Seeking Answers In Kuwait Mishap

A central focus of the Pentagon's investigation of the fatal bombing accident in Kuwait will be the actions of an Air Force enlisted man who was responsible for directing a Navy pilot to his target and who survived the still-unexplained attack.

Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Michael P. DeLong, deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, arrived in Kuwait on Thursday to begin the investigation, the U.S. Embassy announced. Central Command, which is responsible for all U.S. military operations in the Persian Gulf, said DeLong will complete his probe by April 16.

DeLong met with the Kuwaiti chief of staff, Gen. Ali al-Momen, and the two agreed that the investigation should be conducted jointly by the two countries, according to a Kuwaiti military official.

The remains of the five American servicemen and one New Zealand military officer killed in the accident arrived at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Thursday. They received military honors in a brief ceremony in the rain. Autopsies will be conducted at nearby Landstuhl Medical Center.

DeLong's investigative team will visit the scene of the bombing in northern Kuwait and also go aboard the USS Harry S. Truman, the aircraft carrier in the gulf from which the Navy F/A-18 Hornet was launched to conduct the practice bombing at Kuwait's Udairi range.

The investigators also are expected to interview the three U.S. servicemen who were injured in Monday's accident and who are recovering at Landstuhl.

One of the three was removed from intensive care and is close to being well enough to travel home after recovering from surgery for multiple facial injuries and a shrapnel wound to a leg. "He is now alert, communicative and expected to be able to travel home in the next couple of days," said hospital spokeswoman Marie Shaw.

The other two, who underwent surgery in Kuwait, are in intensive care with serious injuries. Shaw, without identifying them, said it is not clear whether more surgery will be required but that both should be ready to travel in six to eight days.

Among the three hospitalized is Air Force Staff Sgt. Timothy Crusing, who was the "ground forward air controller" at Udairi responsible for directing the Navy pilot to his target. On Wednesday, officials said the target was a little more than one mile from the observation post.

The Air Force said Crusing is a tactical air controller with the 19th Air Support Operations Squadron based at Fort Campbell, Ky.

Officials have said it is unclear whether the bombing accident resulted from mistakes by the Navy pilot or the air controller, or both.

Central Command officials, based at Tampa, Fla., said Wednesday they would not comment on Crusing's specific role in the accident. "The specific details of those actions have not been established and will be a focus of the investigation," a command statement said.

Zimmerman had flown a daylight and nighttime mission at Udairi three days earlier. He has more than 3,000 Navy flying hours.

The father of one of the men killed in the accident said Wednesday he is not interested in placing blame, but wants officials to concentrate on fixing problems that lead to training accidents.

"What I'm looking for is a solution to the problem," Mike Freligh of Gosnell, Ark. told CBS News. His son was Army Sgt. Phillip M. Freligh.

The others killed were Air Force Staff Sgt. Jason M. Faley, who was based at Fort Campbell with Crusing; Army Staff Sgt. Troy J. Westberg, a medical sergeant assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, N.C; Army Staff Sgt. Richard N. Boudreau; and Army Spc. Jason D. Wildfong.

Freligh, Boudreau, and Wildfong were explosive ordnance disposal specialists assigned to the 707th Ordnance Company at Fort Lewis, Wash.

Army acting Maj. John McNutt, 27, was identified as the New Zealander killed.

©MMI The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed