Army to open criminal probe of Tillman death

CNN Online ^ | 03/04/2006 | Barbara Starr

[nitejohnboy]

I agree whole heartedly with you, Java. The poor guy died serving his country not grand standing. Yes the family is heartbroken. Did anyone expect them NOT to be? All the families are for God's sake! By extention, so are the rest of us.

Why does everything have to be a goddam soap opera any more?! Its getting to be more than I can stand.

[connectthedots]

I think there are a few potential answers here.

1. The operation was a total Charlie Foxtrot and some thought if the truth got out, their careers would be toast.

2. Pat Tillman may have been doing a 'John Wayne' act and did something stupid that put him in the line of fire and the Army , in an effort to protect his memory, didn't want to say he was primarily at fault. This is my best guess. No real facts to support it though.

3. Worst case scenario would be that others in his unit viewed him as a serious threat to the safety and operations of the unit. I doubt that this would have been the case since the Rangers would have tossed him out if he was a danger to others.

There may be other possibilities.

Keep in mind that Tillman did not exactly have a small ego. People with big egos will sometimes do stupid things.

[stm]

What makes me wonder the most about this is this. Is CPL Tillman's notoriety and previous occupation a factor in this investigation? Don't get me wrong, I consider what he gave up to fight for us most admirable and I am deeply saddened that his devotion to county ended in his untimely death. But would PFC John Doe from Outback, Arkansas have gotten the same attention, all else being equal? Methinks not.

[Roccus]

Having spent my stint as an EM, I vote for #1.

[claudiustg]

The MPs are not your buds.

[andrew2527]

Can you let me know all three titles? Thanks.

[Admin Moderator]

I'm sorry, I don't recall them but they were all similar. Maybe the original poster of the thread remembers them.

[A.A. Cunningham]

Tillman wasn't a Sergeant.

[jjm2111]

The death of Pat Tillman was a terrible loss for this country.

Any more than any other servicemember's loss?

[andrew2527]

Gotcha. Thanks for trying.

[jjm2111]

"He was awarded the Silver Star posthumously, which is pretty much the standard. "

no, it's not.

[Unruly Human]

The war stories keep rushing back with age. I had two weeks of in-country orientation in the Qui Nhon area in early 67 with the 161st AHC. Our choppers (A Co. 4th Avn.) hadn't arrived yet from Ft. Lewis. We flew missions supporting the Korean Tiger Division and we were all so full of piss and vinegar. It was like the beginning of Billy Joel's "Goodnight Saigon."

I was out in the valley outside Qui Nhon running convoys with the Koreans. They had better food than we did.

I liked working with the Tiger Division troops, very tough guys.

[Unruly Human]

The MPs are not your buds.

So true.

And then to piss me off even more, they made me an MP when I got back stateside.

[Americanexpat]

Your right, he was a corporal. But his MOS want football player either. He was an Army Ranger that died during combat action and that is too bad that he had to die. If a criminal investigation will clear the issue up then I am all for it. It is not the first case and probably wont be the last.

[Btrp113Cav]

i have met people from my time in the army who couldn't do anything with their lives but serve in the army. Some of those people get jealous at people who are successful both in civilian and military life. Just a thought. Those types of people are everywhere. This should be investigated.

[Btrp113Cav]

killing your own in afghanistan is very rare, considering the terrain and how the americans operate. There isn't a "huge" operation tempo going on (initial invasion) and large amounts of units coming and going and the passage of lines being done. This is a very questionable situation and I won't lose any sleep if an investigation is done.

[Btrp113Cav]

Weeks later, after Tillman's nationally televised funeral, the Army acknowledged he had been the victim of friendly fire in a wild spree of gunfire amid much confusion among U.S. soldiers at the scene, and later admitted that "soldiers had destroyed evidence".

[JudgemAll]

Not with gaying troops. Jealousy would indeed be the motive.

A lot of laundering going on, with all this feminazi stuff trying to put down anyone criticizing true valor and laundering the combat image of women and f@gs.

Hate crime my arse, hate is in jealousy and anger at the laundering ops being supressed by good warriors. It happens on a daily basis. The guys smell a "valor threat" from a mile and go in defensive modes and accuse the valorous one of being hateful.

Lawyers do that all the time.

[JudgemAll]

with all this feminazi stuff trying to put down anyone criticizing FALSE valor

This is what I meant, sorry. Anyone trying to denounce the false valor of feminazi cleaning girls for f2g arses who don't want to do their jobs gets shot nowadays, in real life and now in the army.

[montag813]

Now if he was killed deliberately by another soldier it isnt friendly fire it is murder and should be investigated as a criminal case.

If that's true the scumbag should be hung on the 50 yd-line of Sun Devil Stadium on live TV.