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Pentagon concludes investigation into `friendly fire' case

Nine officers, including up to four generals, should be held accountable for missteps in the aftermath of the friendly fire death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman, a former US football star accidentally killed by his comrades in Afghanistan, a Pentagon investigation will recommend.

Senior defense officials said on Friday the Defense Department inspector general will cite a range of errors and inappropriate conduct as the military probed Tillman's death on the battlefront in 2004, said one defense official.

The official, who like the others requested anonymity because the Army has not publicly released the information, said it appeared that senior military leaders may not have had all the facts or worked hard enough to get the facts of what happened on April 22, 2004, when Tillman was killed by members of his own platoon.

Tillman's case drew worldwide attention in part because he had turned down a multimillion-dollar contract to play defensive back for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League in order to join the Army Rangers after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Dozens of soldiers -- those immediately around Tillman at the scene of the shooting, his immediate superiors and high-ranking officers at a command post nearby -- knew within minutes or hours that his death was fratricide.

Even so, the Army persisted in telling Tillman's family he was killed in a conventional ambush, including at his nationally televised memorial service 11 days later. It was five weeks before his family was told the truth, a delay the Army has blamed on procedural mistakes.

Officials said that the report will not make charges or suggest punishments, but will recommend the Army look at holding the nine officers accountable.
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