Army soldier found guilty of cutting straps, sending Humvees plummeting from plane during training exercise
An Army soldier was found guilty of deliberately destroying three Army vehicles by cutting the parachute straps on Humvees that were dropped during an airborne exercise in southern Germany.
(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Justin Geiger)
A soldier with the U.S. Army was found guilty on Wednesday of deliberately destroying three Army vehicles by cutting the parachute straps on Humvees that were dropped during an airborne exercise in southern Germany.
The Army said in a statement to Fox News that Sgt. John T. Skipper, 29, was found guilty in a court-martial of three instances of destroying military property worth over $500 and lying during the official criminal investigation.
The incident happened back in April 2016, when Skipper was assigned to the 91st Cavalry Regiment (Airborne) in Grafenwoehr, Germany, part of the Italy-based 173rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne).
By clipping the straps, the Humvees smashed to the ground after they were dropped from a plane – a moment that was captured in a video posted to YouTube.
WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE BELOW
The Humvees dropped through the air from the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport plane at the Hohenfels training area in Germany during the Saber Junction training exercise and were destroyed as they hit the ground.
No one was hurt in the incident, but thousands of dollars of equipment was damaged. A Humvee can cost up to $220,000, according to Military.com.
ARMY SOLDIER CHARGED AFTER HUMVEES DESTROYED
"Skipper was sentenced to a reduction in grade to E1 and a Bad Conduct Discharge by a court-martial panel consisting of enlisted soldiers and officers," the Army said.
The 29-year-old had faced up to 10 years in prison, a dishonorable discharge and forfeiture of all pay and allowances under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, according to Stars and Stripes.
The Humvees dropped through the air from the transport plane at the Hohenfels training area in Germany during the Saber Junction training exercise.
(U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Justin Geiger))
He was the second solider to be punished for the incident. A sergeant first class heard laughing and cursing in the video of the Humvees falling from the sky was given an administrative letter of reprimand, Stars and Stripes reported.
Video of the April 2016 incident went viral after it was posted on social media, and has over 1.4 million views on YouTube.