Nov. 9, 2006
Tillman Probe Reveals Startling Details
One Shooter In Friendly-Fire Death Of Pat Tillman Had 'Hazy' Vision From Laser Eye Surgery
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(CBS/AP)
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Photo Essay Pat Tillman A look at the former NFL player who died fighting as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan.
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Interactive Assault On Al Qaeda The manhunt on the Afghan-Pakistan border.
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Fast Facts Afghanistan Learn about the people, economy and history.
They walked the landscape with surviving witnesses. They found a rock stained with the blood of the victim. They re-enacted the killings — here the U.S. Army Rangers swept through the canyon in their Humvee, blasting away; here the doomed man waved his arms, pleading for recognition as a friend, not an enemy.
"Cease fire, friendlies, I am Pat (expletive) Tillman, damn it!" he shouted, again and again.
The latest inquiry into Tillman's death by friendly fire should end next month; authorities have said they intend to release to the public only a synopsis of their report. But The Associated Press has combed through the results of more than two years of investigations — reviewed thousands of pages of internal Army documents, interviewed dozens of people familiar with the case — and uncovered some startling findings.
One of the four shooters, Staff Sgt. Trevor Alders, had recently had PRK laser eye surgery. Although he could see two sets of hands "straight up," his vision was "hazy," he said. In the absence of "friendly identifying signals," he assumed Tillman and an allied Afghan who also was killed were enemy.
Another, Spc. Steve Elliott, said he was "excited" by the sight of rifles, muzzle flashes and "shapes." A third, Spc. Stephen Ashpole, said he saw two figures, and just aimed where everyone else was shooting.
Squad leader Sgt. Greg Baker had 20-20 eyesight, but claimed he had "tunnel vision." Amid the chaos and pumping adrenaline, Baker said he hammered what he thought was the enemy but was actually the allied Afghan fighter next to Tillman who was trying to give the Americans cover: "I zoned in on him because I could see the AK-47. I focused only on him."
All four failed to identify their targets before firing, a direct violation of the fire discipline techniques drilled into every soldier.
There's more:
Investigators have been stymied because some of those involved now have lawyers and refused to cooperate, and other soldiers who were at the scene couldn't be located.
Three of the four shooters are now out of the Army, and essentially beyond the reach of military justice.
Taken together, these findings raise more questions than they answer, in a case that already had veered from suggestions that it all was a result of the "fog of war" to insinuations that criminal acts were to blame.
The Pentagon's failure to reveal for more than a month that Tillman was killed by friendly fire have raised suspicions of a coverup. To Tillman's family, there is little doubt that his death was more than an innocent mistake.
One investigator told the Tillmans that it hadn't been ruled out that Tillman was shot by an American sniper or deliberately murdered by his own men — though he also gave no indication the evidence pointed that way.
"I will not assume his death was accidental or 'fog of war,"' said his father, Pat Tillman Sr. "I want to know what happened, and they've clouded that so badly we may never know."
And so, almost two years after three bullets through the forehead killed the star defensive back — a man who President Bush would call "an inspiration on and off the football field" — the fourth investigation began.
This time, the investigators are supposed to think like prosecutors:
The long and complicated story of Pat Tillman's death and the investigations it spawned began five years ago, in the smoking ruins of the World Trade Center.
"It is a proud and patriotic thing you are doing," Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld wrote to Tillman in 2002, after Tillman — shocked and outraged by the Sept. 11 attacks — turned down a multimillion-dollar contract with the Arizona Cardinals to join the elite Army Rangers.
The San Jose, Calif. native enlisted with his brother Kevin, who gave up his own chance to play professional baseball. The Tillmans were deployed to Iraq in 2003, then sent to Afghanistan.
The mission of their "Black Sheep" platoon in April 2004 sounded straightforward: Divide a region along the Pakistan border into zones, then check each grid for insurgents and weapons. They were to clear two zones and then move deeper into Afghanistan.
But a broken-down Humvee known as a Ground Mobility Vehicle, or GMV, stalled the unit on an isolated road. A mechanic couldn't fix it, and a fuel pump flown in on a helicopter didn't help.
Hours passed. Enemy fighters watched invisibly, plotting their ambush.
Tillman's platoon must have presented an inviting target. There were 39 men — including six allied Afghan fighters trained by the CIA — and about a dozen vehicles.
©MMVI, The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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- As a USMC Vietnam vet, there were many incidents of "friendly fire" that occurred. Usually, investigations showed that it was a mistake in all but the most obvious cases. I feel that because Pat Tillman was a "celebrity", his death is getting much more scrutiny. I really think that the soldiers who were involved feel bad enough without being put through the mill by our government.
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- As a USMC Vietnam vet, there were many incidents of "friendly fire" that occurred. Usually, investigations showed that it was a mistake in all but the most obvious cases. I feel that because Pat Tillman was a "celebrity", his death is getting much more scrutiny. I really think that the soldiers who were involved feel bad enough without being put through the mill by our government.
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- Laying all the arguments aside! I will agree with the one who said Bush should be held accountable for starting a totally unnecessary war! We will never be a whole nation until he is held accountable! If for no other reason than to send a message to future President's who decide to use the US military for their own selfish purposes! War is not a game you can casually start! Never giving a second thought about the innocent people who are going to get killed because of your whimsical attitude toward it! We are going to have to live with the mess in Iraq long after the shooting has stopped! There is a whole generation of Arab's who are going to loathe us for what we did there. He deliberately lied to start a totally unnecessary war with Iraq! As far as I can see he is responsible for all the deaths there! It is sad that Tillman had to give his life for such a sorry pathetic man as Bush!
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- I have never served in our Country's Military, however, I am the daughter of a military man (served 20 years), my husband, is Career Air Force Security, and my heart goes out to all of the families that have lost a loved one, friend, or anyone in any War. War is never a good thing, but, its the way we are. I am proud of our Military and the job they are doing. My husband was unable to go to Iraq in 2002 and 2003 when his unit was deploying in groups, because he couldn't get ONE vaccination because I was pregnant, so the story of the "hazy vision" doesn't fly with me. I have been around the military all of my life, working on various Air Force bases as a civilian, and the policy is they don't return to full duty, even in war. My husband was upset he couldn't go. He wanted to serve in the Middle East, that is in part why he chose the military, to protect, defend and serve our Country.
I never knew who Pat Tillman was before he died, I was never a football fan... I have heard his death was a great loss to football, and I believe that, but lets not forget, ALL DEATH is a GREAT LOSS as that person is someone's son, daughter, father, mother, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, cousin, nephew, niece, grandparent. We all have someone.
Happy Veteran's Day!!! All Veterans DESERVE this day of Praise and Rememberance!! Thank you!! Thank you for doing the job, that I couldn't. - Reply to this comment
- cat42701,
You make this foolish comment about the Rangers being so "worked up about killing that they didnt care who they killed." That is so very easy to say from your safe little sanctuary at home in the free world, and exposes a level of ignorance about the chaotic and incredibly frightening reality of infantry warfare. Yes, it appears that ROEs were clearly violated, but that happens when young troops are scared witless, sleep deprived and hungry, separated from the security that a fully intact squad helps provide, and fully aware that there are PLENTY of bad guys around the immediate area who wish nothing more than to kill an American fighting man - or better yet, capture them, torture them, and then kill them.
FAR to often, civilians in our society jump to an opinion that is formed ignorantly, having NEVER bothered to examine or understand the myriad factors at play that contribute to the incredible confusion and chaos that is combat. Yes, people screwed up here (by the sounds of it, both up and down the chain of command) and that cost Tillman his life, but to conclude that this incident was caused by kill-hungry, bloodthirsty Rangers rather than simply frightened boys who believed they were coming under attack is wrong.
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- War is Sick. War is Terror. These tragic events happen, all wars have their chaos, death, destruction, innocent victims. Violence leads to more violence hate and revenge. War must be absolutely the last resort. No more Iraqs! When will people learn, it is so much less costly in lives and treasure to seek peace.
Tinker3478: Bush should be held accountable. It's not about name-calling. Not about revenge. It's simply seeking some justice, some resolution for the needless horrific War that he unleashed in Iraq. Even if you don't want to believe that Bush intentionally lied his way into War (and the facts are that he did lie), there should still be some accountability. - Reply to this comment
- If this was just about Tillman that would be telling but there was more. A little paragraph about a village and two more Rangers shot by friendly fire. This needs more that an investigation it needs a court marshell. These Rangers were so worked up by the idea of killing that they didn't care who they killed.
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- I remind all the posters here who did not read this article very closely:
Pat's unit of 34 divided up in hostile territory, with only one 50 cal machine gun between them. Not a smart thing to do. this was ordered done by higher ups not at the scene.
They were in one place for hours, then, instead of waiting for cover of darkness to negotiate the "ambush alley" pass they entered, did so in broad daylight. This was against Ranger rules.
Pat was shot at in broad daylight, three times in a tight pattern, in the forehead, partially taking off his head. His uniform and body armor were stripped off him, and buried on the spot, as a "biohazard", not a common practice.
The Rangers that shot at him did not observe the rule to identify your target first. Pat and the Afghan he was with were wearing similar uniforms, not the traditional Afghan garb. One claimed he had just had laser surgery and everything was "hazy". Another claimed to have "tunnel vision". Yet, Pat sustained 3 close-patterned shots in the forehead. They claimed they fired from a moving vehicle. Before that, it was from a stationary point, and before that, it was a moving vehicle again.
Some wonder if it was a "hit" on one of their own.
Reminds me of the attack on the U.S.S. Liberty and the subsequent coverup: www.ussliberty.org
a site maintained by the "officer on deck" that day. - Reply to this comment
- I have not read all of the posts here, but have to say that splitting a platoon in half is not done. I spent 21 years in the military and you never split up. Not even the Air Force pilots split up. Wingman stays with his wingman for protection. I would also say that trying to fix a vehicle in the middle of nowhere is not done, if it dies and can't be restarted, it is disabled and left behind. You don't hang around waiting for trouble unless you are Dirty Harry
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- AmericanVet...
You say "these guys were Army Rangers" as if that should denote that they should not make mistakes like this blue on blue incident. For the most part, the Army Rangers are young men who like the idea of playing war, but that doesnt mean that they are true "professional" soldiers like SF-ODA, ODB, or ODD operators are. Yes, the Rangers do have more training and have built a unit cohesion that is better than a typical US infantry fighting force has, but they are by no means immune to going blind in the fog of war and falling prey to stupid mistakes. There is a reason that the true "professional warriors" - SpecOps soldiers like the Green Berets or Delta commandos, loath the idea of having to rely on the Rangers as a support element in combat. Ask any Special Forces operator (many of whom went through the Ranger training in their first few years in the service) what they think of the Rangers as a fighting force, and you will not get rave reviews. While better trained than the general infantry, the Rangers are still rather typical, meaning that fire discipline and tactical foresight tends to fall apart rather rapidly in the face of percieved threats. - Reply to this comment
- AmericanVet...
You say "these guys were Army Rangers" as if that should denote that they should not make mistakes like this blue on blue incident. For the most part, the Army Rangers are young men who like the idea of playing war, but that doesnt mean that they are true "professional" soldiers like SF-ODA, ODB, or ODD operators are. Yes, the Rangers do have more training and have built a unit cohesion that is better than a typical US infantry fighting force has, but they are by no means immune to going blind in the fog of war and falling prey to stupid mistakes. There is a reason that the true "professional warriors" - SpecOps soldiers like the Green Berets or Delta commandos, loath the idea of having to rely on the Rangers as a support element in combat. Ask any Special Forces operator (many of whom went through the Ranger training in their first few years in the service) what they think of the Rangers as a fighting force, and you will not get rave reviews. While better trained than the general infantry, the Rangers are still rather typical, meaning that fire discipline and tactical foresight tends to fall apart rather rapidly in the face of percieved threats. - Reply to this comment
- We should be hearing more on the news from Mary Tillman, mother of Pat Tillman, instead of that Cindy Sheenahan, or whatever.
According to news reports from the San Francisco Chronicle and The Guardian in the U.K., Pat Tillman beleived the Iraq war was illegal, and told his fellow Rangers so. He read Noam Chomsky, the author who was against the Iraq war, and intended to meet with him after the his service. He also refused to be a war "poster boy".
A determination was made in the first investigation, done in a weeks time, that Pat's death was due to "friendly fire". Yet the Army presented a complete scenario to our press that he died from enemy fire, leading a charge up a hill. Fabrication. Known lies. This was upheld for a full month.
Can you really believe that one of the shooters who shot at Pat Tillman had laser surgery, and everything he saw was "hazy"? Another claimed he had "tunnel vision". These guys are U.S. Army Rangers? What's the truth here? It's very damning, whatever it is.
This is a much bigger story than Cindy Shenahan.
Where's the TV news talking heads and investigative reporters on this one?? - Reply to this comment
- Sadly, friendly fire events will always occur. The sheer chaos of combat, the 'fog of war', is difficult to comprehend unless you have been in a life and death struggle before yourself. Monday morning quarterbacking (ok, bad choice of words considering we are talking about NFLer Tillman, but you get the point) is easy to do from the safe little confines of our western 1st world society, but sadly, blue on blue engagements are, and always have been, a part of war. In WWII, thousands of allied soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen died from friendly fire, but that war was so intense that most of the time, the dead were simply rounded up and shipped out, without anyone ever examining whether the lead that made the guy dead was ours or theirs. War is ugly and imprecise, and there is nothing that can be done about that.
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- In response to post from Lifarrow @2:25 PST
I agree these matters are better suited to remain between the families of the solidiers who died questionable deaths and the military.
However, If the public is not aware of the magnitude of cover ups and under disclosure of "accidental" deaths, These events will continue and no measures will be taken to try to reduce the number of incidents. As to your comment about lazer surgery for one of the shooters present at Pat Tillmans death, The Military has failed previously to certify or (up chit) at least one Navy Pilot, in the past, who was allowed to fly a Marine Helicopter, even after the discovery of a hairline skull fracture at which time a down chit was issued. I know this first hand from my personal copy of a JAG report issued in my husbands "Mishap". The Co-Pilot was responsible for the navigation. He coordinated the path of that Helo, sending it straight into the side of a mountain in Half Moon Bay, CA. This Soldier was also a commercial pilot for a major airline at the time. Is there a documented release (up chit) to active duty from the Tillman unit soldiers surgeon for clear vision, and if so, why? The soldier in question has said his vision was hazy. The Army would have every reason to withold a mistake of this magnitude. Please don't assume all rules,regulations and procedures are followed 100% of the time. - Reply to this comment
- I thank God for all the Pat Tillman's of America. They went where they were needed, even though they didn't have to do so. They believed in what America stood for prior to the "Bush Oil War"; and for that we should be eternally grateful. They believed in their hearts and minds that America stood for freedom for everyone; and they put their lives on the line to ensure that it was so. How could they have known that they were deprived of their lives by a group of obscenely rich sociopaths who cared nothing of their sacrifices other than it was more money in their corporate bank accounts.
This world is a much worse place without all the "Pat Tillman%u2019s" who gave their lives and limbs to protect our ideals and way of life. Heaven is a better place with Pat Tillman, Casey Sheehan, and all of their comrades in arms. Hell will certainly be much more crowded with the executives of Enron, Halliburton, KBR, and the 2000-2008 White House Mafia. - Reply to this comment
- j_flood
There again just one of many. It was not a "cover-up" just one of those horribly sad things that happened. Look at Max Cleland. For years, he thought his wounds were his own fault until someone saw him on television and came forward to tell him the grenade that blew him apart was off someone else's ammo belt.
As has been noted, Pat Tillman died for his country and he believed in what he was doing.
The worst thing people can do is belittle that sacrifice by belittling a president even if we would like to see George Bush drawn, quartered and burned in effigy. With LBJ, we made the mistake of hating his guts and hating the war, and transferred that hate to our troops when they came home. Max Cleland has said in an interview that he's never really recovered from the emotional pain of his homecoming. That's what should make us ashamed. Bush is going to the ranch very, very rich in two years.We can't touch him regardless of what he deserves so why don't we quit calling each other names and start working on things that matter-how about better VA hospitals and benefits for vets. Maybe we could draft Max to run the VA again-it was the best then it's ever been. - Reply to this comment
- As I read over these sincere comments posted here, it is painfully obvious to me how many are still naive to the truth of this war, our political system, and the pillage of our Constitution, which is by the way GWB more than %u201CA G*d d*mn piece of paper%u201D. It cannot go unsaid -- If Tillman was truly told %u201Cwho%u201D and %u201Cwhat%u201D was really going on beneath it all, he may have reconsidered. Bottom line -- Tillman died with his firm belief in this amazing country we call America. He did not die for the lies he was told. I proudly give nothing but praises for our military, but feel a great disappointment in our leadership, and those evil individuals who pull the strings of power for their own personal gain.
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- well gunner no-one believes George W is god as you do effecting the tide and all: Tillman giving up a dream come true million dollar contract to defend the interests of his country does make him very special
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- This one issue, as tragic as it is, as tragic as they always are, reoccur in the history of this and hundreds of other wars, spawning the cliche ' War Is Hell '....and ironically, we never seem to learn. That is the real tragedy.
The legacy of war never changes, it leaves ubiquitous innocent death, social destruction, lasting hatreds and unmeasurable despair...and usually solves nothing at its conclusion.
Nothing good comes of war...except perhaps an extremely expensive form of population control and occasionally new technology or two are developed. War is disruptive to all societies in so many ways and yet we continue to rationalize and accept, and validate the necessity of war. Again, I think that is the ultimate tragedy of all this. How does one apologize to those souls forever damaged by the fallacy and insanity of war? War is hell?
As ideal as this may sound, the horror will not go away until we embrace as a world society, somehow, a reality that excludes the insanity of war from our combined cultures. - Reply to this comment
- The tradgedy of Tillman's death is that he has become a political "football" and his true patriotism has been overshadowed.
"Friendly Fire" happens in war. In 1944 the Air Force bombed our lines not once, but twice in France - killing a general.
I don't think there was anything but a horrible set of circumstances, a group of tired soldiers, and a loss of situational awareness that led to his being shot.
Were procedures not followed - yes. Was there an attempt to minimize how much information got out - yes. Will anything be served by pursuing this into the ground - no. The young men who were responsible for this action will always carry it. Pat Tillman died for a cause - he was a patriot.
My heart goes out to his father and family, but it may be that there is no one person who knows exactly what happened - unfortunately war takes the lives of wonderful young men. - Reply to this comment
The road ahead in Afghanistan, and the crucial decision Obama faces.
