View source for Christopher Speer

{{Short description|US Army soldier (1973–2002)}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = Christopher Speer
| image         = Christopher J. Speer -b.jpg
| image_size    = 
| alt           = 
| caption       = Speer as a [[staff sergeant]]
| nickname      = 
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1973|09|09}}
| birth_place   = [[Denver, Colorado]], United States
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|2002|08|06|1973|09|09}}
| death_place   = [[Ramstein Air Base]], Germany<ref name="matteredmost" />
| placeofburial = [[Pinehurst, North Carolina]], United States
| allegiance    = United States
| branch        = [[United States Army]]
| serviceyears  = 1992–2002
| rank          = [[Sergeant First Class]]
| servicenumber = 
| unit          = [[3rd Special Forces Group]]<br/>[[1st SFOD-D]] (Delta Force)
| commands      = 
| battles       = [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|War in Afghanistan]]
| awards        = [[Soldier's Medal]]<br/>[[Bronze Star Medal]]<br/>[[Purple Heart]]
| relations     = Todd Speer (brother)<br/>Tabitha Speer (widow)<br/>Taryn and Tanner Speer (children)<ref name="soc.mil bio">{{cite web |title=BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Sgt. 1st Class Christopher J. Speer |url=https://www.soc.mil/Memorial%20Wall/Bios/Speer_Christopher.pdf |website=[[United States Army Special Operations Command|USASOC]] |access-date=12 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150910235520/https://www.soc.mil/Memorial%20Wall/Bios/Speer_Christopher.pdf |archive-date=10 September 2015}}</ref>
| laterwork     = 
}}
'''Christopher James Speer''' (September 9, 1973&nbsp;– August 6, 2002)<ref name="dismissal motion">{{Cite web |date=11 July 2008 |title=United States v. Omar Ahmed Khadr Defense Motion to Dismiss for Violation of the Sixth Amendment Right to a Speedy Trial Government Response D-068 |url=http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Khadr%20-%20D%20-%20068%20Motion%20to%20Dismiss%20Speedy%20Trial.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508210520/http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Khadr%20-%20D%20-%20068%20Motion%20to%20Dismiss%20Speedy%20Trial.pdf |archive-date=8 May 2009 |website=[[United States Department of<!--an armed combatant--> Defense|U.S. Department of Defense]]}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Khan |first=Mohammed Azhar Ali |date=2012-08-03 |title=Canada: An ominous trend |publisher=[[Saudi Gazette]] |url=http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20120803131975 |url-status=dead |access-date=2012-09-29 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130418052458/http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20120803131975 |archive-date=2013-04-18}}</ref> Speer, who was not wearing a [[Combat helmet|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.<ref name="pay">{{Cite news |last=House |first=Dawn |date=26 January 2008 |title=Feds fight order to turn over terrorist funds |publisher=[[The Salt Lake Tribune]] |url=https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=8083722&itype=NGPSID |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626080941/https://archive.sltrib.com/article.php?id=8083722&itype=NGPSID |archive-date=26 June 2022}}</ref><ref name="JoSOM2003-10">{{Cite news |date=Fall 2003 |title=Dedication SFC Christopher J. Speer |publisher=[[Journal of Special Operations Medicine]] |url=http://www.socom.mil/JSOM/Documents/Fall03Vol3Ed4.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122094143/http://www.socom.mil/JSOM/Documents/Fall03Vol3Ed4.pdf |archive-date=2010-11-22 |quote=Six days before he received the wound that killed him, Sgt. 1st Class Christopher J. Speer walked into a minefield to rescue two wounded Afghan children, according to fellow soldiers.  He applied a tourniquet to one child and bandaged the other, they said.  Then he stopped a passing military truck to take the wounded children to a U.S. Army field hospital.  Speer saved those children, his colleagues said.}}</ref>

==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.<ref name="matteredmost" /> He received [[Combat medic|18 Delta combat medic]] training at the [[Joint Special Operations University#Notable courses|Joint Special Operations University]] at [[Hurlburt Field]],
[[Florida]].{{citation needed|date=August 2022|reason=yes, it is the site of 1st special ops medical group and that's where 18D's get trained but need a source or decently solid evidence that that was the only place at the time that he could've gone to (and even that might be a bit OR-ish)}}

Speer was assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group upon completing training as a Special Forces medic in 1997. As part of the [[1st SFOD-D]] (known as Delta Force and based at [[Fort Bragg, North Carolina]]), he deployed to Afghanistan in Spring 2002 as part of [[Operation Enduring Freedom]].<ref name="matteredmost" />

==Death==
[[File:Speer at Bagram being unloaded by the 396th Medical.jpg|left|thumb|Speer at [[Bagram Airfield|Bagram]] being unloaded by the 396th Medical.]]
{{see also|Omar Khadr#Firefight and capture}}
On July 27, 2002, Christopher Speer and a group of four other soldiers on reconnaissance patrol were injured during a firefight upon attacking a building in [[Khost Province]], [[Afghanistan]].<ref name="matteredmost" /> SFC Christopher Speer was part of a squad assigned the task of going through the ruins of the building after it had been destroyed.<ref name=TorontoStar20070429>{{cite news| url=https://www.thestar.com/news/2007/04/29/khadr_goes_on_trial.html| title=Khadr goes on trial| publisher=[[Toronto Star]]| last1=Shephard |first1=Michelle |author-link=Michelle Shephard | date=April 29, 2007 | accessdate=2007-09-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113144841/https://www.thestar.com/news/2007/04/29/khadr_goes_on_trial.html |archive-date=13 January 2014}}</ref>

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.<ref name="matteredmost" />

The incident received widespread attention as fifteen-year-old [[Toronto]]-born [[Omar Khadr]], a [[Canadians|Canadian]] citizen with [[Egyptians|Egyptian]] and [[Palestinian people|Palestinian]] ancestry, was captured and subsequently imprisoned in [[Guantanamo Bay detainment camp|Guantanamo Bay]], accused of killing Speer.<ref name=OttawaCitizen20070625>{{cite news|url= http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=d23f2f2e-54f9-426a-8f6a-a751e70ec93e&k=68397|title= U.S. Supreme Court reverses stance, will review terror suspects appeal|publisher= [[Ottawa Citizen]] |last1=Alberts |first1=Sheldon  |date= June 29, 2007|accessdate= 2007-09-25|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070929095856/http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=d23f2f2e-54f9-426a-8f6a-a751e70ec93e&k=68397|archive-date = September 29, 2007}}</ref><ref name=SydneyMorningHerald20060112>{{cite news| url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/01/11/1136956242159.html?from=top5 | title=Meet terrorism's first family, or so US military prosecutors allege| last1=Reynolds |first1=Richard |author-link1=| publisher=[[Sydney Morning Herald]]| date=January 12, 2006| accessdate=2007-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007024034/http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/01/11/1136956242159.html?from=top5 |archive-date=7 October 2008}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/no-khadr-return-deal-in-place-cannon-1.902718 |title=No Khadr return deal in place: Cannon |work=[[CBC News]] |access-date=29 October 2010 |date=October 28, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101101115057/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/10/28/khadr-cannon-canada.html |archive-date=November 1, 2010 }}</ref><ref name="cnn">{{Cite news |last=Meserve |first=Jeanne |date=October 25, 2010 |title=Khadr plea |work=[[CNN]] |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/10/25/khadr.plea/ |access-date=29 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101026132342/http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/10/25/khadr.plea/ |archive-date=October 26, 2010}}</ref>

The charges against Khadr were filed under the [[Military Commission Act of 2006]] and considered under US law to be [[war crime]]s, though the act passed into law several years after Speer's death.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Rona|first1=Gabor|title=Legal Issues in the ‘War on Terrorism’ – Reflecting on the Conversation Between Silja N.U. Voneky and John Bellinger|journal=[[German Law Journal]]|date=May 2008|volume=9|issue=5|pages=711–736|url=http://www.germanlawjournal.com/s/GLJ_Vol_09_No_05_Rona.pdf|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20160420154052/http://www.germanlawjournal.com/s/GLJ_Vol_09_No_05_Rona.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2016-04-20|accessdate=11 July 2017}}</ref>  In 2013, Khadr filed a civil suit against the government of Canada, alleging that the government had breached his [[Charter of Rights and Freedoms|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.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Shephard |first=Michelle |author-link=Michelle Shephard |date=13 December 2013 |title=Omar Khadr: No memory of firefight in Afghanistan |work=[[Toronto Star]] |url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/12/13/omar_khadr_no_memory_of_firefight_in_afghanistan.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214010500/https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/12/13/omar_khadr_no_memory_of_firefight_in_afghanistan.html |archive-date=14 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=13 December 2013 |title=Omar Khadr explains war-crimes guilty pleas in court filing |work=[[CBC News]] |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/omar-khadr-explains-war-crimes-guilty-pleas-in-court-filing-1.2463558 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214073221/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/omar-khadr-explains-war-crimes-guilty-pleas-in-court-filing-1.2463558 |archive-date=14 December 2013}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Cbc20080205KhadrLawyers">{{Cite news |date=February 5, 2008 |title=New witness account shows Khadr charges should be dropped: lawyers |publisher=[[CBC News]] |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/new-witness-account-shows-khadr-charges-should-be-dropped-lawyers-1.765709 |access-date=2008-02-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511012701/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/new-witness-account-shows-khadr-charges-should-be-dropped-lawyers-1.765709 |archive-date=11 May 2015}}</ref>
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.<ref name=TorStar>{{cite news|url= https://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&pubid=968163964505&cid=1137066011885&col=968705899037&call_page=TS_News&call_pageid=968332188492&call_pagepath=News/News|title= U.S. prosecutor's comments on Khadr reviewed|publisher= [[Toronto Star]]|date= January 12, 2006|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110606152807/http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar%2FLayout%2FArticle_Type1&c=Article&pubid=968163964505&cid=1137066011885&col=968705899037&call_page=TS_News&call_pageid=968332188492&call_pagepath=News%2FNews|archive-date = June 6, 2011}}</ref><ref name="CBC">{{Cite news |date=September 24, 2007 |title=Terrorism charges reinstated against Khadr |publisher=[[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] |url=https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.644380 |access-date=2007-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220812022341/https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.644380 |archive-date=12 August 2022}}</ref>

===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.<ref name="cnn" />

On October 29, 2010, after taking the stand, Khadr apologized to the widow of Speer stating "I'm really sorry for the pain I caused to your family. I wish I could do something to take that pain away.", and further stating that his eight years in prison had taught him "the beauty of life".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Montet |first=Virginie |date=October 29, 2010 |title=Khadr says sorry to slain soldier's widow |work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |url=http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/khadr-says-sorry-to-slain-soldiers-widow-20101029-176fg.html |access-date=29 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101031002841/http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/khadr-says-sorry-to-slain-soldiers-widow-20101029-176fg.html |archive-date=31 October 2010}}</ref>

==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.<ref name=JoSOM2003-10/>

The infirmary at a special forces base in [[Kunar Province]] was named the "Christopher J. Speer Medical Clinic" in his memory.<ref name="matteredmost">{{Cite book |last=Casscells |first=Samuel Ward |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=icZ0DQLaoeUC&pg=PA11 |title=When It Mattered Most: Remembering Our Fallen Medical Personnel in Iraq |publisher=Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) |year=2009 |isbn=9780160818523 |accessdate=2012-09-29}}</ref>

==Awards and decorations==
Speer's awards include:<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 7, 2002 |title=CHRISTOPHER J. SPEER, Green Beret Foundation |url=https://greenberetfoundation.org/memorial/christopher-j-speer/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150428002132/https://greenberetfoundation.org/memorial/christopher-j-speer/ |archive-date=28 April 2015 |access-date=September 27, 2020 |website=Green Beret Foundation}}</ref>
{| style="width=100%;"
|-
|valign="top" |
{| class="wikitable"
|-  style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;"
| colspan=2 |'''Personal decorations'''
|-
|[[File:Soldier's Medal ribbon.svg|80px]] 
|[[Soldier's Medal]]
|-
|[[File:Bronze Star Medal ribbon with &quot;V&quot; device, 1st award.svg|80px]] 
|[[Bronze Star Medal]] with [["V" device]]
|-
|[[file:Purple Heart BAR.svg|80px]]
|[[Purple Heart]]
|-
|[[File:Defense Meritorious Service Medal ribbon.svg|80px]] 
|[[Defense Meritorious Service Medal]]
|-
|[[File:Meritorious Service Medal ribbon.svg|80px]] 
|[[Meritorious Service Medal (United States)|Meritorious Service Medal]]
|-
|[[File:Army Commendation Medal ribbon.svg|80px]] 
|[[Commendation Medal|Army Commendation Medal]]
|-
|[[File:Army achievement medal.png|80px]] 
|[[Achievement Medal|Army Achievement Medal]] with 1 oak leaf cluster
|-
|[[File:Army Good Conduct Medal ribbon.svg|80px]] 
|[[Good Conduct Medal (United States)|Army Good Conduct Medal]]
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal ribbon.svg|width=80}}
|[[Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal]]
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=Afghanistan Campaign ribbon.svg|width=80}}
|[[Afghanistan Campaign Medal]] with 1 [[Campaign star]]
|-
|{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary ribbon.svg|width=80}}
|[[Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal]]
|-
|[[File:Global War on Terrorism Service ribbon.svg|80px]]
|[[Global War on Terrorism Service Medal]]
|-
|[[File:National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|80px]]
|[[National Defense Service Medal]]
|-
|[[File:NCO Professional Development Ribbon.svg|80px]]<span style="position:relative; top:0; left:-46px; display:inline-block; width:0;">[[File:Award numeral 2.svg|12px]]</span>
|[[Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon|NCO Professional Development Ribbon]] with award numeral 2
|-
|[[File:Army Service Ribbon.svg|80px]]
|[[Army Service Ribbon]]
|-
|}
|valign="top" |
{| class="wikitable"
|-  style="background:#ccf; text-align:center;"
| colspan=2 |'''Other accoutrements'''
|-
|[[file:Combat Medical Badge, 1st award.svg|80px]] 
|[[Combat Medical Badge]]
|-
|[[File:US Army Airborne basic parachutist badge.gif|80px]]
|[[Parachutist Badge (United States)|Parachutist Badge]]
|-
|[[File:AirAssault.svg|80px]]
|[[Air Assault Badge]]
|-
|[[File:US Military Master Free Fall Parachutist Badge.jpg|80px]] 
|[[Military Freefall Parachutist Badge|Military Free Fall Jumpmaster Badge]]
|-
|[[File:USAF_-_Occupational_Badge_-_Scuba.svg|60px]] 
|[[Uniform Service Diver Insignia (United States)|Scuba Diver Badge]]
|-
|[[File:German_Silver_Para_badge.jpg|120px]] 
|[[Parachutist Badge (Germany)|Silver German Parachutist Badge]]{{citation needed|date=August 2022|reason=no mention of it in records nor visible on his pictures in uniform}}
|-
|[[File:ExpertBadgeRP.jpg|60px]] 
|[[Marksmanship Badge (United States)#United States Army|Expert Marksmanship Badge]] with Rifle and Pistol Component Bar
|-
|[[File:SpecialForces Badge.svg|60px]] 
|[[United States Army Special Forces|U.S Army Special Forces]] [[Distinctive unit insignia]]
|-
|[[File:SpecialForcesTabMetal.jpg|80px]] 
|[[Special Forces Tab]]
|-
|[[File:U.S. Army Special Operations Command CSIB.png|80px]]
|[[United States Army Special Operations Command]] [[Combat Service Identification Badge]]
|}
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography}}
{{commons cat}}
{{Wikisource|First Geneva Convention}}
{{Wikisource|OC-1 CITF witness report}}
*[https://www.soc.mil/Memorial%20Wall/Bios/Speer_Christopher.pdf Biographical Sketch at SOC.mil] [https://web.archive.org/web/20150910235520/https://www.soc.mil/Memorial%20Wall/Bios/Speer_Christopher.pdf Archived]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20040808174014/http://www.militarycity.com/valor/262917.html Honor the fallen] Archived from  MilitaryCity
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927080402/http://www.groups.sfahq.com/3rd/speer_kia.htm SFC Christopher J. Speer] Archived from Special Forces Association

{{Recipients of the Soldier's Medal}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Speer, Christopher J.}}
[[Category:1973 births]]
[[Category:2002 deaths]]
[[Category:Combat medics]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Soldier's Medal]]
[[Category:United States Army non-commissioned officers]]
[[Category:Members of the United States Army Special Forces]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]]
[[Category:American military personnel killed in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]]
[[Category:Deaths by hand grenade]]