Army soldier charged after Humvees destroyed

A U.S. Army soldier has been charged after three Humvees were destroyed. (Reuters)

A U.S. Army soldier has been charged after three Humvees were destroyed during a parachute drop last year.

Sgt. John Skipper, with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, was charged in May with destruction of government property and making a false official statement, a brigade spokesman said Tuesday, according to Military.com.

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The Humvees dropped through the air from the transport plane at the Hohenfels training area in Germany during the Saber Junction training exercise.

The plane, a Lockheed C-130 Hercules, dropped about 150 bundles of various equipment: supplies, vehicles, communication equipment and weapons. But three Humvees slipped from their parachute harness rigging and were destroyed as they hit the ground.

The charges against Skipper imply that a malfunction of military equipment was not the reason the Humvees slipped from their rigging, according to Military.com.

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A Humvee can cost up to $220,000, according to the site. The maximum punishment for the destruction of government property is “10 years in prison, dishonorable discharge and forfeiture of all pay and allowances.”