Probe said to find 2 Army captains hid deadly Niger mission’s real goal
WASHINGTON — A Pentagon investigation into an ambush that killed four U.S. soldiers in Niger in October found that two officers in charge misinformed higher-ups about the danger of the mission, yet recommended no punishment against them, according to officials familiar with the still-unreleased report on the findings.
Two Army captains — one in charge of the 12-man unit targeted in the ambush and another back at headquarters — did not disclose in paperwork before the mission that it was more than a routine reconnaissance, that the soldiers were seeking to capture the leader of an Islamic State affiliate involved in kidnapping an American aid worker, according to the officials briefed on the investigation findings.
The report recommended against taking disciplinary action against the officers, however, because they believed they had authority to carry out the capture-or-kill mission without approval, the officials said.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has reviewed the report and is expected to accept the conclusions, officials said.
The firefight was caused by an “aggressive, opportunistic enemy” that attacked the U.S. and Nigerien soldiers after they stopped for water at the village of Tongo Tongo — not by the failure to follow procedure, according to Rep. Steve Russell, R-Texas, a member of the House Armed Services Committee who was briefed Monday on the findings.
Families of the soldiers — Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, 35, of Puyallup, Wash.; Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio; Sgt. La David Johnson, 25, of Miami Gardens; and Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, 29, of Lyons, Ga. — have been briefed on the report.