Retired general censured in Tillman case

WASHINGTON — Army Secretary Pete Geren censured a retired three-star general for misconduct in the investigation of the 2004 "friendly-fire" death of former NFL player and Army Ranger Pat Tillman. Geren also recommended that the retired general be evaluated for a possible demotion, an extremely rare move.

Geren said Tuesday he had censured retired Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger after senior Army officers determined Kensinger lied to investigators about when he knew Tillman's death was a suspected friendly-fire case.

Kensinger could see his rank — and retirement pay — reduced retroactively by a review board, Geren said.

Although the latest review — the military's seventh into Tillman's death — led to lesser written reprimands for at least six top officers, only Kensinger faces serious discipline.

Geren said he considered recommending a court-martial for Kensinger but ruled it out.

Investigators found that Kensinger was alerted to Tillman's fate days before he attended a nationally televised funeral for the former football star for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals, at which time family members believed the Army's story that Tillman died while attacking enemy forces in Afghanistan.

"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 U.S. Army," Geren wrote in a letter to Kensinger released Tuesday.

Kensinger, the commanding general for U.S. Special Operations Command from August 2002 until his retirement in February 2006, argued against an administrative reprimand. "Never did I lie or would I lie, deceive, or intend to obstruct or mislead in any fashion," he wrote in an official rebuttal.

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

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

Five weeks after his death in April 2004, the Army notified the Tillman family that he had died from rounds fired in error by U.S. troops.

Geren cited "multiple actions on the part of multiple soldiers" in compounding the confusion over the 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.

Tillman's family has insisted there was a cover-up rising as high as former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Geren said that while the case was "poorly handled" and that regulations for notifying the family were not followed, there was no effort to cover up Tillman's death or any conspiracy to mislead the public. Tillman's family continues to seek more information.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is scheduled to hear testimony today about what senior defense leaders knew regarding Tillman's death.

Rumsfeld is among those scheduled to testify, said committee spokeswoman Karen Lightfoot. A committee spokeswoman said a subpoena was issued for Kensinger to appear but U.S. marshals had not been able to serve him as of late Tuesday.

Material from The Washington Post, Gannett News Service and The Associated Press is included in this report.