The Tillman cover up......

[joemilitary]

If you haven't seen the movie the Tillman Story, I recommend it.......I know the story is a bit old but it goes to the integrity issue of military leaders.....

to think they could do this to a famous football player, imagine what they can do to anyone else....

ETA: for those who don't know- Pat Tillman was a NFL football player for the Cardinals that gave up a few $Million contract to join the Army after 9-11.  Subsequently he was killed in a friendly fire incident that the military tried to "spin" as a heroic death from enemy fire.  Later as questions were asked the military engaged in a quite obvious COVER UP, but no one was really held accountable...

below are some interesting links I think

www.johntreed.com/Tillman.html

www.johntreed.com/Tillmanwhitewash.html

www.johntreed.com/McChrystal.html

www.johntreed.com/TillmanStory.html 

[The Captain]

I remember reading about this guy when he left the NFL to volunteer and thinking how remarkable...

I never realized he was killed over there, and in such a manner.  This would have totally been off my radar if not for your posting.

So, thanks - I will be tracking this down to watch it.

[mroped]

Don't mean to burst anybody's buble or make less of a tragic incident but why is/was Tillmans death so much more important as a case than others?
Tillman was not the first and will not be the last that died by " friendly fire".

The fact that he was a famous athlete does not make him famous in the ranks Durring a confusing engagement.

All deaths by friendly fire are/were investigated to the point that it is proven that it was an honest mistake or an intentional one. Those at fault are punished or reprimanded depending on the case.

My question is "what makes Tillman's death that much more important than others that years after the fact and multiple investigations we are still hanging on and debate the results of the inquiry?

It hapened durring war. War is messy and brings death! Innocent die through no fault of their own. A soldiers death is not uncommon no matter the circumstances.
You don't want anyone to die, don't start conflicts when there is no reason.

Again, not to diminish the importance of one death but why his case?

Let him have peace! My condolences to his loved ones and our eternal gratitude for his sacrifice!

[The Captain]

I think the fact that he had some celebrity may bring attention to the fact that cover ups of this nature happen/are allowed far more than they should be.  No, he is no more important than anyone else, but his status can bring attention to an area that obviously needs it.

If exposing that causes some measure of improvement in this area, then that may go in some small way toward giving his death some meaning.  I think that may be why his family was on board with this. 

Yes, people die in war, but if it's by a means that should have been easily prevented then there is a problem, a problem that can be fixed.

Hopefully that will give his family some peace.

[joemilitary]

Feb 23, 2015 10:29:12 GMT -5 mroped said:

Don't mean to burst anybody's buble or make less of a tragic incident but why is/was Tillmans death so much more important as a case than others?
Tillman was not the first and will not be the last that died by " friendly fire".

The fact that he was a famous athlete does not make him famous in the ranks Durring a confusing engagement.

All deaths by friendly fire are/were investigated to the point that it is proven that it was an honest mistake or an intentional one. Those at fault are punished or reprimanded depending on the case.

My question is "what makes Tillman's death that much more important than others that years after the fact and multiple investigations we are still hanging on and debate the results of the inquiry?

It hapened durring war. War is messy and brings death! Innocent die through no fault of their own. A soldiers death is not uncommon no matter the circumstances.
You don't want anyone to die, don't start conflicts when there is no reason.

Again, not to diminish the importance of one death but why his case?

Let him have peace! My condolences to his loved ones and our eternal gratitude for his sacrifice!

hard to argue any military death is more important than any other military death

but the Tillman Story is IMPORTANT because the military deliberately tried to COVER UP the real story on his death and tried to use his celebrity to make his death into a war hero's death (DELIBERATELY hiding the fact it was a friendly fire death) so as to make him into a motivational recruiting poster type of thing

I recommend watching the movie or at least reading the links above.....they initially capitalized on Tillman's celebrity, they deliberately turned his friendly fire death into a heroic war death saying he died from enemy fire (lie).....gave him a falsified heroic medal (Silver Star) that he didn't deserve (requires enemy combat not friendly fire).......told members of the unit to lie to the Tillman family....

higher levels of the chain of command lied or "didn't know / remember" key things they should have that they knew shortly after Tillman's death

 

[mroped]

Read the link above and I understand what you are saying.
However I feel the need to point out that many of those in the military are more politicians than the politicians themselves.

Many take opportunities such as this and twist it to fit their needs.
Agree that was wrong giving him a medal that is no way fitting the case but then again: is not the first time and is definetly not gonna be the last.

one case comes to mind that is even worse than this: Custer.
US held him at the position of "hero" for well over 100 years for sending to certain death 200 souls knowing that he is in the wrong. All just so he can become "someone"!
The government just like in Tilmans case used his case to further the agenda of eradicating the natives and improve recruitment. Everybody wanted to join to become a hero while killing the red man.

whoever started the ball rolling in Tillmans case was certainly looking into having some glory for himself. Who that would be, I have no idea but the records should point it out

[djAdvocate]

this is not a unique incident.  the Jessica Lynch story was also a complete hoax.  there was nothing heroic or special about either of them, other than the ordinary heroism of men and women that serve our country.  it is a disservice to all enlisted people when the reputations and actions of a few that did nothing are elevated above those that serve with dignity and courage every day.  but i have a feeling that the shameless PR department of the DOD will never get it.

[phil5185]

but the Tillman Story is IMPORTANT because the military deliberately tried to COVER UP the real story on his death and tried to use his celebrity to make his death into a war hero's death (DELIBERATELY hiding the fact it was a friendly fire death) so as to make him into a motivational recruiting poster type of thing

This may be an explanation for your "when to speak issue". Many years ago, people were referred to as "discrete".  Eg, when Prez Kennedy was sneaking Marilyn Monroe into the White House, reporters & WH staff carefully looked away (discrete) and the events were never mentioned in public (until yrs later). In today's world, such an event would be in the Super Market Rags, The Post, the NY Times, before morning.

In the case of Tillman, at the time, my take on it was that the brass were discreely protecting the feelings of the family as well as the military by not making a big public issue of the friendly-fire death - they were following the "died a hero" script to be discrete for the family.  As I say, that was my take, I'm a couple generations older than you. Conversely, the younger folks wanted full transparency, drag the whole thing thru the mud, make the parents vs the military fuss a big News issue.  LIE, COVER UP, DELIBERATELY, weren't even on the radar for people my age, for us it is tiresome to hear youngsters babbling, reliving a tragedy over & over, whining about how it was mishandled.