“Pat Tillman, the former Arizona Cardinals football player who died in April while a U.S. soldier fighting in Afghanistan, likely was killed by friendly fire, an Army investigation has concluded.”
“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, which was alerted to the information by the Army’s Legislative Liaison Office."
wow. That sucks, but most of the people I hear about were killed by friendly fire. Not that that makes this any less crappy. It just seems to be the standard for the new military.
I am in no way trying to belittle the military or anyone in anyway protecting people, it is very honourable. But there have been alot of friendly fire deaths over the past few years.
Fratricide incidents seem more common now only because the statistics are better kept and the casualties resulting from enemy fire have been brought way down. It is another unfortunate reality of combat that these events take place; either way, his death does not diminish his sacrifice or my respect for the man.
That’s some good advice “Don’t shoot until you know what you’re aiming at”. That sounds pretty damn easy to do, but believe me, when your adrenaline is a pumpin and rounds are whizzing past your head, there isn’t a whole lot of time to sit there and comprehend EXACTLY what you are shooting at. Decisions in the field are made in a fraction of a second. Also, your statment bashes the credibility of the Rangers, which is insulting. We are some of the most highly-trained ground-pounders this world has ever known, so don’t give advice to us like we’re idiots. RLTW
There are a few reasons why friendly fire incidents seem more rampant these days. The statistics aspect is true, but probably not the biggest reason. Most friendly fire incidents occur from the use of indirect fire (mortars, artillery) and air. Our weaponry on the modern day battlefield is just much more deadly than the weapons of our enemies. I have seen this firsthand. The effects of our mortars are more damaging than those of Soviet made weapons by several orders of magnitude. Before anyone goes spouting off about the four safety rules, maybe he should check his facts and verify that it was friendly direct fire that killed Pat Tillman. Given that one report suggested that his truck may have hit a mine, I think it would be reasonable to assume that he died in a supporting arms incident.
I’ve never been in combat but during my time in the army we had to do a fair bit of “exercises” using live ammo. I know what it’s like to have bullets flying around me and having to trust the guys behind me and the guys upfront trusting me. Not the same as being in war but…
I’m not degrading anyone so don’t take it personally.