Friendly fire killed ex-NFL player
Published 9:00 pm Saturday, May 29, 2004
WASHINGTON – The Pentagon announced Saturday that Pat Tillman, who gave up a career in professional football to fulfill his dream of becoming an Army Ranger, was killed by friendly fire, not the enemy, during a skirmish in Afghanistan last month.
New details released Saturday about Tillman’s death indicate he was gunned down by members of his own elite Army Ranger platoon who mistakenly shot in his direction during an enemy ambush. According to a summary of the Army investigation, a Ranger squad leader mistook an allied Afghan Militia Force soldier standing near Tillman as the enemy, and he and other U.S. soldiers opened fire, killing both men.
Tillman, 27, walked away from a $3.6 million NFL contract to join the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
“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 Kensington said in a statement released by the Army Special Operations Command.
The report summary, however, leaves no doubt that Tillman was killed by friendly fire, saying the Afghan fighter was “misidentified” by a Ranger squad leader, who then attacked. The report said other soldiers, who generally look to squad leaders for guidance, followed suit.
“Other members of the platoon, observing the direction of fire by the squad leader, oriented their fire in the same direction,” the summary says. “This fire fatally wounded (Tillman) and the AMF soldier.”
“The results of this investigation in no way diminish the bravery and sacrifice displayed by Cpl. Tillman. Cpl. Tillman was shot and killed while responding to enemy fire without regard for his own safety,” Kensington said.
The statement said the firefight took place in “very severe and constricted terrain in impaired light” with enemy combatants firing on U.S. forces.
An Afghan military official said Saturday that Tillman died because of a “misunderstanding” when two mixed groups of American and Afghan soldiers began firing in the confusion after an explosion. He also contradicted U.S. reports that the American soldiers had come under enemy fire.
The Army has said the enemy shooters had pinned down other soldiers when Tillman was killed on April 22.
The report of friendly fire was first reported by the Arizona Republic and The Argus of Fremont, Calif., on Saturday.
“It does seem pretty clear that he was killed by friendly fire,” said Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., a member of the House Armed Services Committee. Franks said his panel was alerted to the information by the Army’s Legislative Liaison Office.
