1994 Black Hawk shootdown incident

The 1994 Black Hawk shootdown incident, sometimes referred to as the Black Hawk Incident, was a friendly fire incident over northern Iraq that occurred on 14 April 1994 during Operation Provide Comfort (OPC). The pilots of two United States Air Force (USAF) F-15 fighter aircraft, operating under the control of a USAF airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft, misidentified two United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters as Iraqi Mil Mi-24 "Hind" helicopters. The F-15 pilots fired on and destroyed both helicopters, killing all 26 military and civilians aboard, including personnel from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Turkey, and the Kurdish community.

A subsequent USAF investigation blamed the accident on several factors. The F-15 pilots were faulted for misidentifying the helicopters as hostile. Also, the crew members of the AWACS aircraft were blamed for their inaction in failing to exercise appropriate control and for not intervening in the situation. In addition, the identification friend or foe (IFF) systems had not functioned to identify the helicopters to the F-15 pilots. Furthermore, USAF leaders had failed to adequately integrate U.S. Army helicopter operations into overall OPC air operations. As a result of the investigation several USAF officers received administrative discipline but only one, Jim Wang, an AWACS crew member, was tried by court-martial, in which he was acquitted.

As a result of complaints by family members of the victims and others that the military was failing to hold its personnel accountable, the U.S. Senate and U.S. House conducted their own investigations into the shootdown and the U.S. military's response to it. Also, Ronald R. Fogleman, the USAF's new Chief of Staff, conducted his own review of the actions taken by the USAF against the officers involved in the incident.

Fogleman's investigation led to several of the officers involved in the incident receiving further administrative discipline. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) subsequently refused U.S. Senate subpoenas for four USAF officers to be interviewed for the Senate investigation, which was never publicly released. The U.S. House investigation, conducted in part by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), found that the military investigative and judicial systems had operated mostly as designed, but also noted that the DoD had refused access to key witnesses.

## Background

On 7 April 1991, Iraq accepted United Nations (UN) ceasefire conditions and resolutions, thereby officially ending the Gulf War. This same day, a large multinational, multiple-agency humanitarian effort under the authority of UN Security Council Resolution No. 688 began to aid the approximately 500,000 Kurdish refugees who had fled from Iraqi military forces into the hills of northern Iraq. On 18 April 1991, John Shalikashvili took command of the U.S.-led operation to ensure security for UN relief operations and the Kurdish refugees, called Operation Provide Comfort (OPC).

OPC took place in an area of northern Iraq above the 36th parallel. This area, approximately 160 by 70 kilometres (99 by 43 mi) in size, was designated a "no-fly" security zone by UN coalition forces, enforced by a combined task force (CTF) of daily armed aircraft patrols from participating nations, including the United Kingdom, France, Turkey, and the United States. The United States Army was tasked with assisting civilian relief agencies to build communities and facilities for the Kurds in Northern Iraq. Over the next three years, 27,000 fixed-wing and 1,400 helicopter coalition flights took place in the zone to support humanitarian operations without interference from Iraqi aircraft or other military units.

In April 1994 OPC was co-commanded by USAF Brigadier General Jeffrey Pilkington. The OPC combined air forces were commanded by Colonel Curtis H. Emery, USAF. Colonel Douglas J. Richardson, USAF, was the director of operations for the combined air forces.

## Incident

On 14 April 1994, at 07:36 local time, a USAF E-3 AWACS aircraft from the 963d Airborne Air Control Squadron (based at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma) departed Incirlik Air Base (AB), Turkey in support of OPC. The AWACS, with its 19-member crew under the mission crew command of Major Lawrence Tracy, was to provide airborne threat warning and air control for all OPC aircraft during its time aloft. The AWACS crew reported on station at its assigned surveillance orbit altitude of 32,000 feet (9,750 m) located inside Turkey just north of the northern border of Iraq at 08:45. The weather that day was fair and clear over northern Iraq.

At 08:22, two U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from the 6th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment (based in Giebelstadt, Germany), called Eagle Flight, departed Diyarbakır, near Pirinçlik Air Base, Turkey headed for the OPC military coordination center (MCC) located 150 miles (240 km) away in Zakhu, Iraq. Both helicopters were fitted with external, 230-US-gallon (870 L) fuel tanks on sponsons mounted beside each side door with each tank emblazoned with large American flags. In addition to the flags on the fuel tanks, each helicopter was marked with American flags on each side door, on the nose, and on the belly. The lead Black Hawk was piloted by U.S. Army Captain Patrick McKenna, commander of the Eagle Flight detachment of six helicopters.

At 09:21, the Black Hawks reported their entry into the no-fly zone by radio on the en route frequency to the AWACS en route controller, Lieutenant Joseph Halcli, and then landed six minutes later at the MCC. Halcli and his superior officer, Captain Jim Wang, the AWACS's senior director, added "friendly helicopter" tags to their radar scopes, noted that both helicopters were displaying identification friend or foe (IFF) Mode I and Mode II signals, and then suspended the radar symbols after the Black Hawks disappeared from their scopes upon landing at the MCC at 09:24. Although the helicopters were squawking (signalling) the wrong IFF Mode I code for the no-fly zone (called the Tactical Area of Responsibility or TAOR), neither Wang nor Halcli informed the Black Hawk pilots of that (both helicopters, however, were squawking the correct Mode II codes). Wang and Halcli also neglected to direct the Black Hawks to begin using the TAOR radio frequency instead of the en route frequency.

At the MCC, the Black Hawks picked up 16 members of the UN Provide Comfort coalition leadership team including four Kurdish civilians, one Chaldean-Catholic civilian, three Turkish, two British, and one French military officer, plus five U.S. civilian and military officials. At 09:54, the helicopters departed the MCC for Erbil, Iraq, a distance of 120 miles (190 km). The Black Hawks reported their departure, flight route, and destinations by radio which was acknowledged by Halcli. Halcli then re-initiated the friendly helicopter track on his scope. Two of the Black Hawk passengers were Colonel Jerry Thompson, U.S. Army, commander of the MCC, and his replacement, Colonel Richard Mulhern, U.S. Army. At Arbil and later at Salah ad Din, Iraq, Thompson planned to introduce Mulhern to two prominent Kurdish leaders, Masoud Barzani and Jalal Talabani, as well as to UN representatives. Halcli placed tags on his radar screen to show the two Black Hawks' track and notified Wang of the helicopters' movement. In addition to Halcli's screen, the friendly helicopter symbols were visible on the radar screens of Wang, Tracy, and USAF Major Doug Martin. Martin was the "Duke" or "ACE" airborne command element on the AWACS, meaning he was a rated aircrew member assigned to the crew to ensure that all engagement (combat) mandates were adhered to and executed as written in OPC policies.

En route to Arbil, at 10:12, the Black Hawks entered mountainous terrain and their radar returns disappeared from the AWACS's scopes. Captain Dierdre Bell, an air surveillance officer on the AWACS, noticed that the Black Hawks' radar and IFF returns had disappeared and sent an electronic "attention arrow" to Wang's scope. Wang took no action and the large blinking green arrow automatically disappeared from his screen after one minute.

Meanwhile, at 09:35, two USAF F-15C fighter aircraft from the 53d Fighter Squadron, piloted by Captain Eric Wickson and Lieutenant Colonel Randy W. May, departed Incirlik AB. Their mission was to perform an initial fighter sweep of the TAOR to clear the area of any hostile aircraft prior to the entry of coalition forces. The air tasking order (ATO) that was supposed to list all scheduled coalition aircraft missions for that day and which the two pilots reviewed before takeoff, mentioned that U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopters would be operating in the TAOR but did not list takeoff times, routes, or flight durations for them. At 10:15, Wickson radioed Martin on the AWACS and asked if he had any information to pass to them to which Martin replied in the negative.

At 10:20, Wickson, the F-15C flight lead, reported entering northern Iraq to the AWACS controller responsible for air traffic inside the TAOR, USAF Lieutenant Ricky Wilson. The TAOR frequency the F-15s were using was different from the en-route frequency being used by the two Black Hawks. Wilson, however, was monitoring both frequencies and was able to see both Black Hawks on his radar scope before they disappeared at 10:12. Wilson and the other AWACS crew members, many of whom were monitoring the F-15s' radio frequency, did not inform the F-15s that Black Hawks were currently operating in the TAOR. At 10:21, Wilson, believing the Black Hawks had landed again, asked Wang if he could drop the friendly helicopter symbols from the AWACS's scopes and Wang approved the request. An AWACS crew instructor, Captain Mark Cathy, who was on the mission to assist the AWACS crew and supervise Wilson on this, his first mission into the TAOR, had retired to the back of the airplane at 10:00 to take a nap.

At 10:22, Wickson, flying at 27,000 feet (8,230 m), reported a radar contact on a low-flying, slow-moving aircraft 40 miles (64 km) southeast of his current position. Wilson acknowledged Wickson's report with a "clear there" response, meaning he had no radar contacts in that area. Unknown to the two F-15 pilots, the unidentified aircraft were the two U.S. Army Black Hawks. Contrary to standard procedure, neither Tracy nor Wang spoke up at this point to request that the AWACS crew members attempt to identify the F-15s' radar contacts.

Both F-15 pilots then electronically interrogated the radar target with their on-board IFF systems across two different modes (Mode I and Mode IV). Their IFF systems responded negatively to the attempt to identify the contact on Mode I. The Mode IV momentarily gave a positive response, but thereafter responded negatively and the F-15s moved to intercept the unidentified aircraft. Intermittent IFF Mode I and Mode II returns from the Black Hawks now began to show on Wilson's and other AWACS crew members' scopes and friendly helicopter symbols reappeared on Wang's scope. After closing to 20 miles (32 km) of the radar contacts, at 10:25 the F-15s again reported the contact to the AWACS and Wilson this time responded that he now had a radar contact at that reported location. Although the Black Hawk intermittent radar and now steady IFF returns on the AWACS scopes were in the same location as the unidentified contacts being tracked by the F-15s, none of the AWACS controllers advised Wickson or May that the contacts they were tracking might be friendly helicopters.

The two F-15s now initiated a visual identification (VID) pass of the contact. The VID pass entailed violating one of OPC's rules of engagement, which prohibited fighter aircraft from operating below 10,000 feet (3,050 m) above the ground. At this time the two Black Hawks had entered a deep valley and were cruising at a speed of 130 knots (150 mph; 240 km/h) about 200 feet (60 m) above the ground. Wickson's VID pass was conducted at a speed of about 450 knots (520 mph; 830 km/h), 500 feet (150 m) above and 1,000 feet (300 m) to the left of the helicopters. At 10:28 Wickson reported "Tally two Hinds" and then passed the two Black Hawks. "Hind" is the NATO designation for the Mil Mi-24 helicopter, a helicopter that the Iraqi and Syrian militaries operated and was usually configured with armament on small, side-mounted wings. Wilson responded with "Copy, Hinds" and asked Wang, "Sir, are you listening to this?" Wang responded, "Affirmative" but offered no further guidance or comments.

May then conducted his own VID pass about 1,500 feet (500 m) above the helicopters and reported, "Tally 2." May later stated to a USAF accident investigation board that his "Tally 2" call meant that he saw two helicopters but did not mean that he was confirming Wickson's identification of them as Hinds. Neither F-15 pilot had been informed that U.S. Army Black Hawks participating in OPC often carried auxiliary fuel tanks mounted on wings nor had either been instructed in the paint scheme that Iraqi Hind helicopters used, light brown and desert tan, which was different from the dark green color used by the Black Hawks. Wickson later said, "I had no doubt when I looked at him that he was a Hind ... The Black Hawk did not even cross my mind."

Following their VID passes, Wickson and May circled back behind the helicopters approximately 10 miles (16 km). Because aircraft from various nations sometimes operated unannounced in the northern Iraq area, the OPC rules of engagement required the F-15 pilots to attempt to verify the nationality of the helicopters. Instead, at 10:28, Wickson notified the AWACS that he and May were "engaged" and instructed May to "arm hot." At 10:30, Wickson fired an AIM-120 AMRAAM missile at the trail helicopter from a range of about 4 nautical miles (10 km). The missile hit and destroyed the trailing helicopter seven seconds later (). In response, the lead Black Hawk, piloted by McKenna, immediately turned left and dived for lower altitude in an apparent attempt to evade the unexpected attack. About 20 seconds later, May fired an AIM-9 Sidewinder missile at the lead helicopter from a range of about 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km), hitting and shooting it down also about 1.2 miles (2 km) northeast of the trail helicopter (). All 26 people on board the two Black Hawks were killed. After flying over the wreckage of the two helicopters lying burning on the ground, May radioed Wickson, "Stick a fork in them, they're done."

## Air Force accident investigation

By 13:15 local time, Kurdish civilians notified the MCC they had witnessed the two Black Hawks being shot down 40 miles (64 km) north of Arbil and that there were no survivors. The news was quickly picked up by the media and broadcast by CNN.

Within hours, U.S. President Bill Clinton was briefed on the shootdown and called the heads of government of the United Kingdom and France, John Major and François Mitterrand, to express regret and sympathy for the deaths of their citizens in the incident. Clinton appeared a few hours later in a televised news conference in which he said he had directed the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to lead an inquiry into the accident. Clinton further stated, "We will get the facts, and we will make them available to the American people and to the people of Britain, France, and Turkey, our partners in Operation Provide Comfort."

General Robert C. Oaks, USAF, Commander of United States Air Forces in Europe, immediately appointed an Air Force Regulation (AFR) 110-14 accident investigation board composed of a board president, eleven board members from the USAF and U.S. Army, three associate members from France, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, four legal advisers, and thirteen technical advisers. The board president was Major General James G. Andrus, USAF. An AFR 110-14 investigation's findings are publicly released and the testimony of witnesses in the investigation can be used against them in military disciplinary proceedings. For this reason, after serious mishaps the USAF usually also conducts a separate safety investigation, in which the results are not publicly released and witness testimony is immune from prosecution. In this case, however, for unknown reasons the USAF decided not to conduct a safety investigation.

After interviewing 137 witnesses and conducting numerous tests, the 27-volume, 3,630-page AFR 110-14 investigation report was publicly released on 13 July 1994, although some report's details had been leaked to the media by unknown defense officials two weeks earlier. The board made seven general findings about what they believed caused the shootdown to occur:

1\. Wickson misidentified the Black Hawk helicopters and May failed to notify Wickson that he had been unable to confirm the identity of the helicopters.

2\. The IFF transponders on the F-15s and/or the Black Hawks did not operate correctly for unknown reasons.

3\. Misunderstandings existed throughout the OPC forces as to how coalition air operations procedures and responsibilities applied to MCC helicopter operations.

4\. The AWACS crew commander, Lawrence Tracy, was not currently qualified in accordance with USAF regulations and he and the other AWACS crewmembers committed mistakes.

5\. OPC personnel in general were not properly trained in the rules of engagement for the northern Iraq no fly zone.

6\. The Black Hawks were not equipped with more modern radios which would have allowed them to communicate with the F-15s.

7\. The shootdown "was caused by a chain of events which began with the breakdown of clear guidance from the Provide Comfort Combined Task Force to its component organizations."

The board report stated that, "There is no indication that the AWACS Senior Director (Wang), the Mission Crew Commander (Tracy) and/or the DUKE (Martin) made any radio calls throughout the intercept, or that they issued any guidance to either the AWACS crew or the F-15 pilots." Although the OPC ROE did task the AWACS with controlling and monitoring helicopter operations in the TAOR, the board found that the AWACS crew believed they had no responsibility for controlling U.S. Army Black Hawks or ensuring that other coalition aircraft were aware of Black Hawks operating in the TAOR. When questioned by board investigators as to who was responsible for tracking the helicopters, Tracy said, "I cannot tell you that. I honestly don't know." When Wang was asked the same question by the investigators, he replied, "No one is responsible." When the investigators asked Martin what action he took when the F-15s called a visual identification on two Hind helicopters, Martin stated, "I did nothing."

The board found that combined OPC forces, led by Pilkington, Emery, Richardson, and other USAF officers, had failed to integrate helicopters into aircraft operations in the TAOR. An Eagle Flight officer later testified he had been told by the CTF's chief of staff, a USAF officer, that the army Black Hawk unit was not considered to be part of OPC. Thus, the CTF staff, under the direction of Colonel James Rusty O'Brien, USAF, had not tried to coordinate the U.S. Army Black Hawk missions into the daily ATOs. In fact, neither O'Brien nor his predecessors had established any type of procedure for communicating information on Black Hawk missions to the Combined Forces Air Component (CFAC). The MCC commander, Colonel Thompson, had personally called O'Brien on the night of 13 April to tell him about the next day's Black Hawk mission into northern Iraq, a mission specifically and personally approved by Pilkington earlier that day. O'Brien or his staff apparently did not attempt to communicate specific information on this mission to the AWACS or F-15 fighter units at Incirlik, the CFAC, the ground-based mission director, or to the "Duke" on board the AWACS.

For reasons that USAF officers were unable to explain, two versions of each day's ATO were published, one for the USAF units at Incirlik, and another for the Eagle Flight unit at Pirinclik. The ATO version sent to Eagle Flight, for unknown reasons, gave a wrong IFF Mode I code for the TAOR. Although army Black Hawks had been operating for almost two years in the TAOR while squawking a wrong code and observed doing so by numerous AWACS crews, no one ever told them they were using a wrong code. On the day of the shootdown, the F-15s had interrogated the Black Hawks on two different IFF Modes (Mode I and Mode IV). The first responded negatively because the Black Hawks were squawking the wrong code. The second mode responded negatively for technical reasons the investigation was unable to conclusively determine.

The board did not investigate whether any USAF institutional factors, such as a lack of crew resource management training for the involved aircrews, might have been a factor. Also, the board did not attempt to determine if Wickson and May had violated any of the existing OPC rules of engagement as defined by the ATO or other written instructions.

The United States Secretary of Defense, William Perry, later summarized the "errors, omissions, and failures" contributing to the accident as, "The F-15 pilots misidentified the Black Hawks, the AWACS crew failed to intervene, Eagle Flight and their operations were not integrated into the Task Force, and the IFF systems failed." General Shalikashvili, now serving as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, added: "There were a shocking number of instances where people failed to do their job properly."

### Actions taken

On 8 September 1994 the DoD announced the actions it would take in response to the investigation's findings. May was charged with 26 counts of negligent homicide by military legal authorities. Martin, Tracy, Wang, Halcli, and Wilson were charged with dereliction of duty. All of those charged faced an Article 32 hearing in which it would be decided if they should be tried by court-martial or the matter disposed of otherwise. Martin, Tracy, Wang, Halcli, and Wilson faced a joint Article 32 hearing while May's hearing was separate. Wickson was not charged. Although not explicitly stated by USAF leaders, it appears Wickson was not charged but May was because Wickson had testified that he was sure of his identification of the two Black Hawks as hostile Hinds, while May had stated that he was not sure of Wickson's identification but had allowed the engagement to proceed anyway.

Martin and Halcli waived their right to an Article 32 hearing, meaning their cases could move immediately to court-martial or administrative action. Wickson was given immunity by USAF Lieutenant General Eugene Santarelli, commander of the 17th Air Force, to testify at the hearings. The AWACS crew members' hearing, which began on 19 October 1994 at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma was an open hearing and presided over by Colonel William Colwell, USAF, under the legal jurisdiction of Lieutenant General Stephen Croker, USAF, commander of the 8th Air Force. May's hearing, beginning on 7 November 1994 at Sembach Air Base, Germany was a closed hearing and presided over by Colonel Edward M. Starr, USAF, under the legal jurisdiction of Santarelli. Pilkington, Emery, Richardson, and O'Brien declined requests to testify at either hearing.

On 17 November 1994 the USAF announced that Colwell had recommended to Croker that Wang face court-martial and that Halcli receive nonjudicial administrative action on the dereliction of duty charges. Colwell recommended the formal dereliction of duty charges be dropped against the other AWACS crew members, but that they could still face nonjudicial action. Croker accepted Colwell's recommendation and ordered Wang to face court-martial and dismissed the criminal charges against the other AWACS crew members except Halcli, who was offered Article 15 action.

At his hearing, May changed his testimony from what he gave to the accident investigation board, stating that he had positively identified the two helicopters as Iraqi Hinds. Brigadier General John R. Dallager, an F-15 pilot and Wickson's and May's wing commander (52nd Fighter Wing) and regimental court-martial 303 inquiry officer, said he found May's errors in the shootdown "reasonable." Starr recommended the charges against May be dropped, stating that he found May's testimony believable. On 27 December 1994 the USAF announced that Santarelli, an F-15 pilot, had dismissed the charges against May and had decided not to pursue criminal disciplinary actions against any other OPC personnel under his legal jurisdiction, including Wickson, Pilkington, Emery, Richardson, and O'Brien. In January 1995 a USAF flying board returned Wickson and May, who had been grounded since the incident, to flying status. Subsequently, Wickson was transferred to Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, to undergo instructor pilot training with a follow-on assignment to Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi.

The USAF later announced the administrative actions taken against the other personnel involved in the shootdown. Pilkington, Emery, and Richardson received letters of admonishment. Martin, May, O'Brien, Tracy, Wickson, and Wilson received letters of reprimand. Halcli accepted an Article 15 action which resulted in his receiving a letter of reprimand. The personnel involved were allowed to petition for the removal of the letters from their records at a future time. The reprimands were placed in "unfavorable information files" for each individual and were normally removed after two years. General George Joulwan, U.S. Army, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, removed Pilkington as commander of OPC but the USAF retained him as commander of the 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. O'Brien and Emery were transferred to staff positions at the Pentagon. Richardson was transferred to a staff position at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. Emery had been promoted to brigadier general on 15 July 1994 and his promotion was allowed to stand.

### Wang's court-martial

Wang's court-martial took place, beginning on 2 June 1995, at Tinker Air Force Base. Wang was tried on three counts of dereliction of duty. Most of the personnel involved in the incident, except May, were called to testify, including the AWACS crew members, Wickson, and Pilkington. Most of the 40 witnesses testified with a grant of immunity.

During the trial, evidence was presented that Wang often had trouble staying awake during AWACS missions. In fact, the problem was considered serious enough that the military had referred Wang to medical authorities to be checked for narcolepsy. Wang had also previously failed two check rides.

Pilkington, an F-16 pilot, testified that as commander of OPC he had sent numerous aircrew members, the majority of them F-15 pilots, back to their home bases for violating OPC rules or procedures or for displaying a lack of good judgment. In response to questions on the F-15 pilot's actions resulting in the shootdown, Pilkington stated, "I don't understand and I will probably never understand Wickson's mindset." When asked if Wickson and May violated OPC rules of engagement in the incident, Pilkington responded, "Yes." AWACS crew members added in their testimonies that once Wickson and May visually identified the helicopters as hostile, all responsibility for the shootdown passed to the F-15 pilots.

Frank Spinner, Wang's civilian attorney, argued that USAF Chief of Staff General Merrill McPeak, a career fighter pilot, had made clear that he did not want Wickson and May punished for their actions in the shootdown. Cited as evidence for this was a Los Angeles Times report, published also in the European Stars and Stripes newspaper on 18 June 1994 that said McPeak "strongly opposed" court-martial action for Wickson or May. Pilkington stated that he had heard rumors McPeak had said something to that effect, but could not confirm if they were true or not.

On 20 June 1995 the USAF announced a "nullification" verdict by Wang's 10-member court-martial jury, effectively acquitting Wang of the charges. Nullification is not a finding of innocence, but instead it is a refusal to convict on the stated charges. After the verdict, Wang stated, "I want to say the fight is nowhere near over for me. I want a congressional hearing or investigation into why I was the only person charged." Major General Nolan Sklute, the USAF's top legal officer, stated, "An incident like this does not necessarily mean that the conduct of all those involved rises to the level of criminal culpability. I'm satisfied with the handling of the case." Secretary of the Air Force Sheila Widnall added, "The Black Hawk helicopters were downed as a result of a tragic series of errors and unfortunate events involving numerous people. The mishap was not the result of any one individual's actions; the conduct of numerous officers and the system itself contributed."

## Additional investigations and actions

On 17 July 1995, U.S. Senator William Roth, chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, authorized a Senate investigation into the incident, primarily in response to complaints from family members of the shootdown victims that it appeared the U.S. military was not holding anyone seriously accountable for the shootdown. Also in response to complaints about the DoD's response to the incident, the U.S. House of Representatives' Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel scheduled a hearing on the incident for 3 August 1995 to examine the accident investigation and the judicial actions that followed. In addition, on 24 July the DoD ordered the USAF to reexamine the disciplinary and administrative actions for the personnel involved in the shootdown and for the Joint Chiefs of Staff to review the corrective actions taken against those involved and determine whether further action was necessary. Widnall requested that the new USAF chief of staff, Ronald R. Fogleman, begin his own review of accountability for the incident.

The House Committee on National Security hearing on 3 August was presided over by Congressman Bob Dornan and lasted one day. At the hearing, Pilkington and Andrus explained how the USAF accident investigation was conducted and emphasized that Wickson and May violated the OPC rules of engagement by conducting a VID pass of the Black Hawks that was inadequate to determine the helicopter's national origin. Andrus stated, "Sir, as a pilot, I would have made another pass. You would never fire until you know what you are shooting at." Retired USAF colonel and pilot Jerry Cox expressed concern to the committee with the F-15 pilots for not taking responsibility for their actions.

On 10 August 1995 Fogleman spoke at a press conference at the Pentagon in which he announced the conclusions reached by his review into the accountability of USAF personnel involved in the shootdown incident. He said his investigation found that not all the performance evaluations for the individuals involved in the shootdown reflected the fact that they had received administrative action related to the incident. Fogleman stated,

> "The fact that the conduct of some individuals did not give rise to criminal prosecution or conviction should not end the inquiry into the appropriateness of their actions. Air Force standards require that people display the extraordinary discipline, judgment, and training that their duties require and that the American people expect."

Fogleman then announced that he had directed that Wickson, May, Wang, Halcli, and Wilson be disqualified from aviation service duties for at least three years. Also, Fogleman wrote and placed "letters of evaluation" in the permanent personnel files of Wickson, May, Wang, Halcli, Wilson, Pilkington, and Emery that said each had failed "to meet Air Force standards in job knowledge, judgment and leadership". In addition, a military decoration awarded to O'Brien for his service during OPC was rescinded. A videotape in which Fogleman described his actions related to the incident and his views on standards and accountability was distributed throughout the USAF and all USAF officers, senior non-commissioned officers, and Senior Executive Service civilians were ordered to view it. Fogleman further stated that he had found that the military justice system had "worked as it was designed to work".

### Senate investigation

Beginning in September 1995 and continuing for more than one year, Roth's Senate inquiry into the shootdown, led by Eric Thorson, investigated the incident. Thorson later stated his belief that the USAF accident investigation report and subsequent proceedings had been manipulated in order to avoid holding Wickson and May accountable for their actions. Thorson also stated that he believed Starr had submitted an inaccurate and misleading report on May's Article 32 hearing to the USAF commanding officers, including Dallager and Santarelli. With regard to the AWACS personnel, Thorson added: "We know some of the AWACS crew were incompetent beyond belief, and there is more than adequate evidence to conclude that several crewmembers were grossly negligent."

In August 1996, Roth's investigation board asked the DoD to produce the last four witnesses it wished to interview: Santarelli, Starr, Dallager, and Colonel C. G. Mangin. Mangin was Santarelli's legal adviser during the Wickson and May inquiry. The DoD refused the request to provide access to the four officers. A short time later, John White, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, wrote a letter to Roth in which he asked that those four officers not be deposed.

After further refusals from the USAF and DoD to provide the four officers for interview, Roth's committee gave the DoD and USAF until 14:30 on 31 October 1996 to provide the officers. The deadline passed without the officers appearing before the board. The next day the board sent senate subpoenas directly to the USAF headquarters office at the Pentagon, which refused to accept them. After learning that the Senate was now planning to individually serve the four subpoenas directly to the four officers, the associate chief of the Air Force litigation division accepted the subpoenas.

On 13 November 1996, the day the first subpoenaed USAF officer was scheduled to appear, the DoD delivered a letter to Roth, signed by its general counsel, Judith Miller, saying the DoD believed the subpoenas were invalid because they were issued "after the adjournment of sine die of the 104th Congress" and was therefore not going to honor the subpoenas by providing the four officers for interview. Roth replied to the DoD that only the Senate's legal counsel could determine the validity of congressional subpoenas because of the "separation of powers" principle in the U.S. Constitution and thus, the subpoenas were valid. The DoD, on 20 November in another letter signed by Miller, again refused to produce the witnesses. Roth, whose committee chairmanship was scheduled to end the next month, was told by the U.S. Department of Justice that the U.S. Attorney General, Janet Reno, would not support him if he chose to take the dispute with the DoD to court. Also, many of Roth's senate colleagues, including John McCain, were asking him to "back off." Thus, Roth decided to drop the matter and continue preparing the report without the testimony of Santarelli, Dallager, Starr, and Mangin. For the first time in U.S. history, the DoD had refused to comply with a U.S. Senate subpoena.

In January 1997 U.S. Senator Fred Thompson became chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and terminated the Black Hawk investigation. The senate investigation report was never publicly released. Asked in 2001 about the DoD's refusal to honor the Senate subpoenas, Thorson responded, "Basically they told the United States Senate to go to hell."

### GAO investigation

In September 1995 the House National Security Subcommittee on Military Personnel, chaired by Bob Dornan, requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conduct its own investigation into the shootdown incident. Specifically, the GAO was asked to determine if the USAF accident investigation board had met its objectives, if the subsequent military justice investigations had followed established guidelines, and if the DoD and/or USAF had improperly or unlawfully influenced these investigations.

The GAO released its investigation report on 12 November 1997. The investigation determined that the USAF accident investigation was properly convened and met its assigned objectives. The GAO report, however, found that the USAF investigation had failed to note that Wickson and May neglected to report their contact with unidentified aircraft to the Duke (Martin) aboard the AWACS as required by the ROE. Furthermore, the USAF investigation report incorrectly stated that Martin had no authority to terminate the engagement when, in fact, he did. The GAO report added that the failure of Wickson and May to report their contact to Martin was indicative of a well-known, general lack of discipline among F-15 aircrews involved in OPC and this was not discussed in the USAF report.

The GAO investigation also uncovered evidence that a rivalry between F-15 and F-16 pilots may have contributed to Wickson's and May's "urgency to engage hostile aircraft" but was not discussed in the USAF investigation. During the GAO's investigation, USAF OPC officers confirmed that the rivalry between the F-15 and F-16 communities was particularly pronounced and intense partly due to the fact that F-16 aircraft had scored all the air-to-air combat kills in Iraq and Bosnia since the end of the Gulf War. Pilkington stated to the GAO that "the shootdown pilots' haste was due in part to the planned entry of two F-16s into the TAOR 10 to 15 minutes after the F-15s and that if the F-15 pilots had involved the chain of command, the pace would have slowed down, ruining the pilots' chances for a shootdown." The GAO concluded that if the evidence of a lack of mission discipline by Wickson and May had been included in the USAF report, such information "could have been useful in subsequent administrative and disciplinary actions."

Another aspect the GAO investigation revealed was that the training F-15 pilots received for identifying helicopters was not adequate. Visual ID training was accomplished by reviewing slides on a 35mm projector. Helicopters made up only about 5% of the training slides and nearly all the pictures depicted helicopters from the ground looking up because the pictures were provided by the U.S. Army. Investigators also learned from interviewing other F-15 pilots that helicopter recognition was not regarded as an important skill within the F-15 pilot community because helicopters are not considered a threat to F-15s in air-to-air combat.

The GAO found no evidence of improper or unlawful command influence by USAF leaders on the investigation or subsequent administrative and military justice actions. The GAO noted, however, that it was unable to obtain complete confirmation of this finding because the DoD denied the GAO request to interview key USAF officials including Santarelli, Dallager, Starr, and Mangin.

## Compensation

On 26 August 1994, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that it would pay U.S.\$100,000 (ex gratia) in compensation to the families of each of the non-U.S. personnel killed in the incident. At this time, the U.S. government did not offer compensation to the families of the U.S. victims, citing the Feres precedent, which prevents lawsuits against the U.S. from injured service members or families of personnel killed due to military negligence. This was the first time the U.S. had offered compensation to the victims of a friendly fire incident.

In 1998, Congressman Lamar S. Smith, chairman of the Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims, held hearings on the compensation issue. He questioned the DoD representatives as to why compensation had not also been offered to the U.S. family members. In November 1999 the U.S. Congress passed legislation authorizing payment of compensation to the families of the American Black Hawk victims.

## Aftermath

Five days after the shootdown, USAF OPC officials began including Black Hawk flight times in the daily ATO and included the correct IFF code in the ATO provided to Eagle Flight. OPC officially ended on 31 December 1996. Over the six years of the operation, coalition participants flew a total of 62,000 fixed-wing and rotary-wing sorties. The Black Hawk shootdown was the only serious accident to occur during the operation.

Wickson resigned and May retired from the USAF soon after Fogleman's investigation was complete. Lawrence Tracy retired immediately after Wang's court-martial on an early (15-year) retirement option. By May 2005, Jim Wang was still serving in the USAF, but he remained at the rank of captain, having been denied promotion. Interviewed in 2005 about the shootdown, Tracy stated, "Jim (Wang) and all of us at first were held up as scapegoats. I think that was to cover up for the pilots. They had their fangs out. They wanted to kill something because it had been ages since an F-15 had shot anything down. We were held accountable for their actions."

Andrus retired from the USAF in 1995, Pilkington in 1996, Emery in 1997, and Santarelli in 1998, all at the same rank they held at the time of the shootdown, except Emery, who retired as a brigadier general. Richardson was promoted to brigadier general on 1 July 1999 and retired on 1 September 2001. Dallager was appointed as superintendent of the USAF Academy in June 2000 and was promoted to lieutenant general on 1 August of the same year. Dallager's appointment and promotion were criticized by observers because of his involvement in the controversial shootdown after-actions and refusal to testify for the senate investigation. Dallager retired on 1 September 2003, but at the rank of major general.

A monument to the 26 victims of the shootdown was constructed at Giebelstadt Army Airfield, Germany and dedicated on 14 April 1996. After U.S. military presence ceased at Giebelstadt, due to base closures, the monument was moved to Fort Rucker, Alabama on 10 March 2006, and rededicated on 14 April 2007.

The 53rd Fighter Squadron was closed on 10 March 1999, but was reactivated in December 2021 as part of 495th Fighter Group.

US friendly fire incident over Iraq

20th-century aircraft shootdown incidents

20th-century history of the United States Army

Accidents and incidents involving United States Air Force aircraft

Accidents and incidents involving the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk

Aviation accidents and incidents in 1994

Aviation accidents and incidents in Iraq


Carrick, Tasmania

Carrick is a small historic village 17 kilometres (11 mi) west of Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, on the banks of the Liffey River. The Meander Valley Highway passes through the town's centre; this road was formerly the main road from Launceston to Deloraine and Devonport. Carrick has a well-preserved 19th-century heritage; fifteen of its colonial buildings are listed on the Tasmanian Heritage Register including Carrick House (1840), St Andrew's Church (1848), the Old Watch house (1837), Monds Roller Mill (1846) and the Carrick Hotel (1833).

The first land grant at Carrick was in 1818 and a decade later William Bryan was building a wooden mill on the river's bank. The town was formed in consequence of this mill's construction and town plots sold in 1838. Carrick Post Office opened on 5 November 1841. Carrick never grew large—the population varied from around 200 to 439—and today it is largely a residential settlement for those who work in Launceston and the rural areas surrounding the town. During much of its history growth has been limited by lack of organised water supply and sewerage, though reticulated services for both are now connected. Volunteer labour enabled piped water supply, from the Liffey, from 1961 and a sewerage plant was built in the mid-1970s on the towns outskirts. The local councils' strategic plan aims for the town to stay small with only infill development.

The 1846 stone building known as "Monds Roller Mill" is the town's most prominent feature. The operation of this mill—and the preceding wooden mill—was the foundation of the town's prosperity during the 19th century. The mill operated until 1924, for most of this time by Thomas Monds and his family company, and was the last water powered flour mill in Tasmania. Since a 1984 renovation it has intermittently been a restaurant, wedding venue and meeting venue. Near the mill is Archer's Folly, an imposing and now ruined, but never completed, grand colonial house. The folly was started in 1847, sold incomplete in 1867 and burned to a roofless shell in 1978. Significant people associated with Carrick include: Thomas Reibey, once Premier of Tasmania; Thomas Monds who founded an extensive milling company; and Sammy Cox whose claims would make him the earliest European settler in Tasmania.

The Anglican Church St Andrews has held services since the 1840s. For some time the town also had a Wesleyan Chapel. A private school opened in 1843 and a government one in the 1870s. By the late 1930s both schools had closed. Carrick hosts Agfest, the state's largest single event and one of Australia's largest agricultural field days. The 1848 Anglican church, 1833 hotel and a few other establishments serve the townspeople. A brewery, steam and water mill, butcher, schools and other hotels are all long since closed. Carrick has a long association with horse racing, starting prior to the race course's formation in 1848. For a time the town held the oldest horse race in Australia. Today regular harness racing, speedway racing and cycling events have replaced this.

## History

### Prior to foundation

Carrick's area is within the traditional grounds of the Northern Midlands group of Tasmanian Aborigines. Records held by Aboriginal Heritage Tasmania have no reference, as recently as 2010, of any Aboriginal heritage or artifacts in the area. The first land grant at Carrick was made in 1818 to Thomas Haydock Reibey, father of Thomas Reibey (later Premier of Tasmania). The grant was for 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) taking in the area of the later town. Early land use was for agriculture and by 1823, at least, there were only a few widely scattered settlers.

Captain William Thomas Lyttleton was granted over 1,300 acres (530 ha) near Carrick in late 1825 when he lived at nearby Hagley in Hagley House. What was then just a locality became known as Lyttleton after the Captain. The river that passed from the Great Western Tiers to nearby Meander River was then known as The Pennyroyal Creek, after a plant that grew profusely on its banks. William Bryan arrived at Hobart, from Ireland, in May 1824. He received land grants of 1,077 acres (436 ha) in the Meander Valley and later purchased 500 acres (200 ha) at Carrick, including 30 acres (10 ha) on the creek. Bryan began building a mill on his Carrick grant in 1826, on the same site as the later Monds Roller Mills. His business interests prospered and he purchased large amounts of land, including more at Carrick. By 1828 the first bridge over the river had been built, a simple log structure. Bryan's mill was the impetus for foundation of the town. Van Diemen's Land's Land Commissioners recommended in early 1828: "Mr W Bryan is building a mill a short way up the stream and we beg to recommend reserving 100 acres each side for the various purposes of a village which we called Lyttleton."

Over the next few years Bryan used his influence to rename, in memory of his homeland, both the town and the river, much to the disgust of Lyttleton. It was reported in 1831 newspapers that the road from Launceston to Carrick had been opened. The path of the road was announced in April 1831, and it was opened for public traffic in June. The State Government sold town allotments in late 1838, obtaining what was noted as a high price of £45 (A\$8,100 in 2005) per acre.

### 19th century

Samuel Pratt Winter was sent to Tasmania by his father, at Bryan's request, to act as an overseer of the mill. He managed the mill from 1834, when Bryan went to London in the midst of a dispute with Governor Arthur, and leased it from 1837 onwards. After a dispute with the leasee Donald McLean in 1841, the mill was operated by Richard Warren from April 1841, he also occupied the mill cottage according to the 1842 census. A post office opened in November 1841, and at the end of the year the village had also four dwellings, a blacksmith shop, a police station, the flour mill and an adobe hotel built by John Archer. While passing through the town Louisa Anne Meredith took note of the buildings. In her guidebook, published in 1843, she referred to the "crazy weather board mill". At the time the mill's motive power came from an overshot water wheel supplied with water from the Liffey River via a long wooden trough. St Andrew's church was built in 1843 by Thomas Reibey as a school. The initial church grounds of 14 acres (6 ha) were donated by Thomas Reibey. Winter was living at the mill cottage in 1846, when he arranged for the old wooden mill to be removed and, with John Kinder Archer, began building the blue-stone mill. The town greatly expanded in the late 1850s, fueled by the efforts of those returning from the Victorian gold fields. Over time many cottages in Carrick were built for workers on the Reibey's Entally House outside nearby Hadspen.

By 1859 the town had two mills—one steam and one water wheel powered—that processed approximately 4000 bushels per week. There was a steam-powered brewery, opposite St Andrew's church, whose produce won first prize at the 1859 Launceston show (by 1947 the brewery was scant ruins). During its operation the brewery had supplied all of the town's hotels. Four inns were open and the town had an agricultural machinery manufacturing business. A public library was established in 1860. The mill was sold to Thomas Monds, an experienced miller, in 1867. At the time it was reported that its machinery was in poor repair, but the building was sound. When a nearby rail line was built in 1869 traffic through Carrick greatly diminished and trade in the town suffered, though the nearest station was Bishopbourne over 5 miles (8 km) away.

A government school was established in the 1870s and grew to 65 students by 1901. Mond's business expanded throughout the latter part of the 19th century and the prosperity of the town did likewise. He built a large grain store opposite the mill and opened offices and a depot in Launceston. Westbury Municipal Council built a public hall on the main road in 1883. The current weatherboard town hall dates from c. 1900 and the old hall is presumed to have been destroyed prior to this. At the town's height in the 19th century, just after the return of men from the Victorian gold fields, the town had four public houses and a population of approximately 400. It had four public houses operating two of which, Prince of Wales and the Carrick Hotel, remained open in 1901. As of 1883 it was reported that the inns were kept open by the Carrick Races and fortnightly livestock sales. Carrick's livestock sales were held at the Carrick Hotel and were the main fat stock sales for Launceston. At the turn of the century the town had no reticulated water. It relied on wells, rainwater and the inconstant river.

### Transportation

The Liffey River—then called Pennyroyal Creek—was first bridged at Carrick in 1828 with a simple log structure. This was replaced in the 1830s with a more substantial bridge, though still wooden. As of 1834 the areas' roads were poor and vehicles frequently became bogged on the road to Westbury. A bridge over the South Esk, at what is now Hadspen, was built in 1843. It replaced a frequently impassable ford and more reliably connected Carrick to Launceston. Liffey bridge was repaired and raised in the mid-1860s, keeping the original foundations. In May 1875 water sufficiently eroded these foundations to lead to the bridge's collapse, when one of the two supporting piles (logs) gave way. All of the Liffey bridges, and the connecting parts of the road, were subject to inundation when the river flooded; the 1929 Tasmanian Floods carried the bridge away. In the 1950s the road was reconstructed and the bridge again replaced. To reduce the incidence and impact of flooding both were raised substantially leaving the mill's ground floor far below the road level.

A rail line was built nearby in 1869. With the advent of rail, traffic through Carrick was greatly diminished and trade in the town suffered. A rail siding was built at "The Oaks", over 1 mile (1.6 km) from the town's edge and a station at Bishopbourne over 5 miles (8 km) away. The passenger rail service had ceased before 1978, a time when all Tasmanian passenger rail services ceased.

By 1877 there was a twice daily mail and passenger cart connecting Carrick to the railway station at Bishopbourne and "Blair's Bus" ran thrice weekly to Launceston. The Bass Highway, which passed through Carrick, had been designated a National Highway as part of the Federal National Highway Act 1974. The structure of this type of road required that the centre of Carrick be bypassed. The road through Carrick is now known as the Meander Valley Highway. Bass Highway, which connects Launceston, Burnie and Devonport, passes south of the town. As of 2011 Redline Coaches, runs a daily school bus service that passes through Carrick to many of the Schools in and around Launceston and regular services connecting Carrick to Burnie, Launceston, Hobart and towns in between.

## Sports

Carrick has long been associated with horse racing. The Reverend Thomas Reibey and the Fields Family were instrumental in founding both a racing club and racecourse. Racing first begun on "The Moat", a property on the east edge of Carrick. Reibey gifted a racecourse somewhat south of "The Moat"; the course was originally 1 mile, 57 links long. The Carrick Racing Club was formed in 1848 and the course was well regarded; it was called "the best in Tasmania" by author Hugh Munro Hull in 1859. The Carrick Plate—a name now used for a race held in Launceston—was held at the new racecourse, without interruption, annually from 1849 to 1913; this made it the oldest race in Australia.

The track's use changed from racing to trotting at this time. The Carrick Trotting club was formed in early 1914 and had its first meeting in February of the same year. The Carrick Trotting Club and Westbury Trotting Club combined in 1976 to form the Carrick Park Trotting Club, later to renamed Carrick Park Pacing Club. As of 2012 Carrick has a 1013m trotting track hosting 3 race meetings a year and up to 27 trial sessions. Next to the trotting track, on grounds owned by the club, is a speedway. Construction of the speedway began in 1967 and the first races were in September 1968. The track has been in use since opening and crowds of over 10,000 have been reported.

The town is frequent host to cycling events that are recorded as far back as 1897, and continue to the present day. The Liffey is fished for brown trout (Salmo trutta) during the August to April fishing season. Trout were released into the Liffey River by the fisheries commission in 1940, and by 1949 specimens of up to 11 pounds (5 kg) had been caught in the river's upper reaches.

## Water and sewerage

Organised water supply in the town began at least by 1883 when it was reported being carted from the millrace. The river's water was used as wells in the town were deemed too brackish. Five years later Thomas Monds installed hydraulic rams and began pumping water from the river to three iron tanks in the town. He on-sold the water to townspeople, though the mill had priority over river water; this was a particular problem during droughts when the Liffey slowed to a trickle. Westbury Council—local government of the time—called for tenders for Carrick's water supply in 1889. This water supply system was completed in 1890. Water was again pumped from the river near the mill, again by hydraulic rams, to a tank near the centre of the town which supplied another tank on the main road and some houses on the same road. Both tanks had troughs and hoses for public use.

A typhoid outbreak in the early 20th century was blamed on the water supplied from these tanks. Subsequent to this the pumps were shut down and the town again relied on rainwater tanks, wells and water carted from the river. The Westbury council's "Carrick Water Supply" was not self-funding and was abandoned in 1928. The mill's dam was washed away in the 1929 floods and has not been rebuilt, losing the town its water storage.

In 1961 a residents progress association was formed. A prime goal was the building of a reservoir—supplied from the river—on Armidale hill overlooking the town. To defray costs and gain council acceptance, a large part of the work was performed by volunteers. This scheme began supplying the town on 17 February 1961. Up to the 1970s, Carrick's growth was limited by the lack of town sewerage—which restricted the minimum allotment size—and reluctance of landowner's to subdivide property. A 1977 planning study found that the land structure allowed most of the town to be served by a gravity fed system and recommended construction. As of 2008 the majority of the town was connected to reticulated water and sewerage.

From the mid-1970s sewerage was processed at a plant near the town, which also handles sewerage from nearby Hadspen. Treated waste-water from there is discharged into a tributary of the Liffey River. As of 2003 the reticulated water supply in the town was untreated and both were operated by the Meander Valley council. By 2011 Carrick's water was supplied from the Mount Leslie Water Treatment Plant. This plant was built in 1996 and supplies treated water from the Trevallyn Dam.

## Education

Thomas Monds was instrumental in formation of the first school. This private school was built in 1843, though Thomas Reibey converted it into St Andrews church in 1845, and the school moved elsewhere in the town. A Government school was built in 1873, next to the current recreation ground, and both schools were open as of 1883. The private school closed late in the 19th century, but the Government school still had 65 students on the 1901 roll. The latter was a weatherboard building. It was extensively renovated in 1920 and was in use until the mid-1930s when the last school in Carrick closed. The building was relocated to nearby Hagley in 1938, though it was later demolished. In the same year the government began funding regular school transport from Carrick to the school at nearby Hagley, accompanying children from Hadspen whose school had also been closed. Since that time there has been no school in Carrick and a 1976 planning report stated the population was likely to remain insufficient to require one.

## Flora and fauna

Since European settlement the area has been subdivided, settled and farmed. A traveller in 1855 noted that the area was highly cultivated. The endangered Growling Grass Frog (Litoria raniformis) has been sighted, though there is only a single record. In some undisturbed areas there is Poa labillardierei (silver tussock) grassland and Themeda triandra (kangaroo grass). Glycine latrobeana (clover glycine) was recorded south of the town in 1984. Discaria pubescens (Hairy Anchor Plant or Australian Anchor Plant), which appears on the states endangered species list, was recorded north-east in 2001 on the South Esk River's floodplain. Apart from introduced brown trout the Liffey River is home to platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus). Platypus in the river have, in common with in other rivers nearby, been found with the potentially lethal fungal infection Mucor amphiborum.

## Religion

Carrick has one extant church, St Andrew's, an Anglican church in the parish of Quamby. Until 1992 it was in the former Anglican Parish of Carrick. Church of England—now known as the Anglican Church of Australia—services were first held c. 1843 in a blacksmith's shop and subsequently in a schoolhouse, whose building was later transformed into St Andrew's. Thomas Reibey had the schoolhouse converted by 1845, though the tower was a later addition. The church's burial ground was consecrated in April 1845, and the church itself, by Tasmania's first Church of England Bishop Francis Russell Nixon, on 25 November 1845. Though not yet ordained, Reibey received dispensation to begin holding services, first in the blacksmith's shop, prior to his ordination. He was later the first clergyman ordained by Bishop Nixon and was made an archdeacon in 1857. Thomas Reibey was the first minister of St Andrew's, and was succeeded by his brother James, for whom the church's rectory was built.

A Wesleyan chapel was built in 1865; a small weatherboard building with an attached Sunday School. The Church eventually fell out of use and became a private home. It was demolished during the 1930s. There has not been a Roman Catholic church in Carrick—the nearest church is Westbury—but some Catholics are recorded as attending the Anglican Church.

## Geography

The town is 17 kilometres (11 mi) from Launceston on the Meander valley Highway (B54) between the towns of Hadspen and Hagley. The Liffey river crosses the town's western end, after flowing from the Great Western Tiers, over the Liffey falls, through Bracknell and Bishopbourne. Shortly after passing through the town the river joins the Meander River.

## Demographics and people

Carrick's population has never been large. There were 430 residents in 1836 and near to 400 for most of the rest of the 19th century. By late 1976 the population had shrunk to around 200 living in 70 buildings—of which sixteen were classified as "Significantly contributing to the heritage of Australia" by the National Trust. A recovery in the late 20th century saw 317 residents recorded in the 2001 census and 439 in the 2006 census. Carrick's role in 1976 was as: a residential area for those working in Launceston; a retirement village; and a service centre for farming and stock breeding enterprises. The population in 2006 was largely Australian-born (87% compared to an average for all of Australia of 70.9%) and English-speaking at home (92.7% compared to an Australian average of 78.5%).

Sammy Cox (aka Samuel Emanuel Jervis) (c. 1773–1891) is a significant former resident. He claimed to have been born Samuel Emanuel Jervis, 15 November 1773 in Wales, or Lichfield, England, and spent time on his uncle's ship, the Regent Fox, after his father died, then jumped ship in 1789 near Tamar heads and subsequently lived with the local Aboriginals for twenty-six years. This would have him resident in Tasmania years before the first recorded settlement, in 1803 on the Derwent River, and before even the existence of Bass Strait was proved by George Bass and Matthew Flinders. In 1814 he met and was befriended by the Cox family, residents near Hadspen, and took the family's surname. He ended up working as a gardener and spent about 50 years living in a cottage on the "Little Moat" property on the Launceston side of Carrick. Cox died in the Launceston invalid depot, 5 June 1891 claiming to be 117 years old, though 115 is a more credible figure (von Stieglitz in 1946 credited his age as 118). His story has been widely reported; the dining room of the Carrick Hotel is named after him on the basis of it. It has been called into doubt, though, with historian Dr Andrew Piper describing the story as a tall tale constructed by Cox. While writing about Cox, Thomas Monds, who had befriended and assisted him, also expressed doubt as to the story's veracity.

Thomas Reibey has been written of as the Father of Carrick. Reibey was instrumental in construction of the Church, the racecourse and other, now heritage listed, buildings in the town. He donated over 10,000 pounds for the construction of the town's Anglican church, a very large sum for the time, and was appointed as the Archdeacon of Launceston in 1858. Reibey was elected to the House of Assembly seat of Westbury in 1874. He held the seat for 30 years and was the Premier of Tasmania from 20 July 1876 until 9 August 1877. Reibey was an avid horse trainer. His horse "Stockwell" won the 1882 Launceston Cup, the Carrick Plate in 1881 and came second in the Melbourne Cup.

Thomas Wilkes Monds was a successful miller and builder before moving to Carrick. He bought the stone mill in Carrick in 1867 and a steam mill in the town the following year. The successful operation of the mills by Monds brought wealth to him and prosperity to the town. Monds built the Gothic house "Hawthorn" in 1875 and worked the nearby 1,200 acres (490 ha) farm called "Hattondale", as well as the mills. Before he left Carrick for Launceston in 1888 his holdings in Carrick included the mill, the steam mill, Archer's Folly and some houses and acreages within the town and "Hattondale". Monds was chairman and treasurer of the Carrick Road Trust from 1870 to 1904 and spent nine years on the area's local council.

## Today's town

Carrick is a small historic village that is primarily a residential settlement for those who work in Launceston and the rural areas surrounding the town. Development has been slow and has not changed the town's original 19th century character. The local council's development plan aims to restrict development along Meander Valley road and prevent the merging of Carrick and Hadspen, keeping them as distinct centres. Construction is only planned within the town's boundary, where up to sixty homes could potentially be built under the strategic plan that runs until 2016. The town's development boundary is dictated by the span of sewerage connection. There are few businesses in the town and little incentive for business growth due to the town's small population. The town is in the Meander Valley Council local government area, the Federal Division of Lyons, and the State Division of Lyons.

Carrick has a roadhouse, a post office, a hotel, a copper and metal gallery and some accommodation. After Thomas Monds merged his business into Monds and Affleck, the company built a milling operation on Oaks Road, just south of the now re-aligned Bass Highway. As of 2010 the mill owner claimed it is "Tasmania's only large-scale commercial feed milling operation". The town plays host to a number of events including the Agfest field days, trotting races, speedway racing and cycling events. Next door to the ruins of Archer's Folly is the Tasmanian Copper and Metal Art Gallery. From here the Marik family makes, displays and sells handcrafted copper artworks. The lack of development over time has left the town with a significant number of colonial buildings and mature trees. The 1846 stone "Monds Roller Mill" is the town's most prominent feature. It was closed but being renovated as of 2008. Other heritage listed buildings are the ruin of Archer's Folly (begun 1847), St Andrews Church (1845), Balmoral (1851), The Old Watchhouse (1837), the Carrick Hotel (1833).

### Agfest

Agfest is an annual agricultural field day, held each May on a rural property in Carrick. It is the state's, and one of the country's, largest agricultural field days. Agfest is run by the Rural Youth Organisation of Tasmania with profits assisting Tasmanian Rural Counselling. It was first held at Symmons Plains, near Perth, Tasmania, in 1982 but the organising committee soon recognised the need for a larger site and in 1986 they purchased land on Oaks Road, Carrick from the Peterson family. This piece of land had originally been part of "Oaks Estate" belonging to Thomas Haydock Reibey, father to once Premier of Tasmania Thomas Reibey. They named it "Quercus Rural Youth Park"—Quercus is the genus name for oak—and held the first Agfest on the new site from 7–9 May 1987. Agfest has grown to the state's largest single event and attracts up to 70,000 visitors during the three days in May each year at the 200-acre (80 ha) site.

## Heritage properties

Carrick has a large number of well-preserved 19th-century buildings. Fifteen properties in and around Carrick are listed on the Tasmanian Heritage Register. The listings recognised their historic cultural heritage significance to all Tasmania. Some of the properties are also listed on the Register of the National Estate.

Pensioner's Row is a pair of co-joined brick cottages built by Thomas Reibey, originally for the blacksmith and saddler for "Entally Estate" in Hadspen. A heritage-listed cottage close by on Meander Valley road was formerly called "Ivy Cottage" due to prolific growth of the plant and was used as a private school. The former police watch-house was built opposite the Carrick Inn in 1837 using convict labour. The Prince of Wales Hotel was built in 1840 and was licensed for many years, but is now a private home. By 1869 it was a two-storey brick building with sixteen rooms, a cellar and a separate stone stable. "Sillwood" is the remains of an original farm building, built on a grant that was 4,560 acres (1,845 ha) in 1835. The original home was partly demolished to make way for an extension to an adjacent building in the late 20th century. The main farmhouse, said to be an "Outstanding Indian-influence house", has been demolished. Carrick House, on East Street was built around 1840 by Roderic O'Conner and was extended in the 19th century. Until the 1980s the house was associated with horse racing; its stables were used as a training base. It is a two-storey brick house with an iron roof and twelve-pane windows. Behind the stone mill is a single-storey brick cottage that was built around 1840 as a four-roomed, single-story brick building. After he purchased the mill, Monds expanded the cottage with a pantry, three more rooms and a dairy.

The Carrick Hotel is a two-storey brick building with an iron hip roof built in 1833. It is the only licensed premises in Carrick and has been operated as a hotel for the entire of its history. The hotel has been sold and the licence transferred numerous times, including the first instance from John Taylor to Thomas Archer on 12 August 1839, and was called the Hotel Marella from November 1945 to December 1952.John Rudge built the Plough Inn in 1841, though it was referred to in an 1842 survey map as the Carrick Inn. It is a two-story brick building with an iron roof and 12-panel windows. John Archer was the Inn's first licensee, but by 1863 it was no longer operating and the building was offered for lease. The last licensee was John Jordan in 1873; over time it has been used as a bakery, art gallery, hotel and private home.

### Monds Roller Mills

Monds Roller Mills building is a four-level, three-story, bluestone building with an iron gabled roof built c. 1846 by John Kinder Archer. The mill, and its associated storage and transportation needs, was the main employer in Carrick for many years. It was the last mill in Tasmania to be powered by water.

The first mill was built of timber and powered by a water wheel fed from a dam on the Liffey, all constructed by William Bryan in 1826. Samuel Pratt Winter was sent to Tasmania by his father, at Byran's request, as an overseer for the mill. He managed this mill from 1834, when Bryan went to London in the midst of a dispute with Governor Arthur. From 1837 he leased the mill from Bryan and continued to operate it. He was living at the mill cottage in 1846, and still leasing the mill, when he arranged for the old wooden mill to be removed and, with John Kinder Archer, began building the current stone structure. As built this new mill had a water wheel powering three pairs of French burrs. Thomas Wilkes Monds was born in Launceston in 1829 and spent his early life gaining experience in numerous milling operations. In early 1841, on Monds' first visit to the town, he recorded it as having only four houses, a wooden flour mill, a blacksmith's shop and a pub constructed of mud and straw. Thomas Monds purchased the mill, including 13 acres (5 ha) of attached land, at Auction in 1867 for 2,100 pounds. He then took ownership of the "Carrick Mills" and in early 1868 Monds, his wife and six children moved into the small cottage behind the mill. This cottage had four rooms that Monds later expanded with a pantry, three more rooms and a dairy. When he purchased it, and for some time afterwards, the mill was not financially successful. Monds blamed this state of affairs on the "speculative" operation of a steam-powered mill, just a short distance uphill. The steam mill owners eventually became insolvent and Monds acquired the operation and building.

Over time the mill's machinery was updated: in 1868 the existing wire machine was replaced with a silk dressing machine; a corn screen was installed in 1871; an oatmeal plant was added in 1880; the water wheel was replaced with an American-built water-powered "Victor" turbine in 1887; and in 1889 the plant was converted from millstones to roller milling, making it one of the earliest conversions in Tasmania. This last change, to roller milling, was recorded by Monds as driven by public demand for the whiter flour that process produced. Monds' oldest son took over office management of the mill in 1882 and Monds moved to Launceston in 1888 leaving the mill's management to his sons. The mill was the scene of the town's first telephones when they were installed at it and adjacent Hawthorn Villa in 1893.

The mill remained in the hands of TW Monds & Sons until their 1918 merger with T Affleck & Son—which owned the Newry mill at Longford—creating the company Monds & Affleck. Monds & Affleck only operated the mill until 1924, and never reopened it. By 1931 it was reported as having ceased operations years ago. Monds & Affleck sold the mill in 1947, though it is not known when the mill's machinery was removed. By this time the mill was descending into Ruin and had long been vacant. The mill was renovated in 1984 and opened as a restaurant, though four years later it had closed and was being sold. After this it was reopened as a wedding and meeting venue. It had closed again by 2008, but was being renovated with the intention of reopening.

### St. Andrew's Church

St. Andrew's Church is an actively used Anglican Church. The building is made from stuccoed brick with a crenelated tower and sits on 14 acres (6 ha)—that includes a cemetery and a rectory—abutting the Liffey River. The building was begun in 1843 by Thomas Reibey as a school for the town. He had the building converted to a church in 1845; Reibey donated the church's land and funded the building of the rectory and later purchase of the church's organ. The cemetery was consecrated in April 1845 and the church itself in November of the same year. The current structure was not complete until the tower was added in 1863. St. Andrew's was renovated c. 1900, the roof surface was replaced and new Cathedral glass installed.

A bell hangs in the tower, made in England from iron and steel and lined with silver. Early in the church's history, the Archdeacon of Chichester (later Cardinal Henry Edward Manning) provided communion vessels copied from a 12th-century coffin of the Bishop of Chichester, a fact recorded in inscriptions on the cups. St Andrew's east window commemorates James, Charlotte and Thomas Reibey (Archdeacon of Launceston for a time). The church features an organ, originally housed in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral, London. It was built by London organ builder J. C. Bishop around 1839, probably for a private owner. This dating is based partly on the organ's dedication plate's claim that Bishop was "Organ Builder to her Majesty" Queen Victoria, a claim that Bishop did not make until around this time. The organ's case is English oak with turned pillars at the front corners. It has a mechanical action with one manual and five speaking stops. A thorough restoration was completed in 1987 and the organ remains in use.

### Archer's Folly

John Kinder Archer, son of Carrick's first Inn's builder, began building a large mansion on Bishopbourne Road in 1847. It was built as a substantial, brick quoin and rubble walled, two-story structure with a triple-gabled roof. It was designed to have large rooms (16 ft (4.9 m) by 30 ft (9.1 m)) and a domed driveway through the house's centre. When only four rooms were completed, the ship "The City of Launceston" sank off Adelaide with much of the supplies to complete the building. After this setback, exacerbated by the lack of insurance, Archer abandoned the building. Thomas Monds bought it in 1867 and used it for storing grain. Archer's building work created only a shell that became known as Archer's Folly. The folly was recorded by The Mercury in 1883 as both unfinished and ugly. By 1946 the Folly remained uncompleted and was used as a barn. In the late 20th century it was owned by Mirek Marik, local copper-work artist, who partly restored it. A fire broke out on 5 April 1978 and the conflagration left just a roofless shell. Marik Metal Art later built a replacement studio and workshop adjacent to the now grand ruin.

### Hawthorne Villa

Hawthorne Villa is a Gothic-revival two-storey red-brick building at 1 Church Street. It was built by Thomas Monds in 1875 and is surrounded by English-style gardens that contain two large Californian Redwoods. The Villa was built on the site of Carrick's first hotel—an Adobe Inn built in the 1830s by John Archer—using some brickwork from the former building. This former building had been vacant since 1867 and was in a poor state. "The Stables" is a tourist property, set in the Villa's gardens, that is used for self-contained accommodation.