Army: Friendly Fire Likely Killed Tillman

[The1calledTKE]

How sad. He is still a hero though.



FORT BRAGG, N.C. - Former pro football player Pat Tillman was probably killed by friendly fire as he led his team of Army Rangers up a hill during a firefight in Afghanistan (news - web sites) last month, the U.S. Army said Saturday.
Tillman walked away from a $3.6 million NFL contract to join the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Previous military statements suggested he was killed April 22 under enemy fire.


"While there was no one specific finding of fault, the investigation results indicate that Cpl. Tillman probably died as a result of friendly fire while his unit was engaged in combat with enemy forces," Lt. Gen. Philip R. Kensinger Jr. said in a brief statement to reporters at the Army Special Operations Command.


Kensinger said the firefight took place in "very severe and constricted terrain in impaired light" with 10 to 12 enemy combatants firing on U.S. forces.


A senior Pentagon (news - web sites) official told The Associated Press it appeared the gunfire that killed Tillman came from a U.S. soldier, but since there were Afghan soldiers present also, it was not completely clear.


for full article.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp..._investigation

[DeltAlum]

Originally posted by The1calledTKE
How sad. He is still a hero though.

Agreed.

[PhiPsiRuss]

Originally posted by DeltAlum
Agreed.

Absolutely.

[RACooper]

Well it looks like the army is re-opening the probe into the action in which Pat Tillman was killed...

Probe reopened in Tillman death
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...=1102373418140

Dec. 7, 2004. 01:00 AM
Probe reopened in Tillman death


WASHINGTON—The U.S. Army has opened a new investigation into the circumstances of the April death in Afghanistan of Specialist Pat Tillman, a former professional football player killed in a "probable" friendly fire incident, officials said yesterday.

The investigation was ordered Nov. 3 by then-acting army secretary Les Brownlee and was prompted by questions raised by Tillman's family about his death in a remote canyon in southeastern Afghanistan, army officials said. One official said the investigation could trigger criminal charges if any U.S. personnel are deemed culpable in his death.

Tillman played four years in the National Football League but walked away from a $3.6 million (U.S.) contract with the Arizona Cardinals to sign up as an elite Army Ranger.

His mother has accused the military of burning her son's uniform to try to hide the circumstances of his April 22 death, and his father has said the initial probe was a lie.

The new investigation is looking into the circumstances of his death, decisions made by commanders away from the scene, and actions taken by the military after he died, officials said.

Army Rangers opened fire on comrades after a series of missteps and miscommunications, the initial probe found, but it did not lead to criminal charges.

One person from Tillman's platoon faced formal administrative charges, while four others, including an officer, were discharged from the rangers but not kicked out of the army, said Sgt. Kyle Cosner, a spokesman for U.S. Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, N.C. Two other officers were given reprimands.

Initial official statements indicated Tillman had been killed by enemy fire when insurgents ambushed his convoy.

"Leading his rangers without regard for his own safety, Tillman was shot and killed while focusing his efforts on the elimination of the enemy forces and the protection of his team members," said an April 30 statement that did not mention the possibility of friendly fire.

U.S. Central Command issued a statement May 29 saying Tillman "died as a probable result of friendly fire while his unit was engaged in combat with enemy forces."

REUTERS

U.S. hero killed by comrades
U.S. soldier's death shrouded in mystery
Army's initial account did not mention fratricide
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Con...=1102288208369
STEVE COLL
THE WASHINGTON POST - reprinted in Toronto Star

Dec. 6, 2004. 06:38 AM
U.S. hero killed by comrades
U.S. soldier's death shrouded in mystery
Army's initial account did not mention fratricide

STEVE COLL
THE WASHINGTON POST

It ended on a stony ridge in fading light. Specialist Pat Tillman lay dying behind a boulder. A fellow U.S. Army Ranger stretched prone beside him, praying quietly as bullets poured in.

"Cease fire! Friendlies!" Tillman cried out in a desperate bid to tell his platoon members they were shooting the wrong men.

For a few moments, the firing stopped. Tillman stood up, chattering in relief. Then the machine gun bursts erupted again.

"I could hear the pain in his voice," recalled the young Ranger. Tillman kept calling out that he was a friendly, and he shouted, "I am Pat (expletive) Tillman, damn it!" His comrade recalled: "He said this over and over again until he stopped.''

Myths shaped Pat Tillman's reputation, and mystery shrouded his death. A long-haired defensive back with the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League, he turned away from a $3.6 million (U.S.) contract after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to volunteer for the war on terrorism, ultimately giving his life in combat in Taliban-infested southeastern Afghanistan.

An investigation by The Washington Post shows that Tillman, 27, died unnecessarily last April 22 after botched communications, a mistaken decision to split his platoon over the objections of its leader, and negligent shooting by pumped-up young Rangers — some in their first firefight — who failed to identify their targets as they blasted their way out of a frightening ambush.

The records show Tillman fought bravely and honourably until his last breath. They also show that his superiors exaggerated his actions and invented details as they burnished his legend in public, at the same time suppressing details that might tarnish Tillman's commanders.

Army commanders hurriedly awarded Tillman a posthumous Silver Star for valour and released an account of his heroism that made no mention of fratricide. A month later the head of the army's Special Operations Command, Lt.-Gen. Philip Kensinger Jr., called a news conference to disclose in a brief statement that Tillman "probably" died by "friendly fire."

Friends and family describe Tillman as an American original who demanded straight talk about uncomfortable truths. After his death, the army that Tillman served did not do the same.

Pat Tillman was very close to his younger brother Kevin, who played minor-league baseball for the Cleveland Indians. They enlisted in the U.S. Army Rangers together in spring, 2002. Less than a year later, they shipped out to Iraq.

The Tillman brothers served together in the "Black Sheep,'' otherwise known as 2nd Platoon, A Company, 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. The elite, special operators were transferred in the spring to conduct search and sweep missions in eastern Afghanistan.

Last April 13, the brothers rolled out with their fellow Black Sheep from a base near the Pakistan border to begin anti-Taliban patrols with two other Ranger platoons near Khost, in Paktia province, a region of broken roads and barren rock canyons frequented by Osama bin Laden and his allies.

Left in command of the 2nd Platoon was then-Lieutenant David Uthlaut.

The trouble began with a Humvee's broken fuel pump.

A helicopter flew into Paktia with a spare on the night of April 21. But the next morning, the Black Sheep's mechanic had no luck with his repair.

It was just after noon. They were in the heart of Taliban country where they were supposed to be conducting clearing operations in a southeastern Afghan village called Manah, and they were stuck.

By 4 p.m. Uthlaut had a solution, he believed. He could hire a local "jinga truck" driver to tow the Humvee out to a nearby road where the army could move down and pick it up. In this scenario, Uthlaut told his commanders, he had a choice. He could keep his platoon together until the Humvee had been disposed of, then move to Manah. Or he could divide his platoon in half, with one "serial'' handling the vehicle while the other serial moved immediately to the objective.

The A Company commander, under pressure from his superior to get moving, ordered Uthlaut to split his platoon.

Uthlaut objected. Uthlaut's commander overruled him. Get half your platoon to Manah right away, he ordered.

Uthlaut pulled his men together hastily and briefed them. Serial One, led by Uthlaut and including Pat Tillman, would move immediately to Manah. Serial Two, with the local tow truck hauling the Humvee, would follow, but would soon branch off toward a highway to drop off the vehicle.

Sgt. Greg Baker commanded the heaviest-armed vehicle in Serial Two, just behind the jinga tow truck.

Kevin Tillman was also assigned to Serial Two. He manned an MK19 gun in the trailing vehicle, well behind Baker.

They left Margarah village a little after 6 p.m. They had been in the same place for more than five hours, presenting an inviting target for Taliban guerrillas.

``I am Pat (expletive) Tillman, damn it!' He said this over and over again until he stopped.'

A fellow U.S. Army Ranger

Pat Tillman's serial, with Uthlaut in command, soon turned into a steep and narrow canyon, passed through safely and approached Manah as planned.

Behind them, Serial Two briefly started down a different road, then stopped. The Afghan tow truck driver said he couldn't navigate the pitted road. He suggested they turn around and follow the same route that Serial One had taken. After Serial Two passed Manah, the group could circle around to the designated highway. Serial Two's leader, the platoon sergeant, agreed.

There was no radio communication between the two serials about this change in plans.

At 6:34 p.m. Serial Two, with about 17 Rangers in six vehicles, entered the narrow canyon that Serial One had just left.

When he heard the first explosion, the platoon sergeant thought one of his vehicles had struck a land mine or a roadside bomb.

It was not a bomb — it was an ambush. Baker and his comrades thought they could see their attackers moving high above them. They began to return fire. They were trapped in the worst possible place: the kill zone of an ambush.

Ahead of them, parked outside a small village near Manah, Uthlaut heard an explosion. From his position he "could not see the enemy or make an adequate assessment of the situation," so he ordered his men to move toward the firing. Uthlaut designated Pat Tillman as one of three fire team leaders and ordered him to join other Rangers "to press the fight."

Tillman, Rangers and a bearded Afghan militia fighter who was part of the 2nd Platoon's travelling party moved up a rocky north-south ridge that faced the ambush canyon.

Tillman and his team fired toward the canyon to suppress the ambush. His brother Kevin was in the canyon. Several of Serial Two's Rangers said later that as they shot their way out of the canyon, they had no idea where their comrades in Serial One might be.

"Contact right!" one gunner in Baker's truck remembered hearing as they rolled from the ambush canyon.

As he fired, Baker "noticed muzzle flashes" coming from a ridge to the right of the village they were now approaching. Everyone in his vehicle poured fire at the flashes in a deafening roar.

Baker was aiming at the bearded Afghan militia soldier in Pat Tillman's fire team. He died in a fusillade from Baker's Humvee.

Rangers are trained to shoot only after they have clearly identified specific targets as enemy forces. Gunners working together are supposed to follow orders from their vehicle's commander — in this case, Baker. As they pulled alongside the ridge, the gunners poured an undisciplined barrage of hundreds of rounds into the area Tillman and other members of Serial One had taken up positions, army investigators later concluded.

Up on the ridge, Tillman and Rangers around him began to wave their arms and shout. But they only attracted more fire from Baker's vehicle.

The young Ranger nearest Tillman on the ridge, whose full name could not be confirmed, saw a Humvee coming down the road. "They made eye contact with us," then began firing, he remembered.

Suddenly he saw the attacking Humvee move into "a better position to fire on us." He heard a new machine gun burst and hit the ground, praying, as Pat Tillman fell.

The young Ranger told investigators he saw a "river of blood" coming from Tillman's position. He got up, looked at Tillman, and saw that "his head was gone.''

Tillman's brother arrived on the scene in Serial Two's trailing vehicle.

Kevin Tillman declined to be interviewed for these stories and was not asked by Ranger investigators to provide sworn statements. But according to other statements and sources, he was initially asked to take up guard duty on the outskirts of the shooting scene.

He learned his brother was dead only when a platoon mate mentioned it to him casually, according to these sources.

It would take almost five more weeks for the Rangers or the army to acknowledge that Pat Tillman had been killed by his own men.

From the account of the events leading up to and including the actual fire-fight/ambush I can only think of two glaring errors made - 1/ no communication between the two sections of the platoon; in a platoon size unit there should be at least 2 radios... 2/ failure to confirm target before shooting; Rangers are ALWAYS supposed to confirm the target before firing... it's a core combat practice of the Rangers.

While in part none of these are "criminal" they are neglegent... hence the administrative action taken against some involved - including dismissal from the Rangers.