IRAQ CRASH KILLED KEY U.S. OFFICERS

January 28th, 2007

In the wake of U.S. Soldiers Killed by English Speaking “Insurgents” Who Were Armed with American Made Weapons and Driving Black SUVs, I decided to take a closer look at other recent U.S. military deaths in Iraq.

What I found was astonishing.

I didn’t know a helicopter could carry so much brass. Among the dead in this single incident were:

Two colonels – Including the top U.S. Army surgeon in Iraq
One lieutenant colonel
One major
One captain

What the hell is going on over there? Isn’t there some standard operating procedure that would prevent so many officers from flying in a single helicopter over a combat zone?

The full text of this AP story follows.

Via: Los Angeles Times/AP:

Iraq crash killed key U.S. officers
The copter went down last weekend. A missile strike is suspected.
From the Associated Press
January 26, 2007

BAGHDAD — Two colonels, a lieutenant colonel and two command sergeants major were among the 12 U.S. soldiers killed last weekend in the crash of a Black Hawk helicopter northeast of Baghdad, the Pentagon said.

It appeared to be the largest number of key officers and command sergeants killed in a single incident since the Iraq war started nearly four years ago.

The helicopter went down Saturday in Diyala province, one of the volatile regions in the Iraq conflict.

The Army has said the cause of the crash is under investigation. But a Pentagon official has said debris indicates the helicopter was hit by a surface-to-air missile.

Ten of the dead were members of the National Guard, making the crash the deadliest single combat incident for the Guard since at least the Korean War, said Mark Allen, a National Guard Bureau spokesman.

A Pentagon statement Wednesday said the victims included Col. Brian D. Allgood, 46, the top Army surgeon in Iraq, and Col. Paul M. Kelly, 45, assigned to the Joint Force Headquarters of the Virginia Army National Guard in Blackstone, Va.

Also killed were Command Sgt. Maj. Marilyn L. Gabbard, assigned to the Iowa National Guard, and Command Sgt. Maj. Roger W. Haller of the Maryland National Guard.

Command sergeant major is one of the Army’s highest enlisted ranks.

The other victims were Lt. Col. David C. Canegata of the Virgin Islands National Guard; Maj. Michael V. Taylor of the Arkansas National Guard; Capt. Sean E. Lyerly of the Texas National Guard; 1st Sgt. William T. Warren of the Arkansas National Guard; Staff Sgt. Darryl D. Booker of the Virginia National Guard; Sgt. 1st Class John Brown of the Arkansas National Guard; Staff Sgt. Floyd E. Lake of the Virgin Islands National Guard; and Cpl. Victor Langarica of the 86th Signal Battalion, Ft. Huachuca, Ariz.

4 Responses to “IRAQ CRASH KILLED KEY U.S. OFFICERS”

  1. davin weston says:

    So i guess the obvious question this information begets is: did whoever fire the missle know that such a wealth of targets was aboard, or was this a lucky strike… if they did know which chopper to specifically target, how could such information be attained (in theory)?

  2. fallout11 says:

    From an insurgent standpoint, this was either an incredible piece of luck/coincidence, or a brilliant intelligence coup followed through with a precision strike. Our own (US) military will often attempt surgical strikes to decapitate enemy C3 (command, communications, and control). That’s just what happened here.

    When faced with an insurgency using guerrilla tactics, taking out four field grade officers with a single shot is a victory of epic proportions.
    Besides the brass (officers), the command sergeant majors (CSM’s) are a major loss. CSM’s really run the army at the brigade level. This could indicate infiltration into the Green Zone of untold proportions.

    The US military indicates it is investigating the event. Two questions must be answered:
    1. Why were so many high value targets placed on a single helicopter flight?
    2. Who knew so many high value targets would be on this flight, especially who within the Iraqi government and military?

  3. Anonymous says:

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  4. Thirtyseven says:

    …and this is EXACTLY why digging through your archives is so rewarding. I missed this completely, 10,000 thanks for the heads-up.

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