks, which are used for surveillance missions and do not carry weapons.

The military's use of armed drones in Afghanistan has become a flashpoint for Afghan anger over civilian deaths in the nearly 10-year-old war.

Drones are an even more contentious weapon in Pakistan, where they are largely operated by the CIA to strike insurgents hiding along the border. Pakistan tacitly allows the drone strikes within limited areas but denies in public that it permits the Americans such leeway.

The Pentagon plans to add another $2.6 billion in drone targeting and surveillance equipment for the Afghan campaign this year, according to a senior intelligence official in Afghanistan. The boost is an acknowledgement of the new focus on intelligence, for a mission that previously was last in line for assets and personnel after the war in Iraq, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss matters of intelligence.

— AP Intelligence Writer Kimberly Dozier contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[Guest Winning]

i can't imagine the guilt you must feel as an operator if the basic premise of that story is true...tough situation for all involved

[Standby]

"I guarantee you if he was standing in front of me, he'd be asking for forgiveness, and I would give it to him."

Holy shit, I can only hope to be half the man this guy is given the situation. What a serious warrior the father is. RIP for the fallen.

[Hacker]

What a serious warrior the father is.

While I certainly understand his grief, anger, and desire to understand what happened, I have to shake my head at his ideas on how he is going to do that, e.g.:

"I want to know who gave the order to fire and who pushed the 'enter' button," Rast said. "I think I'm entitled to that."

No, I don't think you're 'entitled' to that, sir, and knowing that information won't add to your understanding, other than to give you a person's name to direct your rage.

The military can do a far better job of analyzing the error chain and helping prevent it from reoccurring than you can. Trust that they will.

[Standby]

While I certainly understand his grief, anger, and desire to understand what happened, I have to shake my head at his ideas on how he is going to do that, e.g.:

No, I don't think you're 'entitled' to that, sir, and knowing that information won't add to your understanding, other than to give you a person's name to direct your rage.

The military can do a far better job of analyzing the error chain and helping prevent it from reoccurring than you can. Trust that they will.

My comment was in reference to Smith's father, but I understand what you are saying.

[nunya]

No, I don't think you're 'entitled' to that, sir, and knowing that information won't add to your understanding, other than to give you a person's name to direct your rage.

2. I read this story yesterday and then turned to my wife and told her, "If I'm ever KIA/MIA or otherwise making headline news, lock the door and don't talk to the media. Nothing good can come from you talking to them." Hopefully she never has to make that decision.

to the Corpsman.

Edited April 14, 2011 by nunya

[Smokin]

The media got to Mr Rast only a week after he was told his son was killed; needless to say his emotions were surely running high. Hopefully, given time, Mr Rast will see things the way Mr Smith apparently does. Also, the articles are have very different tones, so who knows what else Mr Rast said that was not published. Those few comments may have been cherry-picked from an hour long interview to give the story the reporter wanted to tell.

Either way, they died while running towards the sound of gunfire to help their fellow soldiers. Their families should be proud.

[Guest]

...lock the door and don't talk to the media. Nothing good can come from you talking to them."

[MD]

"I guarantee you if he was standing in front of me, he'd be asking for forgiveness, and I would give it to him."

Holy shit, I can only hope to be half the man this guy is given the situation. What a serious warrior the father is. RIP for the fallen.

Reminds me of the father/husband who lost his whole family following the F/A-18 that crashed into his house in San Diego while heading back to MCAS Miramar. That guy's understanding and compassion was amazing, considering everything he'd lost as a result of that accident.

[PapaJu]

Reminds me of the father/husband who lost his whole family following the F/A-18 that crashed into his house in San Diego while heading back to MCAS Miramar. That guy's understanding and compassion was amazing, considering everything he'd lost as a result of that accident.

I remember that as well. His neighbors on the other hand...

Regardless, to the two fallen.