An aircraft used by U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Martin Dempsey was damaged by rocket-fire at an airbase outside Kabul, Afghanistan, NATO said on Tuesday. The general was not on board at the time and no one was injured.
At around 1 a.m. (4:30 p.m. ET) on Tuesday, insurgents fired rockets or mortars into the base airfield, a source in Bagram Air Field told NBC News. Two landed in the air field, with one of them hitting the plane used by Dempsey, the source added.
Meanwhile, NATO’s mission in Afghanistan confirmed that the plane had been damaged by incoming fire, saying it had been hit by “shrapnel from an indirect fire round.”
“The round was one of two that impacted Bagram last night. An ISAF helicopter was also damaged,” the ISAF statement added.
“(Dempsey) was nowhere near the aircraft. We think it was a lucky shot,” NATO senior spokesman Col. Thomas Collins told Reuters.
Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them,and these will continue till they are resisted with either words or blows,or with both~FDouglas
but if young soldiers are dying in a war, I don’t see what’s so bad about the brass taking their chances as well.
it off:
“(Dempsey) was nowhere near the aircraft. We think it was a lucky shot,” NATO senior spokesman Col. Thomas Collins told Reuters.
The aircraft was only being used temporarily by Dempsey and his staff.
Judging from the description of events, it’s most likely that this was 107mm rocket fire off a delayed firing circuit. That type of arrangement, accuracy is hitting the airfield at all, not a specific location on the apron.
“Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.” ~ Steve Jobs
it is the biggest air base and supposedly most secure in Afghanistan and maybe the militants are becoming better at their harassment and aim. I think it is stupid for them to downplay or underestimate them.
The only notable thing about this story is the name of the guy attached to the aircraft. That’s it. Notably the name of the guy attached to the aircraft says nothing about intensity and effectiveness of the attacks. Those blanks are imaginatively filled in by the people at home…
“Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.” ~ Steve Jobs
that for all our money, weapons and technology there is no place safe in Afghanistan, including the biggest military base and the safety of the bigwigs..
…attached to a name tells us basically nothing about those issues. This is a total side issue that is much less important than lots of others. I couldn’t care less about whether the CJCS’s aircraft picked up some frag – I care a lot about the fact that the Taliban is out-governing GIRoA in most provinces. “Safety” and “Afghanistan” are a poor mix and meaningful, achievable levels of success have never been very likely to be measured by absolute safety of the type you appear to envisage.
“Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use.” ~ Steve Jobs