Military reopens probe of Tillman death

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 8/23/05

[linkinpunk]

Military reopens probe of Tillman death

Robert Collier

8/23/2005

The Pentagon has reopened an investigation into last year's friendly fire killing of former football star Pat Tillman in combat in Afghanistan, saying it will begin a "review" of a previous Army probe that Tillman's parents and others have strongly criticized.

/snip

"Hopefully something will come of this," said Mary Tillman. "Many crucial things that happened did not come out in the earlier reports. People above should have been punished," she said, referring to Pat Tillman's commanding officers in Afghanistan.

/snip

the Army initially told Tillman's family and the public that he had been killed in combat against Taliban guerrillas, leading troops up a hill under enemy fire...Six weeks later, however, the Army admitted to Tillman's family that he had been killed by members of his own army detachment.

/snip

they complained publicly that the documents showed that Pentagon commanders -- including Gen. John Abizaid, head of the U.S. Central Command -- had known soon after Tillman's death that friendly fire had killed him.

/snip

the Tillmans have carefully kept a politically neutral stance, avoiding links with the anti-war movement that has adopted Cindy Sheehan in her protests over the death of her son Casey in Iraq.

"I am not involved with political agendas," said Patrick Tillman. "I only want to get to the bottom of this."

/snip

Mary Tillman pointed to what she said were discrepancies in the last two investigations, including whether the troops had been firing in the dark or in good visibility, whether the troops who killed her son had dismounted from their vehicle or were firing in a high-speed rush down the valley, and why Tillman's bullet-riddled flak jacket was burned immediately after his death rather than being preserved for a later investigation.

[linkinpunk]

Pat Tillman. Photo courtesy Department of Defense

[Coop]

Pat Tillman - Hero

[Issaquahking]

Needs a Bump for a hero!

[bitt]

hero!

[Sacajaweau]

He gave up a million bucks for something he considered greater....Love of Country. He must have been a real upper for those soldiers who love football.

It must be heart wrenching for the soldier who accidently took him down.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

.


Pat Tillman - Hero

http://www.Freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1136204/posts


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[Liberty Valance]

God Bless Pat Tillman and all who serve.
Pray for their leaders. Pray for their families.
Pray for peace through victory!

[shezza]

That's why it's called "the fog of war." Friendly fire or enemy fire, a battlefield is dangerous! How can commanding officers be held personally responsible for every shot in a hostile, dangerous, scary and chaotic situation? *Sigh*

God rest his soul, Pat Tillman is a HERO, regardless of whose bullets took him down.

[Coop]

I still get very sad thinking about America losing such an impressive hero and role model. But then I recall a wonderful quote by a man generally known for more "colorful" language.

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived."

--Gen. George Patton

[patton]

Nice quote.

[Coop]

Misty-eyed quote ping.

[disgustedvet]

There are tactical and medical reasons for the burning of uniforms in a combat environment. In addition, irregardless of how high tech our military becomes, at some point of the operation, we will have to put boots on the ground to seize the land, and therefore, fratricide will always be a risk in warfare. It is going to happen. I will say from experience that the 75th Ranger Regiment goes the extra mile and then some to do anything and everything they can to minimize the risks of fratricide. I can't imagine the Hell the man who fired the shot(s) is living in, knowing he was responsible to the loss of a Brother.

Also, the commanders in the field are not responsible for refuting statements made by Special Operations Command. Their jobs are to train soldiers and carryout mission orders, not public relations. Their discipline requires silence on this issue.

My heart goes out to the Tillman family, and I thank them for their sacrifices. Every Ranger, past and present, grieves with them. But at the end of the day, after all of the investigations, I would be shocked - no, crushed, if it is found the one of our Ranger Brethren in the field did anything dishonest to cover up and sweep this under the rug. It's just not how the Regiment does business. The lives of Rangers in uniform depends on errors being recognized and corrected, not ignored.

I truly hope the Tillman family finds peace as soon as possible.

[ohioWfan]

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived."

--Gen. George Patton

Amen!

(I never thought I'd be saying that particular word to a Patton quote. ;)

Thank You, Lord, for Pat Tillman, and for others like him who sacrifice their lives for our freedom!

And may the God of love bring comfort and peace to his family.

[Coop]

Every Ranger, past and present, grieves with them. But at the end of the day, after all of the investigations, I would be shocked - no, crushed, if it is found the one of our Ranger Brethren in the field did anything dishonest to cover up and sweep this under the rug. It's just not how the Regiment does business. The lives of Rangers in uniform depends on errors being recognized and corrected, not ignored.

Those of us not in the Ranger family grieve as well. I'm with you. Even if Rangers were so inclined to cover up something - which I don't believe they are - their apparent fondness for Pat combined with the publicity surrounding him would discourage any shenanigans.

[theFIRMbss]

>The lives of Rangers . . .

I'm confused about
"Rangers." I had always thought
they were elite troops.

But Tillman shipped out,
if I remember it right,
after training just

a few months. Are there
"types" of Rangers? Was Tillman
fully qualified?

[linkinpunk]

Yes. Nice quote.

Could also be said of my father in law, who died in an accident almost one year ago.

[linkinpunk]

I hope the Tillman's find peace also.

My wife in the last few years lost her nephew, brother and father in seperate accidents.

It is not fun trying to piece together someone's last moments or the events that led to their death.

[Peach]

I know a lot of us aren't Senator McCain fans, but his words at Pat Tillman's memorial service resonate today more than ever:

"In our blessed and mostly peaceful society we're not as familiar with courage as we once were. We are obliged to value our blessings, and to pay our debts to those who sacrificed to secure them for us.

They are blood debts we owe to the policemen and firemen who raced into the burning towers that others fled; to the men and women who left for dangerous, distant lands to take the war to our enemies and away from us, and to those who fought in all the wars of our history.

Our country's security doesn't depend on the heroism of every citizen. Nor does our individual happiness depend upon proving ourselves heroic. But we have to be worthy of the sacrifices made on our behalf. We have to love our freedom, not just for the ease or material benefits it provides, not just for the autonomy it guarantees us, but for the goodness it makes possible. We have to love it so much we won't let it be constrained by fear or selfishness. We have to love it as much, even if not as heroically, as Pat Tillman loved it."

[chudogg]

There are Rangers, who are in the actual Ranger Batallions, and then there are so called "Leg Rangers" who went through the Ranger School but are placed in a regular Infantry Unit. Yes Ranger's are elite, and do tougher training than most, but you will still have guys in the unit who just recently finished the school. Even Special Forces is like that, allthough they have longer training and do a better job weeding guys out. There is no unit in the Army that requires a minimum time in service before joining. Except for maybe Delta Force.

And i might add, in the situation, there appears to be no part of negligence on Tillman's part or that of his teams. Some have added that his commander split up the forces too much and caused a lack of accountability of where everyone was, and that led to another team mistaking Tillman for an enemy, but as someone already said, in the Fog of War there is no way of knowing what happened safely behind a keyboard over here.

[Donna Lee Nardo]

Another BUMP!