Court martial near end for Calgary reservist charged in fatal training accident
CALGARY - The prosecution in the court martial of a Calgary reservist says Maj. Darryl Watts is guilty of abdicating his leadership in a training exercise in which one soldier died and four others were injured.
Military prosecutor Maj. Tony Tamburro told the five-member jury panel today that it doesn't matter whether Watts was the range safety officer the day that Cpl. Josh Baker was killed — the fact remains that he was in charge.
Tamburro said Watts had a responsibility to lead his men to safety and not to blindly follow his subordinates into danger.
He said things went horribly wrong on the firing range north of Kandahar city in February 2010, and Watts is attempting to blame his warrant officer.
Cpl. Baker died when the C19 Claymore anti-personnel mine, packed with 700 steel balls, raked the Canadian Forces platoon and seriously injured four others.
The lawyer for Watts will deliver his closing summation today as well.
