Three Junior Leaders Punished and Face Discharge for Deadly Rollover Accident in Korea
This rollover accident happened last year during the 1st Cavalry Division’s deployment to South Korea:
The 1st Cavalry Division has moved to oust three junior leaders and ordered reforms to its driver’s training program after a 20-year-old infantryman was killed last year in a rollover accident involving a Bradley Fighting Vehicle at Camp Humphreys, the soldier’s mother said Saturday.
The Fort Hood, Texas-based Army division acted after finding that Spc. Nicholas Panipinto had no license or classroom instruction and had received only six hours of hands-on training when he died during a Nov. 6 road test of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Two other soldiers were injured.
However, the changes are not enough for Panipinto’s mother, Kimberly Weaver, who said her son’s death had been preventable, and she believes the soldiers being punished are being used as scapegoats.
“This whole thing has just so many problems on so many different levels,” she told Stars and Stripes on Saturday in a phone interview.
“Why are these three lower-level unit soldiers being thrown under the bus while the higher-ups are not being accountable when all these failures happened under their watch,” she added.
Stars & Stripes
You can read more at the link, but the Company Commander, Platoon Leader, and Vehicle Commander have all been reprimanded and being processed for discharge from the Army. I can understand that the mother is upset, but, this is pretty significant punishment for what happened. The accident according to the article was caused by the track coming off, but the article does not specify if something the driver did caused this or was it a mechanical issue.
When these accidents do happen the investigation always looks back at the Driver’s Training program and it was discovered that SPC Panipinto was driving the bradley without completing all the requirements. This is company commander level business to ensure everyone is properly licensed before conducting an operation.
However, what I find most troubling is how it took two hours to get a medical evacuation helicopter to the site of the accident. I really hope that whatever caused that gets fixed.
How do you roll a vehicle a cp hump? The flattest of flat in all of Korea.
Two thoughts:
1. I keep thinking this incident points up a weakness of this unit rotational system. During the time of individual replacements this unit would have had enough people on the ground with serious time and experience in Korea this wouldn’t have happened or had been dealt with much more efficiently.
2. I think Panipino’s mother has a point in the redress being insufficient. I would not be surprised if one took a deeper look into this and found those punished were faced with the option of going forward unprepared (like they did) and take the risk or raise the preparedness issue up the chain of command whereupon they’d personally have the same result (career wrecked by a senior leader in CYA mode).
@Flyingsword, the track broke and when that happens the Bradley can tip over regardless of how flat it is.
1st Cav has been plagued with incompetent command and senior NCO’s since the beginning of OIF deployments. As a retired senior NCO myself I saw this first hand. Treating junior soldiers like trash and morons does not produce the quality of soldiers I desire to serve with. Dodging the rules and regs is typical for the 1st Cav upper command personnel because they see themselves as untouchable. When something bad happens as a result they find a way to pin it on junior officers and NCO’s.