General in Tillman probe is censured

WASHINGTON -- The Army yesterday censured a retired three-star general for a "perfect storm of mistakes, misjudgments, and a failure of leadership" after the 2004 friendly-fire death in Afghanistan of Army Ranger Pat Tillman.

Army Secretary Pete Geren asked an Army review panel to decide whether Lieutenant General Philip Kensinger should also have his rank reduced.

Geren said at a Pentagon news conference that, while Kensinger was "guilty of deception" in misleading investigators, there was no intentional Pentagon coverup of circumstances surrounding the former professional football player's death -- at first categorized by the military as caused by enemy fire.

"He failed to provide proper leadership to the soldiers under his administrative control. . . . He let his soldiers down," Geren said. "General Kensinger was the captain of that ship, and his ship ran aground."

At least six other officers received lesser reprimands. Geren said he considered whether to recommend a court-martial for Kensinger but ruled it out.

"You are hereby censured for your conduct and failure of leadership in matters relating to the investigation and reporting of the death of Corporal Pat Tillman," read the memo reprimanding the retired general.

"Your failings compounded the grief suffered by the Tillman family, resulted in the dissemination of erroneous information, and caused lasting damage to the reputation and credibility of the US Army."

The Army panel will decide whether Kensinger should be stripped of his third star, a move that would cut his retirement benefits. Kensinger, who headed Army special operations, retired in 2006.

Geren said investigations have shown that accidental fire from US troops was responsible for the death of Tillman, who had walked away from a $3.6 million football contract to become an Army Ranger.

The Army initially suggested that Tillman, who was 27, had been killed in a firefight with enemy militia forces. The Army then arranged a ceremony to award Tillman a Silver Star for bravery.

Five weeks after his death in April 2004, the Army notified the Tillman family that he died from rounds US troops fired in error. Geren cited "multiple actions on the part of multiple soldiers" in compounding the confusion that surrounded Tillman's death.

"It's a perfect storm of mistakes, misjudgments, and a failure of leadership," he said.

"There was never any effort to mislead or hide" or keep embarrassing information from the public, he added.

He said Tillman deserved the Silver Star, the military's third-highest award for valor in combat, despite the circumstances surrounding his death.

He could understand how the Tillman family and other Americans might reach the conclusion that there was a coverup, Geren said.

"The facts just don't support this conclusion," he said.

Still, he said, "We have made mistakes over and over and over, an incredible number of mistakes in handling this. We have destroyed our credibility in their eyes as well as in the eyes of others."