Army Times: Paratrooper ordered videos deleted after dodgy gunfight in Syria, charge sheets say

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"On Aug. 17, 2020, Sgt. 1st Class Robert Nicoson’s patrol drove up to a checkpoint in northeastern Syria manned by troops loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Nicoson dismounted his vehicle and threatened to kill the pro-regime fighters if they did not allow B Troop, 1st Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, through, the charge sheets said.

The exchange that followed reportedly killed one Syrian fighter and wounded two others. There were no U.S. casualties. A portion of the gunfight was caught on video, though it does not show how it began.

After the incident, Nicoson ordered two soldiers to delete video recordings of the unit’s actions at the checkpoint in an attempt to cover up any potential wrongdoing, the charge sheets said.

He also ordered a soldier to falsely claim that pro-Syrian regime fighters granted the troop permission to pass through the checkpoint, the charge sheets added.

The paratroopers eventually returned to their home of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Roughly eight months after the incident, Nicoson was charged with two counts of failure to obey an order; two counts of reckless endangerment; one count of communicating threats; and three counts of obstructing justice."

BMF: It's always the coverup, not the crime, right? What offense was he committing by attempting to get through the checkpoint? What am I missing? I see an order violation offense.