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Ear to the Ground

Army: We Misled Seven Families

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Posted on Oct 30, 2006

The U.S. Army has concluded that it gave wrong or misleading information to the families of seven dead soldiers, including Pat Tillman. One step it’s taking to improve its notification process: “an $800,000 training film that highlights how grieving families react.”

Eight hundred thousand dollars. That’s not a typo.

  • Also: read Kevin Tillman’s personal essay in Truthdig about his brother’s sacrifice

  • USA Today:

    A review of battlefield deaths that included the case of former pro football player Pat Tillman has concluded that the Army gave wrong or misleading information to the families of seven dead soldiers, according to the Army’s casualty notification office.

    ...  Col. Patrick Gawkins, head of the Army’s notification office, provided findings of the review to USA TODAY. He said the review looked at about 810 deaths and found that the families of Tillman and six others were misinformed about how their relatives died.

    ... The re-examination of deaths is part of several steps taken by the Army to improve the way it notifies families. Other steps include:

  • Requiring more chaplains in the process.

  • Producing an $800,000 training film that highlights how grieving families react.

  • Dispatching training teams to educate soldiers.

  • Creating a new coffin cover with a flag emblem that will make it easier for air freight personnel to treat remains in a dignified fashion.

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    Comments

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    By SLCsteve, October 30, 2006 at 3:43 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Wow…$800,000.

    I have a solution that costs less and is worth more—

    STOP LYING TO PEOPLE!

    Report this

    By Peter O Dixon, October 30, 2006 at 3:26 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    The problem with the Pat Tillman’s death was that the administration needed a hero.  They made up a story and thought that no one would find out even when Pat’s brother was in the same unit.  When the president made his TV spot for the memorial service, several weeks after Pat’s death, he either knew or didn’t know that that the whole thing was a fable.  If he knew the truth, he simply lied.  If he didn’t know the truth then the commander-in-chief is not in charge of the military and that’s very scary.  He’s sort of like King Louis XVI who didn’t know what was going on in his government and ended up losing his head because of it.  But there’s a old saying, “Never assume malice for what stupidity can explain.”

    Report this

    By barbaracummings, October 30, 2006 at 1:38 pm Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Not a day goes by anymore that some story like this, something so “appalingly stupid”, that is does render one speechless.  The problem was theat the families were LIED to, DECEIVED, their grief taken ADVANTAGE of.  The military tried to COVER UP wrong doing.

    A new training film and coffin decal are the most absurd response, how could they even print this crap?

    Report this

    By D Mitchell, October 30, 2006 at 11:12 am Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    This is so appallingly stupid that I’m speechless. There is a system that has always worked in past wars. Whatever happened to SOP?

    Report this

    By T. Edmondson KC-MO, October 30, 2006 at 11:04 am Link to this comment
    (Unregistered commenter)

    I’m confused on the one bullet point in the main story:
    ‘Creating a new coffin cover with a flag emblem that will make it easier for air freight personnel to treat remains in a dignified fashion.’

    I worked over 15 years for the airlines and I can tell you all the ramp agents unloading an aircraft knew the difference between a big box of air freight and a coffin.  We ALWAYS handled them with the highest respect.

    So what was the problem that they have to (spend more tax dollars) to create a NEW flag emblem to tell people this is a dead soldier vs. a regular ‘joe’ who died of a heart attack.

    Anyone who knows the reason (or real story behind this) please share it here.

    Thanks

    Report this

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