An Army investigation into a possible friendly fire incident
involving U.S. Army units in Ramadi, Iraq, was carried out under the
auspices of the commander of one of the tank brigades involved, Col.
Sean MacFarland. On Dec. 4, 2006, MacFarland was the commander of the
1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, which was in Ramadi supporting the
infantry. Just before 4:30 in the afternoon, one of MacFarland’s tanks
allegedly fired a shell into a position occupied by troops of 2nd
Platoon, D Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry of the U.S. Army. Two
American soldiers, Pfc. Albert Nelson and Pfc. Roger Suarez-Gonzalez,
died.On Dec. 5, MacFarland initiated what is called a 15-6
investigation, a relatively informal procedure typically carried out by a
single officer investigating soldiers in his own unit who reports his
results to the unit commander. Salon obtained a copy of the 15-6
investigation through the Freedom of Information Act. The name of the
Army major who conducted the investigation was redacted. He reported his
findings to MacFarland. The
unnamed major discovered shrapnel from a 120-millimeter U.S. tank round
in “building #2” where Nelson and Suarez were hurt, but determined
these fragments likely bounced into the building during shooting nearby
the next day, Dec. 5. He also found bullets of the same caliber used in
the tank’s coaxial machine gun, but said these came from a Heckler &
Koch G3 assault rifle fired by insurgents.The documents note
that the infantry soldiers in “building #2″ reported friendly fire from a
U.S. tank. The documents also allude to the existence of a detailed
video that a) shows the soldiers in the building under fire and b)
records the real-time statements of numerous eyewitnesses that the fire
came from an American tank. According to the Army investigation,
however, an analysis of shrapnel, uniform scraps, ammunition impact
points and audio from the video showed that the soldiers were mistaken.
“Soldiers inside building #2 believed that the tank located to the west
was firing on their position,” MacFarland wrote in a Dec. 20 memo in
which he concurred with the report’s findings, “when in actuality, it
was enemy fire from a mortar position northwest of the Euphrates River.”Below
is the Army’s 10-page 15-6 investigation, followed by MacFarland’s
two-page memo in support of the findings. The documents refer to Suarez
as a specialist and Nelson as a sergeant, but to Salon’s knowledge they
both had the rank of private first class at the time of this incident.