Air Force Times June 01, 2008
Silver Star recipient sentenced to 5 months
By Erik Holmes
A search-and-rescue helicopter pilot and one of the heroes of Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan in 2002 will spend the next five months in prison.
Capt. Thomas Cahill of the 561st Joint Tactics Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., pleaded guilty Tuesday to several charges relating to off-base thefts and was sentenced to five months of confinement and a $10,000 fine. He could face another five months of confinement if he fails to pay the fine.
Cahill was awarded the Silver Star in February 2003 for rescuing three soldiers March 3, 2002, off a high mountain ridge in Afghanistan while his HH-60G Pave Hawk was under heavy enemy fire.
He was charged four years later with stealing a Yamaha YFZ450 valued in excess of $500; $5,729 from USAA, a financial and insurance company serving military members; two 24-foot car hauler trailers valued in excess of $500 each; and a Beisemeyer racing boat valued in excess of $500.
He also was charged with making a false official statement, conspiracy to commit larceny, conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman, knowingly receiving stolen property and obstructing justice.
Cahill’s case was referred to trial after an Article 32 investigation in May 2007, but he did not plead guilty until more than a year later, on May 27. He pleaded guilty to larceny of the two 24-foot car hauler trailers from a civilian off base, conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman, knowingly receiving stolen property and obstructing justice.
Operation Anaconda was one of the largest battles of the war in Afghanistan and involved soldiers from Special Forces units, the 10th Mountain Division and the 101st Airborne Division, according to the Web site GlobalSecurity.org. Eight American service members were killed in the more than two weeks of intense mountain warfare in eastern Afghanistan, according to the site.
© Copyright 2008, Army Times Publishing Company
