Christopher James Speer (September 9, 1973 – August 6, 2002) was a United States Army combat medic and an armed member of a special operations team who was killed during a skirmish in Afghanistan on July 27, 2002. Speer, who was not wearing a helmet at the time because the mission called for indigenous clothing, suffered a head wound from a grenade and succumbed to his injuries approximately two weeks later. Omar Khadr was charged and convicted of throwing the grenade that killed Speer.
Training and deployment
Speer enlisted in the United States Army in July 1992 and after initial training as a combat medic, was assigned to the Army Hospital at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, until 1994.
The injured Speer was evacuated by air to Bagram Air Force Base and then to Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where he died on August 6, 2002. Khadr was held without trial for 8 years. In October 2010, he pleaded guilty to, among other crimes, "murder in violation of the laws of war" for the killing of Speer. At that time, he said he had thrown the hand grenade which killed Speer in the firefight.
The charges against Khadr were filed under the Military Commission Act of 2006 and considered under US law to be war crimes, though the act passed into law several years after Speer's death. In 2013, Khadr filed a civil suit against the government of Canada, alleging that the government had breached his Charter rights. In the lawsuit, he claimed he had only signed the plea agreement because he believed it was the only way he could gain transfer from Guantanamo. In an affidavit filed in the proceedings, he said he had no memory of the firefight.
Prior to his plea of guilty to Speer's death, Khadr became the focus of several legal disputes.
On February 4, 2008, American officials accidentally released an unredacted version of testimony
which—according to Khadr's lawyers—showed that Khadr was not responsible for Speer's death.
In January 2006 Colonel Morris Davis, Khadr's prosecutor, in statements to the press, said that Khadr owed his life to American medics who stepped over the dead body of their colleague to treat Khadr's wounds. Speer died from his wounds on August 6, 2002, at the age of 28.
Aftermath
On the second anniversary of Speer's death, SFC Speer's widow Tabitha and a comrade of his, Layne Morris, initiated legal proceedings to claim compensation from the estate of Omar Khadr's father Ahmed Khadr.
On October 25, 2010, Khadr pleaded guilty to and was convicted of the murder of Speer in violation of the laws of war, attempted murder in violation of the laws of war, conspiracy, two counts of providing material support for terrorism and spying in the United States.
Legacy
Speer was awarded the Soldier's Medal for risking his life to save two Afghan children who were trapped in a minefield on July 21, 2002, two weeks before his death.
Awards and decorations
Speer's awards include:
{| style="width=100%;"
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{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;"
| colspan=2 |Personal decorations
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|80px
|Soldier's Medal
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|80px
|Bronze Star Medal with "V" device
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|80px
|Purple Heart
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|80px
|Defense Meritorious Service Medal
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|80px
|Meritorious Service Medal
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|80px
|Army Commendation Medal
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|80px
|Army Achievement Medal with 1 oak leaf cluster
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|80px
|Army Good Conduct Medal
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|Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
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|Afghanistan Campaign Medal with 1 Campaign star
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|Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
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|80px
|Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
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|80px
|National Defense Service Medal
|-
|80px<span style="position:relative; top:0; left:-46px; display:inline-block; width:0;">12px</span>
|NCO Professional Development Ribbon with award numeral 2
|-
|80px
|Army Service Ribbon
|-
|}
|valign="top" |
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;"
| colspan=2 |Other accoutrements
|-
|80px
|Combat Medical Badge
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|80px
|Parachutist Badge
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|80px
|Air Assault Badge
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|80px
|Military Free Fall Jumpmaster Badge
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|60px
|Scuba Diver Badge
|-
|120px
|Silver German Parachutist Badge
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|60px
|Expert Marksmanship Badge with Rifle and Pistol Component Bar
|-
|60px
|U.S Army Special Forces Distinctive unit insignia
|-
|80px
|Special Forces Tab
|-
|80px
|United States Army Special Operations Command Combat Service Identification Badge
|}
|}
References
External links
- Biographical Sketch at SOC.mil Archived
- Honor the fallen Archived from MilitaryCity
- SFC Christopher J. Speer Archived from Special Forces Association