Politicians refer to themselves as public servants. Swamp creatures like Joe Biden will extol their many decades of employment in Washington DC as though they had been some kind of galley slave toiling away on an Athenian man o’ war. I have actually met a couple of those guys. Their idea of selfless service does not quite match my own.
American legislators spend money like drunken sailors. Actually, that’s not true. Drunken sailors couldn’t even begin to burn cash in as profligate a manner as might your typical freshman congressman. They’ve raised wasting money to an art form.
You think I’m kidding. Back when I was a soldier I spent a week as a local liaison officer for a group of congressmen on a fact-finding mission after the First Gulf War. It was amazing just watching them eat. They’d go to the nicest restaurant in town and order one of anything they might be curious about. Then they swapped plates around so everybody got a taste. One of my several duties was to scurry back and forth to the Officers’ Club cashing $500 government traveler’s checks to pay for it all. It was surreal.
Everybody in DC has sold their soul to somebody. I’ll champion the folks on my side of the aisle in the vain hope that they might someday just leave me the heck alone, but they are all irredeemably corrupt. The system perpetuates itself. It will never get better.
On May 31, 2002, Pat Tillman and his brother Kevin walked into a local recruiting office and enlisted in the US Army. Pat walked away from a $3.6 million professional football contract and Lord knows what else so he could serve his country in the immediate aftermath of 911. Pat Tillman’s story is that of a conflicted man and a horribly flawed system. However, his is a tale of epic sacrifice and genuine selfless service.
Origin Story
Pat Tillman was the eldest of three sons born to Patrick and Mary Tillman in Fremont, California. By NFL standards, Tillman was not a terribly big man. He stood 5’11” and weighed 202 pounds when dressed out as a safety for the Arizona Cardinals. Pat personified the axiom, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”
In high school Tillman preferred baseball, but he failed to make the team as a freshman. At that point, he turned his attention to the gridiron. Throughout his childhood and adolescence, Pat was powerfully close to his friends and family. He married his childhood sweetheart just before he enlisted in the Army. He and his brother Kevin enlisted together, trained together, and were eventually both assigned to the 2d Ranger Battalion based at Fort Lewis, Washington.
Pat Tillman attended Arizona State University on a football scholarship and excelled as a linebacker. An exceptionally deep young man, Tillman was well read and made good grades. He maintained a 3.85 GPA in marketing and graduated in 3.5 years despite the rigors of starting on his college football team.
Pat thrived in the NFL. Sports Illustrated writer Paul Zimmerman named Tillman to the 2000 NFL All-Pro team based upon his stellar performance as a defensive player. He turned down a $9 million offer to move to the St. Louis Rams out of loyalty to his Arizona team.
Eight months after the 911 attacks and with the remainder of his 15 games completed from his 2001 contract, Pat Tillman left $3.6 million on the table to go to Army basic training alongside his brother. Pat’s brother Kevin gave up a burgeoning career in minor league baseball for the same path. These two men put their love of country ahead of the sorts of things the rest of us would just about kill for.
Appreciate the details here. I’m a happily married hetero man, and even I admit that Pat Tillman was an exceptionally good-looking guy. Intelligent, articulate, and well-educated, Tillman had the world by the tail. Once his time in the NFL was complete Pat Tillman could have easily parlayed his gifts and experiences into a career on television or in Hollywood. Instead, he opted for the Ranger Regiment.
I was an Army aviator, but I worked with those guys on occasion. Theirs was an absolutely miserable life. Junior enlisted soldiers don’t get paid beans, and the optempo in the Ranger Battalions is utterly grueling. In less than two years on active duty, Pat Tillman completed basic training and AIT as well as the Ranger Assessment and Selection Program. He was deployed to Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom in September of 2003 after which he attended Ranger School at Fort Benning. Once a fully tabbed Ranger, he returned to Second Bat at Lewis and deployed to Afghanistan where he was based at FOB Salerno.
Up until this point, Pat Tillman was the US Army’s poster child. An American superhero with a face right out of central casting, Tillman’s story could not have been any more compelling had it been drafted by an action novelist. Then Something Truly Horrible happened.
The Incident
Combat is an ugly, filthy, chaotic thing. It is seldom as tidy or predictable as the movies and sand table exercises depict it to be. On April 22, 2004, the fog of war claimed a genuine American hero.
On a forgotten road leading from the Afghan village of Sperah about 40 klicks outside of Khost, Pat Tillman’s small HUMVEE-mounted patrol ran into trouble. Their mission that day was to retrieve a disabled HUMVEE. This tale is made all the more tragic in that we abandoned tens of thousands of these vehicles when we fled Afghanistan recently. The details are fiercely debated to this day, but here is the official description.
Tillman was in the lead vehicle designated Serial 1. Serial 1 passed through a mountainous pass and was roughly one kilometer ahead of Serial 2, the following HUMVEE. At that point, Serial 2 was purportedly engaged by hostile forces.
Upon hearing of the ambush, the Rangers in Serial 1 dismounted and made their way on foot back toward an overwatch position where they could provide supporting fires for Serial 2. In the resulting chaos, the Rangers of Serial 2 lost touch with the specific location of the lead Rangers. In the violent exchange of fire that followed Tillman’s Platoon Leader and his RTO (Radio Telephone Operator) were wounded. An allied member of the Afghan Militia Force was killed. Pat Tillman caught three 5.56mm rounds from an M249 SAW to the face from a range of 10 meters and died instantly.
The Weapon
First introduced in 1984, the Belgian-designed M249 Squad Automatic Weapon was an Americanized version of the FN Minimi. An open-bolt, gas-operated design, the M249 was conceived to provide the Infantry squad with a portable source of high-volume, belt-fed automatic fire. The M249 has seen action in every major military engagement since the US invasion of Panama in 1989.
The M249 weighs 17 pounds empty and 22 pounds with a basic load of 200 linked rounds. The weapon fires from an open bolt and features a quick-change barrel system. The gun will feed on either disintegrating linked belts or standard STANAG M4 magazines. In my experience, the magazine feed system was never terribly reliable.
USSOCOM adopted a lighter, more streamlined version of the M249 titled the Mk46 for use with special operations forces. The M4 magazine well, vehicle mounting lugs, and barrel change handle were all removed on the Mk 46 to save weight. The USMC has aggressively supplemented their rifle squads with the HK M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle in lieu of many of their SAWs. These weapons are currently issued at a ratio of 27 IARs and 6 SAWs per rifle company. The Next Generation Squad Weapon-Automatic Rifle program is tasked with finding a suitable replacement for the aging M249’s in the Army inventory.
The Rest of the Story
What happened next was a blight on the US Army. To have Pat Tillman, the real live Captain America killed due to friendly fire in a botched combat operation was not the story the Army wanted pushed. As a result, several senior Army officers moved to massage the narrative and outright suppress the story to both the media and the Tillman family. The end result was an absolutely ghastly mess.
There were allegations that Tillman, by now disillusioned with the war in Iraq, was about to offer an interview with controversial activist Noam Chomsky upon his return from his Afghanistan deployment that would be critical of the Bush Administration. As Tillman’s death occurred in a crucial time leading up to the 2004 Presidential elections conspiracy theorists even proposed that he had been intentionally murdered. However, interviews with his fellow Rangers verified that Tillman was a popular and selfless member of the team. In the final analysis, it all seems to have been a truly horrible mistake. After several investigations undertaken by the military, three mid-level Army leaders purportedly received administrative punishment as a result.
A word on the conspiracies. Soldiers don’t fight for mom, apple pie, and America. They fight for each other. There’s just no way you could get a Ranger to intentionally shoot another Ranger to protect the reputation of a sitting President. This was simply a horrible accident.
The sordid circumstances surrounding the death of Pat Tillman in no way diminish the truly breathtaking scope of the man’s patriotism and sacrifice. Tillman was an avowed atheist throughout his life. After his funeral, his youngest brother Richard asserted, “Just make no mistake, he’d want me to say this: He’s not with God, he’s f&%ing dead, he’s not religious.” Richard added, “Thanks for your thoughts, but he’s f&%in’ dead.” It was an undeniably strange end for a genuine American hero.
Soldiers in combat will often pen a “just in case” letter to be opened in the event of their death. Pat’s note to his wife Marie said, “Through the years I’ve asked a great deal of you, therefore it should surprise you little that I have another favor to ask. I ask that you live.”
And live she did. Marie Tillman today is Chairman and Co-Founder of The Pat Tillman Foundation. This non-profit works to “unite and empower remarkable military service members, veterans, and spouses as the next generation of public and private sector leaders committed to service beyond self.” The Foundation has sponsored 635 Tillman Scholars and invested some $18 million in philanthropy. Marie has since remarried and is the mother of five children.
Remember him well the government absolutely tried to cover their ass just like they did with the Jessica Lynch rescue 🫡
As usual compelling story of soldier who gave all. Want more on Dr. Dabbs view of DC & the servants in charge who are first in line at the bountiful buffet of self serving greed.
I read the Tillman story, “Where men win glory”, by Jon Krakauer. I enjoyed readind about Tillman, however Krakauer’s injection of his own looney politics ruined the book. Tillman was an absolute stud. I truly hope he is resting easy with the Lord. As my father used to tell me, ” Son, I think we’ll all be surprised by who is and isn’t in heaven.”
Did you not read that he was an atheist? He made the decision, no one else! He was a great American but that does not get one to heaven.
Except for the political diatribe at the beginning [c’mon, leave your politics out of it] and the statement “The details are fiercely debated to this day,..” [no they are not; he was killed by friendly fire, no ifs, ands, or buts], it was a passable piece of writing. You’ve done better.
There still exists those same heroes. Men like Tillman,who live and breath the rarified air of true heroes.
These are men who see the gift of being an American and volunteer to pay the dues someone must pay if we are to survive as a nation. These men understand the price they may have to pay, and rather than wait for. someone else to step up they shove their way to the front of the line. This exemplifies courage and patriotism most of the rest of us wish we had. Like the words remind us “FREEDOM AIN’T FREE” , Do something stand up and fight with the ballot for your country, its future and the price they paid deserves your involvement.
I remember it differently. He was awarded a decoration (I think a silver star) for heroism in a battle that was similar as described here. Sent home and buried in a closed coffin. Members of his team secretly contacted the family and said there was something wrong and to do an autopsy. The autopsy showed that he was shot in the back. Most believed that he was murdered during a sham raid that occurred right by the base. The guess was that he was killed by a CIA agent, not friendly fire in the face. The army when confronted with this quickly withdrew the award and came up with the cover story described here. His team members also said that he was disillusioned and was going to go public upon return home.
Ron, the Fireman thank you for being a hero. Will, thank you for your service as an aviator and Doctor.
The elephant in the room: Biden is not President. They cheated and people like Ron just can’t believe it and will never accept it even if presented with irrefutable proof. The Democrats have cheated in just about every election. The Party of Treason. The Republicans are not too far behind. Too many people are asleep in our beautiful USA. Oh, yeah COVID was not enterprise fraud. Right.
I would put all of Congress on a spaceship and then fly it to Saturn, then hit it with thermonuclear weapons. Many of these folks are American traitors even the so called veterans. Just because you served, don’t mean you support and defend the Constitution. Look at Ruben Gallego.
I can go on and on. I agree 100 percent with Will’s views. I am a brown skinned Latino living in the worst city on earth, New York City.
Ron is a victim of the lies spewed by the Party of Treason but shame on him for believing those lies. We didn’t vote for or deserved this current government! It was forced upon us by a group of rat bastard, treasonous traitors who only care about power, not party or politics.
Go read Milton Friedman ‘s Capitalism and Freedom.
God bless the Republic of the United States. God bless our veterans who died for this great nation like Pat Tillman. God bless those veterans who are alive and will defend and protect the Constitution for it will always prevail as long as we fight for it!
I’ve known a few drunken sailors. The difference between them and politicians is drunken sailors spend their own money and quit when they run out.
And Pat Tillman’s name is on part of the bridge at Hoover Dam. He was a hero, no doubt. As to the other parts of the argument…biden is absolute trash and not fit to be a floor sweeper at our White House. Never forget the thirteen that died expressly from biden’s incompetence and ignorance.
Sir, I completely agree that Pat Tillman is a true American hero. His loss no matter the circumstances is terribly sad.
But the reason I am commenting is to state my shock and regret that a obviously educated, skilled writer who has served our country has such a damaged view of our government and would actually call our president a swamp creature. Sir, we get the government we deserve and all the faults are because we allow them. I believe my political values are directly opposite of yours. I have worked since I was 10 years old delivering newspapers through high school and college as a union grocery clerk and then a union firefighter until retirement . While I would never compare what I did with military service, I do know the cold fear, chaos, and unpredictability of a working fire scene. I know what it is like to kick in a door of a burning building and lead an attack or search team into what seems to be hell. I also know that at times the only thing that keeps you from running screaming from the scene is the refusal to let your team down. And my whole life I’ve been told by members of your party that I’m overpaid, have way too many benefits and don’t pay nearly enough for my health insurance. They say I’m the product of a bloated inefficient government and a symptom of what’s wrong with our country. Well sir, thank you for your service, and please pardon me if I spend the rest of my life supporting poor and working folks.
Thanks,
Ron Pritchett
Fire Lieutenant (rtd)
Ron, brother, I don’t know where to start. I don’t personally care much for Trump as a person, never did. However, he had the best policies of any President in my lifetime. The raw rabid vitriol spewed by the Left towards Trump makes anything “members of my party” might have to say about Biden seem like Sunday school fodder by comparison. Given Biden’s complete abdication of his responsibilities as leader of the free world I think the swamp creature appellation is fairly tame. Biden has held public office since 1971. Sorry, bro, he’s the swamp creature archetype.
I’ve never, not once, written, spoken, or thought that our police or fire fighters were overpaid. Not sure where that comes from. If we paid our government employees what they were worth our cops, firemen, soldiers, and teachers would be living in the big houses and driving the fancy cars while our politicians would be paying us for the privilege of working.
I’m sick of being spuriously accused of hating people because I’m not on the side of drive-through abortion kiosks and sex education for kindergarteners. Don’t think you have a corner on the market of supporting poor and working folks. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more loving and generous mob than Southern church-going folk and they/we are overwhelmingly conservative. I’m not talking about writing a check at some posh fund-raiser. I’m talking about getting dirty and meeting needs where people live.
During my combat jump, I exited on a red light, landed roughly 2-3 miles past my DZ…shooting my friends was one of my biggest fears. It’s pretty scary to be 19yrs old,alone in the pitch dark with no NVG’s. Hard to tell who’s even shooting at me.
Men like Will Dabbs and Pat Tillman insure that United States of America will persist as the bed Rock of a destination for the world’s population. Their love of country and family shines as that beacon for all to see. I know there are millions of Americans standing up for the reality of a UNITED States of America.
Another great read, Will. This young man may not have lived long enough to share your sentiment towards our “elected” “representatives” (some were certainly NOT elected, and few, if any, are truly our representatives). Many of your readers, especially those of us who swore to defend the Constitution, do indeed view those privileged bureaucrats with utter disgust. Originally, our system was designed to operate with citizen representatives, whose livelihoods did not depend on government salaries and perks. Many, in fact, volunteered their services for a limited time and then returned to their previous occupations. I wonder how many of today’s ruling class would serve if the paycheck, special interest contributions, and limitless other benefits were removed.
There’s a tiny chance that the Convention of States movement might slow our demise, if they are successful at passing the items no “Washingtonian” would even consider… such as term limits, a balanced budget amendment, etc. I encourage everyone to research for themselves what a Convention of States is, and is not. As usual, much misinformation abounds. If something like a CoS doesn’t happen, it puts us all the more close to relying on those ammo reserves.
From the mouth of a green team operator, it wasnt Ranger friendly fire it was green team, and not an accident. This isnt new. Its not a government of the people anymore, remove your consent, leave your fed gov or contracting job, and quit participating because of pay and pension. Im sure thats just conspiracy stuff again.
What was the motive? Why in the world was Tillman murdered as you claim?
You must have missed the part about his letters questioning what we were doing there guarding poppy fields and worse. Motive?
This was an awful tragedy. I remember watching him play football in college and the NFL. I’m a skins fan, so the Cardinals were a rival at that time, but Tillman was a hard worker that wasn’t a loud mouth. He would make tackles all over the field. A great all around guy from the way it sounds and it’s a shame what happened the following cover up that ensued. May his memory and ideals live on