Can you explain how an exception was made? I thought that any qualified soldier could apply to be a Ranger. If he passes the training, then he’s a Ranger. What did the Army do differently in Tillman’s case?
Admittedly, I speculate with the benefit of hindsight (which I normally refer to 'looking out of one's own a$$'), and I'm assuming Tillman enlisted with RIP/Ranger School and assignment to a Ranger Battalion as terms of his contract. Having said that, the Army (IMHO) should have used a bit more discretion in consummation of that contract, and indeed, can void an enlistment contract when it's in the Army's interest to do so. Putting a celebrity, which the Army should have known would garner an excess of media attention, in a unit that best operates in the shadows was not a good idea, and potentially could have compromised a lot of Tillman's fellow soldiers and unit mission success.
In WWII a lot of sports and hollywood stars entered the military and served in any number of distinguished capacities. We live in a different world now, and the Army, or at least the officers in question, made a big miscalculation in dealing with what was a public relations nightmare waiting to happen.
Ooops...excuse the double negative in my first sentence. I’m confident Tillman met all the qualification to serve in the capacity he served...(if that wasn’t clear). It was just not necessarily to the Army’s advantage for him to do so.