In April 1991, and in concert with United Nations Security Council Resolution 688, military units from a coalition of the United States and 12 other countries began providing direct emergency care and assistance to Kurds and other ethnic groups in northern Iraq following a revolt against the Iraqi government. This emergency relief effort was named Operation Provide Comfort. Coalition forces secured an area of northern Iraq that excluded Iraqi aircraft above the 36th parallel—the tactical area of responsibility (TAOR),or no-fly zone—and prepared transit camps within Iraq for the return of the people who had fled from the advancing Iraqi army. To provide a secure environment for the returnees, the coalition established a security zone within the TAOR into which Iraqi forces could not enter. Coalition air forces from France, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States were assembled to conduct frequent air operations in the TAOR. A Military Coordination Center was established in Zakhu, Iraq, located inside the security zone, to provide a direct communications link with the Iraqi military, humanitarian relief agencies, and Kurdish leaders. Figure 1.1 illustrates the location of pertinent points in and around the TAOR. The U.S. Commander in Chief, Europe, delegated operational control of assigned U.S. Army and Air Force units to the Combined Task Force Commander located at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey. The Combined Task Force Commander also had tactical control of participating Turkish, French, and British forces; but operational control of those forces was retained by their parent commands. On July 20, 1991, the Combined Task Force Commander issued an operations plan governing the conduct of the Operation Provide Comfort. The plan delineated the command relationships and organizational responsibilities within Combined Task Force Operation Provide Comfort. The Combined Task Force was headed by U.S. and Turkish co-commanders and included a Combined Task Force staff; a Combined Forces Air Component (CFAC); and the Army component, including the Military Coordination Center. CFAC coordinated air operations for Operation Provide Comfort. It had operational control of air assets—such as Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft (AWACS) and F-15 and F-16 fighters—and tactical control of Army helicopters. The Military Coordination Center at Zakhu was supported by a Black Hawk helicopter detachment at Diyarbakir, Turkey. (See fig. 1.1.) Air operations were conducted by planes and personnel assigned to Operation Provide Comfort on a temporary duty basis. Fighter aircraft performed the bulk of the Operation Provide Comfort flying mission. A typical “mission package” contained as many as 30 to 40 fighter aircraft and a variety of aircraft with specific mission capabilities. The fighters flew two- and four-ship formations and provided the following capabilities: visual and sensor reconnaissance of military targets, defensive counter air operations, suppression of enemy air defenses, and on-call precision-guided munitions delivery. At the beginning of each mission, no other aircraft was supposed to enter the TAOR until fighters with airborne intercept radars had searched, or “sanitized,” the area. During the daily operations, the AWACS was responsible for (1) controlling aircraft enroute to and from the TAOR; (2) coordinating air refueling; (3) providing airborne threat warning and control for Operation Provide Comfort aircraft operating in the TAOR; and (4) providing surveillance, detection, and identification of all unknown aircraft. The AWACS took off about 2 hours before the rest of the fixed-wing package and eventually entered an orbit in Turkish air space slightly north of the TAOR. (See fig. 1.1.) The AWACS mission crew was headed by a Mission Crew Commander who had overall responsibility for the AWACS mission. The Mission Crew Commander directly supervised an Air Surveillance Officer; Senior Director; and various communications, radar, and data processing technicians. The Air Surveillance Officer supervised air surveillance technicians who were responsible for identifying and monitoring non-Operation Provide Comfort aircraft. The Senior Director supervised and directed the activity of the controllers. The Enroute Controller was responsible for Operation Provide Comfort aircraft going to and from the TAOR. The Tanker Controller was responsible for coordinating the refueling of Operation Provide Comfort aircraft. The TAOR Controller was responsible for Operation Provide Comfort aircraft in the TAOR. In addition, a Turkish controller was present on each AWACS mission flight. Military Coordination Center Black Hawk helicopters stationed at Diyarbakir provided air transportation for the Military Coordination Center liaison team and conducted resupply missions at Zakhu, as required. The Black Hawks also used Zakhu as a stage for flying missions further in the TAOR to visit Kurdish villages, monitored conditions in the security zone, and conducted search and rescue missions. On April 14, 1994, two U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters and their crew assigned to the Military Coordination Center were transporting U.S., United Kingdom, French, and Turkish military officers; Kurdish representatives; and a U.S. political advisor in the TAOR. The Black Hawks had departed Zakhu enroute to Irbil, Iraq. (See fig. 1.1.) At the same time, two F-15s were sanitizing the area that the Black Hawks were in; and the AWACS was over Turkey providing airborne threat warning and control. The AWACS was aware that the Army Black Hawk helicopters had departed Zakhu and were proceeding east into the TAOR. However, the F-15 pilots were unaware that Black Hawk helicopters were already in the area and were not advised of the presence of friendly aircraft. The fighters twice informed the AWACS that they had unknown radar contacts in the TAOR, and the AWACS had access to electronic information regarding the presence of friendly aircraft in the vicinity of the F-15s’ reported radar contacts. Throughout the incident, the helicopters were unable to hear the radio transmissions between the F-15 pilots and the AWACS because they were on a different radio frequency. According to the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board President’s opinion, when the F-15 pilots were unable to get positive/consistent electronic responses, they performed a visual intercept with each making a single identification pass over the Black Hawks to identify the “unknown” aircraft. However, the Board President concluded that the identification passes were carried out at speeds, altitudes, and distances at which it was unlikely that the pilots would have been able to detect the Black Hawks’ markings. The pilots said that they did not recognize the differences between the U.S. Black Hawk helicopters with wing-mounted fuel tanks and Hind helicopters with wing-mounted weapons. The Board President determined that the pilot in the lead F-15 aircraft had misidentified the U.S. Black Hawks as Iraqi Hind helicopters and the wingman did not confirm, when asked by the lead pilot, that he had been unable to make a positive identification. The flight lead fired a single missile and shot down the trailing Black Hawk helicopter. At the lead pilot’s direction, the F-15 wingman fired a single missile and shot down the lead helicopter. All 26 individuals aboard the two helicopters were killed in the fratricide. When the Combined Task Force Commander learned that the Black Hawks had been shot down on April 14, 1994, he appointed the former CFAC Commander to conduct a Safety Board Investigation. The appointee assembled a staff and began to collect relevant information. Later on April 14, the Secretary of Defense ordered an Aircraft Accident Investigation, which provides more disclosure to the public than does a safety investigation. As a result, the safety investigation was discontinued; and an Aircraft Accident Investigation Board was convened under Air Force Regulation 110-14, since replaced by Air Force Instruction 51-503. The investigation’s main objectives were (1) to gather and preserve evidence for further investigations and inquiries by conducting a thorough investigation and preparing an accident report and (2) to determine if possible, through the Board President’s opinion, the accident’s main causes. The House Committee on National Security held a hearing in August 1995 related to the April 14, 1994, incident. Subsequently, the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the Committee’s Subcommittee on Military Personnel and Representative Mac Collins asked us, not to reinvestigate the shootdown but, to determine whether (1) the Board investigation of the Black Hawk shootdown had met its objectives and goals, (2) subsequent Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) investigations had followed established guidelines, and (3) any Department of Defense and/or Air Force officials had improperly or unlawfully influenced these investigations. The Subcommittee also requested that we consider concerns raised by victims’ families and others. We did not evaluate the appropriateness of resultant disciplinary or corrective actions. We interviewed family members of the U.S. victims and others with concerns about how the military had handled the incident. In general, they had questions about the process and results of the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board and the UCMJ investigations. We examined thousands of documents, including over 2,000 classified documents; interviewed over 160 individuals; and visited localities in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. To assess compliance with regulations, we reviewed the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board’s report, its exhibits, and applicable regulations. We interviewed Board members, both legal and technical advisors to the Board, accident recovery team members, and many of those interviewed by the Board concerning their role in the incident. In particular, we examined how the Board investigated the incident, conducted its analyses, and produced its report and the Board President’s opinion. We also reviewed information developed by the Inquiry and Investigating Officers under UCMJ and the court-martial trial transcripts and exhibits.