April 30, 2016
The minutes leading up to the U.S. bombing of a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan, were filled with hesitation and uncertainty, according to a U.S. Central Command report released Friday.
As the pilots and crew in command of the AC-130 gunship flew toward their intended target Oct. 3, a Taliban command center some 400 yards from the civilian hospital, they did not fully understand the orders they had received, according to conversations between crew members and ground forces described in the report.
The crew took off without "any printed current operational graphics showing the planned operating area," the report said. And due to communication malfunction, they could not receive any additional information into "the AC-130 guidance systems containing the proper data for the Kunduz area."
After the crew returned from a second refueling in the area, the navigator, not identified in the report, established radio communication with the primary joint terminal attack controller for the forces on the ground. The JTAC provided the general location of interest for the aircraft. But, as the sensor operator noted, that location turned out to be "the middle of this field with a bunch of small buildings" on it.
The conversation aboard the aircraft shows they continued to have difficulty locating the target.
The sensor operator, also known as "TV," pointed out one possibility.
"Well, unless the grids are off, this is the only large complex in the area; they have busses [sic] on the west side," he said.
Navigator: How far off is that larger complex from the grids?
Sensor operator: About 300 meters.
Navigator: 300 meters southwest?
Sensor operator: Affirm.
Navigator: Copy.
Fire control officer: TV, I'm just going to update that off of you, since that's most likely what it is, so if you can just track there.
The compound they had identified was actually the Doctors Without Borders Trauma Center.
The crew was advised their intended target, the headquarters of the National Directorate of Security, was under Taliban control and that "nine personnel were observed as hostile." The mission objective was to clear the compound of insurgents.
Some minutes later, the sensor operator once again questioned the location they had identified. He provided the crew with a new target, the NDS facility.
The navigator only answered, "Copy," while continuing to focus on the hospital location. The pilot did not answer.
The sensor operator again reassessed the location and "clearly stated to the crew that the grid position placed his sensor directly on top of a different compound (the NDS facility) not the open field or hospital," the report said.
The report notes the navigator did not pass on the sensor operator's information, but instead asked for a description of the target. Someone answered:
"GFC [ground forces command] says there is an outer perimeter wall, with multiple buildings inside of it. [break]. Also, on the main gate, I don't know if you're going to be able to pick this up, but it's also an arch-shaped gate. How copy?"
The crew, upon looking more closely, discussed among themselves which compound better matched the description they had of the target.
More inconsistencies arose as the crew began to gear up the aircraft for a strike. Six minutes before the crew opened fire, the navigator was told by an unnamed authority to "do a PAX cocktail," which he did not understand. The ensuing conversation revealed the crew was still foggy on the location of the target:
Navigator: PAX cocktail?
Unknown: I assume he's referring to MAMs; get confirmation and as well, while you're at it, get a building that he actually wants to strike, confirm that it's a T-shaped building in the center of the compound.
Navigator: Copy.
It was eventually verified the AC-130 should strike a "T-shaped building."
Still, within two minutes of engaging the target, the pilot once again asked for confirmation:
Pilot: Hey confirm that we are cleared on people in this compound and not just [redacted] this building.
It was confirmed.
At approximately 2:08 a.m, the AC-130 gunship — an aircraft armed with side-firing cannons and guns — fired the first rounds at the compound, which tore into the roof of the trauma center — the T-shaped building.
The attack did not end until about 2:37 a.m., after several frantic calls from doctors at the hospital.
A total of 211 rounds had been fired into the compound, according to the report, killing 42 people.
No criminal charges have been leveled against U.S. military personnel for the mistakes, U.S. Gen. Joseph Votel, the new head of U.S. Central Command, told reporters on Friday. Votel said that the trauma center was on a no-strike list but that the gunship crew didn't have access to the list.
Votel did not discuss Air Force operational procedures in regards to the attack. He said the crew's names would not be publicly identified.
About 16 U.S. military personnel, including a two-star general, have been disciplined for mistakes that led to the bombing, the Associated Press reported Thursday.
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