Probe into Tillman death to cite officers’ missteps
Jacobson tells OTL feelings about Tillman probe
WASHINGTON (AP) — A Pentagon investigation will recommend that nine officers, including up to four generals, be held accountable for missteps in the aftermath of the friendly fire death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman in Afghanistan, senior defense officials said Friday. The Defense Department inspector general will cite a range of errors and inappropriate conduct as the military probed the former football star’s death on the battlefront in 2004, said one defense official. The official, who like the others requested anonymity because the Army has not publicly released the information, said it appears senior military leaders may not have had all the facts or worked hard enough to get the facts of what happened on April 22, 2004, when Tillman was killed by members of his own platoon.
When Arizona Cardinals safety Pat Tillman enlisted in the US Army after 9.11, it was a major recruiting coup for the Army. Imagine, a wealthy NFL player who gives up a fabulous and lucrative career in his prime to fight for his country. Tillman was the poster boy the Army needed in order to convince Americans that joining the Army was a good and righteous thing to do.
Then came the night of April 22, 2004…when Tillman was killed by members of his own platoon…and the Army determined that the truth just wouldn’t do. Though those who were with him that night knew almost instantly what had happened, the Army persisted with the fiction that Tillman died a valiant, heroic death while leading his men in battle- the sort of thing you’d expect from the Army’s poster boy.
It was bad enough that senior Army officers perpetrated this travesty upon the American people. What’s worst, though, is that they maintained it with Tillman’s family- through the nationally televised memorial service. Tillman’s death was tragic enough (as ANY soldier’s is), but to continue to use Tillman for propaganda purposes as he was used in life was absolutely unconscionable.
Now a report is coming out which allegedly will hold nine senior officers “accountable” without admitting that there was any sort of conspiracy to maintain the lies and propaganda surrounding the circumstances of Pat Tillman’s death? Why does the word “whitewash” immediately spring to mind?
Dozens of soldiers — those immediately around Tillman at the scene of the shooting, his immediate superiors and high-ranking officers at a command post nearby — knew within minutes or hours that his death was fratricide.
Even so, the Army persisted in telling Tillman’s family he was killed in a conventional ambush, including at his nationally televised memorial service 11 days later. It was five weeks before his family was told the truth, a delay the Army has blamed on procedural mistakes.
And why did the Army persist in withholding the truth from Tillman’s family? Why did it allow information it knew to be untrue to be passed along at Tillman’s memorial service? Were senior Army officers so concerned about the impact that the truth might have on recruiting that they were willing to lie to the American public?
And you’re going to tell us that this wasn’t an organized cover-up?? Why do I feel as if my intelligence is being insulted?
The latest investigation has focused on how high up the chain of command it was known that Tillman’s death was caused by his own comrades. Officers from the rank of colonel and up will be blamed in the report, according to one officer who has been informed of the findings.
According to the officials, the report will not make charges or suggest punishments, but it will recommend the Army look at holding the nine officers accountable.
Of course not. In today’s Army, accountablity is for enlisted personnel, NCOs, and junior officers. Senior officers somehow manage to skate through…hey, they’ve got careers to save, don’tchaknow??. If you don’t believe me, then tell me how many senior officers were punished over the Abu Ghraib scandal. Take your time; I’ll wait….
One defense official said it appears the inspector general will not conclude there was an orchestrated cover-up in the investigation.
Right; that would mean having to hold senior officers accountable, which is seemingly not even a remote possibility in today’s Army. Mistakes were made, errors were committed, lies were told…but there was certainly no orchestrated cover-up? How stupid do these people think we are??
At the very least Pat Tillman deserved better. Lord knows that his family certainly did.
