Army distortions on Tillman cited

Military officers knew a day after the death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman in Afghanistan that the former NFL star’s killing was probably caused by friendly fire, but led Tillman’s family to believe he was shot by Afghan insurgents for more than a month before divulging the truth.

According to a Pentagon inspector general’s report issued Monday, nine officers, from battlefield commanders to a three-star general, were well aware of the friendly fire incident even when Tillman was awarded a Silver Star that posthumously commended him for valor in the face of an enemy attack.

The report will be reviewed by an Army general who will be empowered to recommend punishment for the officers, including a court-martial.

The most serious accusations in the inspector general’s report are those against Lt. Gen. Philip R. Kensinger Jr., then the commander of the Army’s Special Operations units. The report said Kensinger learned the likely cause of death two days after Tillman was killed, but told investigators that he had learned about it on the eve of Tillman’s memorial service more than a week later.

The false statements, the report notes, are a possible offense under the military’s criminal code. Now retired, Kensinger could be called back to active duty for a court-martial. Nevertheless, citing the fact that the Army began investigating the incident the day after Tillman’s death, the inspector general found no evidence of a coverup.

*

Truth withheld

Tillman, who gave up a multimillion-dollar football contract with the Arizona Cardinals to joint the elite Army Rangers after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, was seen as a recruiting coup for the Army, one that the service cited in the months after his decision to enlist.

The death of such a high-profile recruit in a friendly fire incident was a blow to the Army, and it has struggled to explain to Tillman’s angry family and to critics why it took so long to reveal how its star recruit died.

Monday’s report for the first time detailed how officers withheld the truth for 35 days, blaming officers for inordinate secrecy while they worked to complete investigations. Thomas F. Gimble, the acting inspector general, declined at a news conference to speculate on the motives of Kensinger and other officers in their failure to disclose the friendly fire investigation as soon as they learned of it.

The report found that misleading statements were entered into Tillman’s Silver Star commendation and recommended that the Army review the award.

*

‘Died a hero’

Acting Army Secretary Pete Geren said the service had completed a review of the medal and said the Army decorations board would change the wording of the commendation but had decided against rescinding the award.

“Cpl. Tillman died while risking his life to come to the aid of his comrades,” Geren said. “He died a hero.”

The actions of the nine officers singled out in the inspector general’s report will be reviewed by Gen. William S. Wallace, who oversees training and doctrine for the Army. Wallace will recommend action against the officers.

“Far too much time has passed in getting things right in this case,” Geren said. “This delay does a disservice to the Tillman family and to the credibility of our Army.”

Two separate reports on Tillman’s death were issued Monday. In addition to the inspector general’s report on the handling of the aftermath of Tillman’s death, the Army Criminal Investigation Command reconstructed the events in Afghanistan leading up to Tillman’s death. That investigation found that the soldiers in Tillman’s unit did not act improperly in firing at the area where Tillman stood on an Afghanistan ridgeline.

Afghan villagers in the area where Tillman was killed told The Times in 2004 that they saw no enemy activity at the time. But Brig. Gen. Rodney Johnson said U.S. soldiers and Afghan residents told his team that enemy militants were firing at the Rangers.

Four generals, two retired and two active, were among those implicated. In addition to making false statements, Kensinger is faulted for failing to notify the Tillman family of the friendly fire investigation.

According to the report, Kensinger told investigators that he decided not to tell the Tillman family of the friendly fire investigation when he met them at the May 3 memorial service because the facts had not been confirmed and it was “not the right time.”

The second highest-ranking officer implicated in the report was Stanley McChrystal, who was a major general at the time and was blamed for forwarding the inaccurate information in Tillman’s Silver Star recommendation.

The findings against McChrystal, who was promoted to lieutenant general in February 2006, could be problematic for the military. A rising star within the Army, McChrystal oversees clandestine military operations in the Middle East as commander of the Joint Special Operations Command.

*

Officials cautioned

The day after he submitted the Silver Star citation -- and one week after Tillman’s death -- McChrystal alerted senior commanders that the investigation “will find that it is highly possible” that Tillman was shot by his own comrades.

The alert instructed the senior commanders to warn top Pentagon officials and President Bush of the possible cause. McChrystal sent the message to make sure Bush and other officials were careful in the public statements “to preclude embarrassment if the public found out friendly fire was involved,” the report said.

McChrystal was out of the country and unavailable for comment, a spokesman said.

The report said that regimental commander James C. Nixon, who was then a colonel, had instructed his Rangers not to discuss suspicions that Tillman had been killed by friendly fire.

Nixon, now a brigadier general, told investigators that he did not want the Tillman family to be notified until he could give them “our best view of what had occurred.” Although the delay violated Army regulations, the report concluded that there was no inappropriate motive.

The report is unlikely to satisfy the Pentagon’s critics. Rep. Michael M. Honda, a Democrat who represents the San Jose district where Tillman’s family lives, said it presented “more questions than answers.”

Army officials said the Tillman incident underlined problems in how families were notified about friendly fire deaths, and that they have implemented new procedures.

“We owe the family the truth, the best we know it and without undue delay,” said Gen. Richard A. Cody, the vice chief of staff of the Army.

“In April 2004, the Army broke faith with the Tillman family in how Pat Tillman’s death was reported and briefed to them. For that I am truly sorry both as a general and as an Army father.”

*

julian.barnes@latimes.com

peter.spiegel@latimes.com