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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Impatience was rising at the tactical operations center at Forward Operating Base Salerno, near Khowst, Afghanistan, where officers coordinated the movements of several platoons. Led by then-Maj. David Hodne, the so-called Cross-Functional Team worked at a U-shaped table inside a 20-by-30-foot tent with a projection screen and a satellite radio.
(Hodne, now a lieutenant colonel and executive officer for the 75th Ranger Regiment, declined to be interviewed on the record by the AP — as did nearly every person involved in the incident.)
When the Humvee broke down, the Black Sheep were nearing the end of their assignment; all that was left was to "turn one last stone and then get out," Hodne would testify. The unit was then to head for Manah, a small village where it would spend the night.
The commanders had already given the Black Sheep an extra day to get into its grid zones. High-ranking commanders were "pushing us pretty hard to keep moving," said Hodne.
"We had better not have any more delays due to this vehicle," he told his subordinates.
At the operations center, the Black Sheep's company commander, then-Capt. William C. "Satch" Saunders, was feeling the heat to get the platoon moving.
"We wanted to make sure we had a force staged to confirm or deny any enemy presence in Manah the next day, so we would not get ourselves too far behind setting ourselves up for our next series of operations," he recalled later to an investigator.
The order came down to split the platoon in two to speed its progress.
Saunders initially told investigators that Hodne had issued the order, but later, after he was given immunity from prosecution, he acknowledged it was his decision alone.
Hodne later said he was in the dark — "I felt like the village idiot because I had no idea what they were doing," he recalled. The decision was foolhardy, he said. Divided in two, "they didn't have enough combat power to do that mission" of clearing Manah, he testified. (Other commanders have insisted that splitting the platoon was perfectly safe and a common practice.)
One thing is clear: The order sparked a flurry of activity by the Black Sheep.
One of the gunners who shot Tillman said his unit didn't even have time to look at a map before getting back on the road.
"We were rushed to conduct an operation that had such flaws," said Alders. "Which in the end would prove to be fatal."
"If anything, this sense of urgency was as deadly to Tillman as the bullet that cut his life short," Alders wrote in a lengthy statement protesting his expulsion from the Rangers. "We could have conducted the search at night like we did on the follow-up operations or the next morning like we ended up doing anyway. Why, I ask, why?"
An investigator, Brig. Gen. Gary M. Jones, would later agree that an "artificial sense of urgency" to keep Tillman's platoon moving was a crucial factor in his death: "There was no specific intelligence that made the movement to Manah before nightfall imperative."
An officer involved in the incident told AP there was, however, general intelligence of insurgent activity in this region, historically a Taliban hotbed.
That suspicion would be confirmed when the Black Sheep drove through a narrow canyon, its walls towering about 500 feet, and came under fire from enemy Afghans. Chaos broke out and communications broke down.
After the platoon split, the second section of the convoy roared out of the canyon, into an open valley and straight at their comrades a few minutes ahead. A Humvee packed with pumped-up Rangers opened fire, killing the friendly Afghan and Tillman, though he desperately sought to be recognized.
Later, at least one of the same Rangers turned his guns on a village where witnesses say civilian women and children had gathered. The shooters raked it with fire, the American witnesses said; they wounded two additional fellow Rangers, including their own platoon leader.
Had it happened in the United States, police would have quickly cordoned off the area with "crime scene" tape and determined whether a law had been broken.
Instead, the investigations into Tillman's death have cascaded, one after another, for the past 30 months.
For Mary Tillman, getting to the bottom of her son's death is more than a personal quest.
"This isn't just about our son," she said. "It's about holding the military accountable. Finding out what happened to Pat is ultimately going to be important in finding out what happened to other soldiers."
In the days after the shootings, the first officer appointed to investigate, then-Capt. Richard Scott, interviewed all four shooters, their driver, and many others who were there. He concluded within a week that the gunmen demonstrated "gross negligence" and recommended further investigation.
"It could involve some Rangers that could be charged" with a crime, Scott told a superior later.
Then-Lt. Col. Jeffrey Bailey — the battalion commander who oversaw Tillman's platoon — later assured Tillman's family that those responsible would be punished as harshly as possible.
But no one was ever court martialed; staff lawyers advised senior Army commanders reviewing the incident that there was no legal basis for it.
Instead, the Army punished seven people; four soldiers received relatively minor punishments known as Article 15s under military law, with no court proceedings. These four ranged from written reprimands to expulsion from the Rangers. One, Baker, had his pay reduced and was effectively forced out of the Army. The other three soldiers received administrative reprimands.
Scott's report circulated briefly among a small corps of high-ranking officers.
Then, it disappeared.
Some of Tillman's relatives think the Army buried the report because its findings were too explosive. Army officials refused to provide a copy to the AP, saying no materials related to the investigation could be released.
The commander of Tillman's 75th Ranger Regiment, then-Col. James C. Nixon, wasn't satisfied with Scott's investigation, which he said focused too heavily on pre-combat inspections and procedures rather than on what had happened.
Scott "made some conclusions in the document that weren't validated by facts" as described by the participants, Nixon would tell later investigators.
Nixon assigned his top aide, Lt. Col. Ralph Kauzlarich, to lead what became the second investigation. Kauzlarich harshly criticized Baker and the men on his truck.
Among other things, Baker should have known that at least two of his subordinates had never been in a firefight, and should have closely supervised where they shot.
"His failure to do so resulted in deaths of Cpl. Tillman and the AMF soldier, and the serious wounding of two other (Rangers)," Kauzlarich concluded. "While a great deal of discretion should be granted to a leader who is making difficult judgments in the heat of combat, the command also has a responsibility to hold its leaders accountable when that judgment is so wanton or poor that it places the lives of other men at risk."
Still, the Tillman family complained that questions remained: Who killed Tillman? Why did they fire? Were the punishments stiff enough?
"I don't think that punishment fit their actions out there in the field," said Kevin Tillman, who was with his brother the day Pat was killed but was several minutes behind him in the trailing element of a convoy and saw nothing.
"They were not inquiring, identifying, engaging (targets). They weren't doing their job as a soldier," he told an investigator. "You have an obligation as a soldier to, you know, do certain things, and just shooting isn't one of your responsibilities. You know, it has to be a known, likely suspect."
And so, in November 2004, acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee ordered up yet another investigation, by Jones.
The result was 2,100 pages of transcripts and detailed descriptions of the incident, but no new charges or punishments. The report, completed Jan. 10, 2005, was provided — with many portions blacked out or removed entirely — to the Tillman family. It has not been released to the public; the family found it wanting.
Pressed anew by the Tillmans, the Pentagon inspector general announced a review of the investigations in August 2005. And in March 2006, they launched a new criminal probe into the actions of the men who shot at Tillman.
The veteran Pentagon official who is overseeing these latest inquiries, acting Defense Department Inspector General Thomas Gimble, has called the Tillman probe the toughest case he has ever seen, according to people he recently briefed.
Investigators are looking at who pulled the triggers and fired at Tillman; they are also looking at the officers who pressured the platoon to move through a region with a history of ambushes; the soldiers who burned Tillman's uniform and body armor afterward; and at everyone in the chain of command who deliberately kept the circumstances of Tillman's death from the family for more than a month.
Military investigators under Gimble's direction this year visited the rugged valley in eastern Afghanistan where Tillman was killed. It was a risky trip; the region is even more dangerous today than it was in 2004.
According to one person briefed by investigators, the contingent included at least two soldiers who were there the day of the incident — Staff Sgt. Matthew Weeks, a squad leader who was up the hill.
©MMVI, The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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See all 34 CommentsI 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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??
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.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
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