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Army hid truth about how Tillman was killed
New report details 'gross negligence'
Josh White
Washington Post
May. 4, 2005 12:00 AM
WASHINGTON - The first Army investigator who looked into the death of former Arizona Cardinals football player Pat Tillman in Afghanistan last year found within days that he was killed by his fellow Rangers in an act of "gross negligence," but Army officials decided not to inform Tillman's family or the public until weeks after a nationally televised memorial service.
A new Army report on the death shows that top Army officials, including the theater commander, Gen. John Abizaid, were told that Tillman's death was the result of friendly fire days before the service.
Soldiers on the scene said they were immediately sure Tillman was killed by a barrage of American bullets as he took shelter behind a large boulder during a twilight firefight along a narrow canyon road near the Pakistani border, according to nearly 2,000 pages of interview transcripts and reports obtained by the Washington Post.
The documents also show that officers made erroneous initial reports that Tillman was killed by enemy fire, destroyed critical evidence and initially concealed the truth from Tillman's brother, also an Army Ranger, who was near the attack on April 22, 2004, but did not witness it.
Brig. Gen. Gary Jones prepared the report in response to questions from Tillman's family and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
In interviews with Jones, soldiers who were with Tillman when he died said they immediately reported that other Rangers, riding in a Humvee, emptied their weapons at his position on a hill without first identifying at whom they were shooting. Perceiving they were in a heated firefight, the soldiers rounded a corner and used several high-powered weapons to kill an Afghan Militia Force soldier working with the Rangers before pausing and turning their guns on Tillman. About 213 feet away, Tillman had been waving his arms and throwing a smoke grenade to signal his unit.
Jones reported that "some soldiers lost situational awareness to the point they had no idea where they were."
Tillman's death was a blow to the image of the Army and the special forces because of his storybook narrative. Tillman turned down a multimillion-dollar football contract with the Arizona Cardinals to enlist after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He and his brother joined the elite Army Rangers and deployed to Iraq and later Afghanistan, hunting the Taliban and al-Qaida through mountainous terrain.
Jones found that the operation was a routine "confirm or deny" trip to determine whether enemy combatants were in the town of Manah. Tillman's platoon had to split up because of a broken Humvee. His half went ahead toward the town. When the second half of the platoon followed through the canyon, it reportedly came under enemy fire. Tillman grabbed another Ranger and the Afghan soldier and got into position to lend fire support. When the second half of the platoon rounded a corner, they mistook the trio as foes.
In the documents, the soldiers who fired on Tillman cite many reasons for the confusion: The sun was going down and lighting conditions were bad; soldiers shot where they saw muzzle flashes but did not appropriately determine a target; they shot in the same direction as their team leader, assuming that he was firing at the enemy.
"I've replayed the events of that day and my actions in response to the events in my mind countless times. ... Given the same circumstances and having the same information I had, I would do the same thing," one soldier wrote in response to his punishment, which was getting kicked out of the Rangers. "I engaged men that I believed to be the enemy with the intent of killing them."
Another soldier wrote: "I wish that I would have taken a half-second to positively identify the targets instead of following another SOP (shoot where your team leader shoots). Maybe Cpl. Tillman would still be alive or maybe the outcome would still have been the same, but at least I wouldn't have to live with the guilt and re-experience that ambush while I sleep."
After the shooting, Tillman's brother was not informed about what had happened and was flown back to the United States with his brother's body.
Officers told the soldiers not to talk about the incident "to prevent rumors" and news reports.
The day after Tillman's death, his Ranger body armor was burned because it was covered in blood and was considered a "biohazard." His uniform was also burned. Jones noted that this amounted to the destruction of evidence.
Seven soldiers were given administrative reprimands for their actions, the most serious of which were for dereliction of duty and failing to exercise sound judgment and fire discipline in combat operations.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/0504tillman04.html
New report details 'gross negligence'
Josh White
Washington Post
May. 4, 2005 12:00 AM
WASHINGTON - The first Army investigator who looked into the death of former Arizona Cardinals football player Pat Tillman in Afghanistan last year found within days that he was killed by his fellow Rangers in an act of "gross negligence," but Army officials decided not to inform Tillman's family or the public until weeks after a nationally televised memorial service.
A new Army report on the death shows that top Army officials, including the theater commander, Gen. John Abizaid, were told that Tillman's death was the result of friendly fire days before the service.
Soldiers on the scene said they were immediately sure Tillman was killed by a barrage of American bullets as he took shelter behind a large boulder during a twilight firefight along a narrow canyon road near the Pakistani border, according to nearly 2,000 pages of interview transcripts and reports obtained by the Washington Post.
The documents also show that officers made erroneous initial reports that Tillman was killed by enemy fire, destroyed critical evidence and initially concealed the truth from Tillman's brother, also an Army Ranger, who was near the attack on April 22, 2004, but did not witness it.
Brig. Gen. Gary Jones prepared the report in response to questions from Tillman's family and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
In interviews with Jones, soldiers who were with Tillman when he died said they immediately reported that other Rangers, riding in a Humvee, emptied their weapons at his position on a hill without first identifying at whom they were shooting. Perceiving they were in a heated firefight, the soldiers rounded a corner and used several high-powered weapons to kill an Afghan Militia Force soldier working with the Rangers before pausing and turning their guns on Tillman. About 213 feet away, Tillman had been waving his arms and throwing a smoke grenade to signal his unit.
Jones reported that "some soldiers lost situational awareness to the point they had no idea where they were."
Tillman's death was a blow to the image of the Army and the special forces because of his storybook narrative. Tillman turned down a multimillion-dollar football contract with the Arizona Cardinals to enlist after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He and his brother joined the elite Army Rangers and deployed to Iraq and later Afghanistan, hunting the Taliban and al-Qaida through mountainous terrain.
Jones found that the operation was a routine "confirm or deny" trip to determine whether enemy combatants were in the town of Manah. Tillman's platoon had to split up because of a broken Humvee. His half went ahead toward the town. When the second half of the platoon followed through the canyon, it reportedly came under enemy fire. Tillman grabbed another Ranger and the Afghan soldier and got into position to lend fire support. When the second half of the platoon rounded a corner, they mistook the trio as foes.
In the documents, the soldiers who fired on Tillman cite many reasons for the confusion: The sun was going down and lighting conditions were bad; soldiers shot where they saw muzzle flashes but did not appropriately determine a target; they shot in the same direction as their team leader, assuming that he was firing at the enemy.
"I've replayed the events of that day and my actions in response to the events in my mind countless times. ... Given the same circumstances and having the same information I had, I would do the same thing," one soldier wrote in response to his punishment, which was getting kicked out of the Rangers. "I engaged men that I believed to be the enemy with the intent of killing them."
Another soldier wrote: "I wish that I would have taken a half-second to positively identify the targets instead of following another SOP (shoot where your team leader shoots). Maybe Cpl. Tillman would still be alive or maybe the outcome would still have been the same, but at least I wouldn't have to live with the guilt and re-experience that ambush while I sleep."
After the shooting, Tillman's brother was not informed about what had happened and was flown back to the United States with his brother's body.
Officers told the soldiers not to talk about the incident "to prevent rumors" and news reports.
The day after Tillman's death, his Ranger body armor was burned because it was covered in blood and was considered a "biohazard." His uniform was also burned. Jones noted that this amounted to the destruction of evidence.
Seven soldiers were given administrative reprimands for their actions, the most serious of which were for dereliction of duty and failing to exercise sound judgment and fire discipline in combat operations.
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/cardinals/articles/0504tillman04.html
