Boston Globe : Penalties seen in Tillman case

Penalties seen in Tillman case

Three-star general may be demoted

By Julian E. Barnes, Los Angeles Times | July 27, 2007

WASHINGTON -- The Army secretary is expected to take the rare step of recommending that a retired three-star general be demoted for misleading investigators probing the military's handling of the 2004 death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman, Defense Department officials said yesterday.

Such action by Army Secretary Preston M. "Pete" Geren would go beyond the punishment recommended by the military general assigned to review the findings of a critical report earlier this year by the Pentagon inspector general. Defense officials said Geren believed the findings that retired Lieutenant General Philip R. Kensinger Jr. misled investigators merited the strong punishment.

Stripping a retired general of a star is an unusual move, and Army lawyers have been carefully reviewing the case. As a retired lieutenant general, Kensinger receives a retirement benefit of $9,400 a month. If demoted to major general, he would lose about $900 a month.

Kensinger and other officers, however, will avoid criminal charges, facing only administrative punishment, officials said. Geren is expected to formally issue the recommendation next week. Army officials said Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates first has to approve Geren's final recommendation.

Tillman, the NFL player who gave up a multimillion dollar contract to enlist in the Army, was mistakenly killed in Afghanistan by another member of his platoon. The Army initially announced that Tillman died in combat and not from friendly fire. Although officers knew the truth soon after the shooting, the military waited a month before telling Tillman's family he was not killed by Afghan militants.

The Defense Department inspector general's report, released in March, was critical of the action of nine officers, including four generals. That report was handed over to General William S. Wallace, the commander of Army Training and Doctrine Command, to recommend punishment.

Officials briefed on the Wallace report said that in some instances it goes beyond the inspector general's investigation, singling out an additional general officer for punishment for failing to raise questions about Tillman's Silver Star nomination.

Wallace will recommend administrative punishments for four of the five generals whose actions he reviewed and three of five lower-ranked officers.

The Army will spare Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal, who currently oversees Special Operations forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Officials briefed on the report said McChrystal was spared because he tried to alert his chain of command that Tillman may have been killed by friendly fire.

In a separate development, the Associated Press reported yesterday that it had obtained documents indicating that Army medical examiners were suspicious about the close proximity of the three bullet holes in Tillman's forehead and tried without success to get authorities to investigate whether his death amounted to a crime.

The doctors, whose names were blacked out, said the bullet holes were so close together that it appeared the Army Ranger was cut down by an M-16 fired from a mere 10 yards or so away.

The most serious accusations in the inspector general's report released in March were against Kensinger. The report said he probably learned two days after Tillman's death that he was probably killed by friendly fire, but told investigators that he did not learn of the information until a week later, on the eve of Tillman's memorial service.

© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.

MSNBC : General could be demoted over Tillman death

General could be demoted over Tillman death

Army secretary expected to advise reprimands for five others as well

July 26, 2007

WASHINGTON — Army Secretary Peter Geren is expected to recommend that a retired three-star general be demoted for his role in providing misleading information about the death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman, military officials say, in what would be a stinging and rare rebuke.

Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger, who headed Army special operations, is one of six high-ranking Army officers expected to get official reprimands for making critical errors in reporting the circumstances of Tillman’s friendly-fire shooting in Afghanistan in April 2004.

The officials requested anonymity because the punishments under consideration by Geren have not been made public. The Army said that no final decisions have been made, and that once they are and the Tillman family and Congress have been notified, there will be an announcement sometime next week.

Geren also is considering issuing a letter of censure to Kensinger, who is receiving the harshest punishment of those involved in what has become a three-year controversy that triggered more than half a dozen investigations. Five other officers, including three generals, are expected to be issued less severe letters criticizing their actions.

Army officials opted not to impose harsher punishments, which could have included additional demotions, dishonorable discharges or even jail time. One senior officer, Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, commander of the Joint Special Operations Command, escaped punishment.

Tillman’s death received worldwide attention because he had walked away from a huge contract with the National Football League’s Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the Army after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

'Not satisfied' response

Tillman’s mother, Mary, said the impending punishments were inadequate.

“I’m not satisfied with any of it,” she said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press.

She rejected the Pentagon’s characterization of the officers’ offenses as “errors” in reporting Tillman’s death, when several officers have said they had made conscious decisions not to tell Tillman’s family that friendly fire was suspected.

Geren’s pending decisions come four months after two investigative reports found that Army officers provided misleading and inaccurate information about Tillman’s death. A central issue in the case has been why the Army waited about five weeks after it suspected the former NFL star’s death was caused by friendly fire before telling his family.

The probes found that nine officers — including four generals — were at fault in providing the bad information and should be held accountable. But the reports determined that there was no criminal wrongdoing in the actual shooting, and that there was no deliberate cover-up.

Geren then tapped Gen. William Wallace to review the probes and recommend disciplinary actions. Wallace disagreed with initial findings against McChrystal, according to the military officials.

But Wallace also surprised Army officials by singling out a 10th officer for rebuke — one who had not been blamed in the earlier reports.

Brig. Gen. Gina Farrisee, who is director of military personnel management at the Pentagon, is expected to receive a letter of punishment for her involvement in the oversight of the awarding of Tillman’s Silver Star.

Two others who were blamed in earlier reports are also expected to receive letters of admonishment: Brig. Gen. Gary Jones, who led one of the early Army investigations into the matter, and now-Brig. Gen. James C. Nixon, who was Tillman’s regimental commander.

Jones, now retired from the Army, was faulted for failing to address several issues in his probe, leading to speculation that Army officials were concealing information about Tillman’s death.

Nixon was criticized for failing to ensure that Tillman’s family was told.

It is no surprise that Kensinger, 60, is targeted for the most severe punishment. An investigation by the Defense Department’s inspector general found “compelling evidence that Kensinger learned of suspected fratricide well before the memorial service and provided misleading testimony” on that issue. That misrepresentation, the report said, could constitute a “false official statement,” a violation of the Military Code of Justice.

Farrisee’s rebuke is tied to the Army recommendations that Tillman receive the Silver Star. The investigations found that Army officials were aware that Tillman was likely killed by friendly fire even as they were moving ahead with the medal that was awarded for heroism in the face of the enemy.

If Geren does recommend to Defense Secretary Robert Gates that Kensinger lose a star and be demoted to major general, that would trigger a decrease in his retirement pension and benefits.

The letters of rebuke for the others could also be crippling blows. They can include letters of concern, reprimand or censure, with escalating degrees of gravity.

“For officers generally, a reprimand is a devastating career injury,” said Eugene Fidell, a lawyer who specializes in military cases and teaches at American University’s Washington College of Law. “It can trigger an effort to throw the person out of the military, it can trigger a reduction in pay grade when the time comes to retire, it can prevent a future promotion, and it can gum up a promotion that has already been decided.”

For a one-star general, Fidell said, it could mean they are likely to never get a second star. And, he said, a lower level officer, such as a captain, “would have to dig out of a deep hole to continue his or her career. Letters of reprimand are truly bad news.”

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