The big bombers just happened to have the firepower requested, and low-flying craft may be considered targetable.

... it's the fault of the USAF generals who hog the close support and interdiction missions, but will not devote significant resources to doing them right.

Possible. Unlike Jerry Pournelle, I have not been nosing around military politics, and I'm not there now to see what's going on. That the rivalry is real is likely true. That the deaths are a direct result is not.

I have no doubt the bombers can deliver their payload on target 99.9% of the time, and that is likely exactly what happened here, but jumbling the data from the ground to the aircraft will result in disaster.

The fire direction center has at least 2 grid coordinates to work with. One is the target. The other is the position of the person calling for the support. Other grids may hold other 'targets of opportunity', as well as friendly troop positions. Mistake any of these, and the wrong folks die.

It happens, both in combat and in training. Considering the adrenal flow on the front lines, I would expect at least 2 more errors of this nature in as many months -- if the war lasts that long that is.

You wanna talk stress?
Dan