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BOOTS ON THE GROUND BY DUSK: MY TRIBUTE TO PAT TILLMAN

Pat and me just before going on a walk, 1977.

Pat at 6-1/2 months.

Pat in the tree in his grandma's front yard, 1986

Kevin, Pat, and Richard, foolin' around for their dad, 1984

Richard, Kevin, me, and Pat on our front stoop, 1983. Kevin and Pat have their light sabers. Star Wars characters and superheroes the boys drew are hanging on the door.

Pat and Marie during their college years.

Pat doing a handstand on our roof, summer 1995.

Pat and me before the start of the ASU/UofA game, 1997.

Patrick, Richard, Pat, me, Mike, and my mom at Richard's high school graduation at the Rose Garden, 1999.

Pat, Kevin in the center, and Richard at the Arizona Cardinals San Francisco 49ers game, October 2000.

Pat the evening of his rehearsal dinner, May 2, 2002. Pat gave people hayrides from their cars to the house.

Richard, Pat, and Kevin on Pat's wedding day, 2002.

Pat and his father, Patrick, the day of Pat's wedding, May 4, 2002.

Pat and Kevin in Saudi Arabia, 2003.

Kevin, Steve White, Pat, and two other Navy Seals relaxing in Iraq, 2003.

Handmade chart Kevin and I took to the congressional hearing to keep the military chain of command straight.

Provided during the Department of Defense Inspector General's briefing along with the criminal investigation division's briefing.

U.S. ARMY SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND -- ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

Both charts provided during the Department of Defense Inspector General's briefing along with the criminal investigation division's briefing.

Lieutenant Colonel Michael Hargis questioned General Stanley McChrystal on behalf of Brigadier General Gary Jones. The above statement is the result of that interview. Words and names blacked-out were redacted by the government. Other annotations on the document are those of the author.

SWORN STATEMENT

1. LOCATION: Fort Bragg, North Carolina
2. DATE: 2004/12/10
3. TIME: 1430
4. FILE NUMBER: [Blank]
5. LAST NAME, FIRST NAME, MIDDLE NAME: [Delete] [Author: Michael Hargis]
6. SSN: [Delete]
7. GRADE/STATUS: [Delete]
8. ORGANIZATION OR ADDRESS: [Delete]
9. I, [Delete] [Author: Michael Hargis], WANT TO MAKE THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT UNDER OATH:

I was present for the interview by [Delete] [Author: BG Jones] of [Delete] [Author: MG McChrystal]. The interview was taped for the purpose of creating a verbatim transcript. A sworn statement, but upon playing the tape for transcription, it was determined to be defective and unintelligible.

At the beginning of the interview, [Delete] [Author: Jones] advised [Delete] [Author: McChrystal] that he had been appointed as an AR 15-6 investigating officer to look into the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of CPL Pat Tillman in Afghanistan. [Delete] [Author: BG Jones] then asked me to swear in [Delete] [Author: McChrystal] which I did by asking him to raise his right hand and "Do you swear or affirm the statements you are about to make are the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?" to which he responded "Yes."

[Delete] [Author: Jones] then asked the following questions, to which [Delete] [Author: McChrystal] provided the following answers?

1) On what date were you first told that this was possibly fratricide?
I was in Qatar when I was told, about a day or two after the incident. No more than three days later.

2) Who told you? What did they say?
[Delete] [Author: Nixon] told me that they suspected fratricide at that time -- no later than 25 April. He gave me a brief overview of situation and told me that based on what he had heard, he believed there was a potential for fratricide and was investigating it. I told him that I concurred with him that an initial 15-6 investigation was appropriate.

3) Were you involved in any way in the initial notification to the family of the death?
No.

4) Were you involved in the initial decision to submit this soldier for a Silver Star? If so, how?
The Silver Star did not come through me for recommendation. Based on all I knew, I believed that CPL Tillman's actions merited a Silver Star, so I concurred with the recommendation for award.  Yes, at that time I did know that fratricide was a possibility.

5) Once you became aware that this was a possible fratricide, was there a conscious decision made to not tell the family of that possibility? If so, why?
There was a conscious decision on who we told about that potential because we did not know all the facts. I did tell the senior leadership [Delete] [Author: Acting Sec. Brownley, Gen. Abizaid, LTG Kensinger, Gen. Brown] about that possibility prior to the Memorial Ceremony, because I felt they needed to know that before the Ceremony. I believe that we did not tell the family of the possibility because we did not want to give them some half-baked finding.

7) Why not tell the family, within days of the incident, that this was possibly a fratricide and that a complete investigation was pending?
I did not know there was a decision not to tell the family. They had another son in the firefight.

8) Which headquarters do you believe was responsible for telling the family that this was a fratricide?
Ranger Regiment was initially responsible for this, but then USASOC offered to backfill -- I'm not sure when that happened.

10. EXHIBIT [Blank]

11. INITIALS OF PERSON MAKING STATEMENT: [Delete]

PAGE 1 OF 2 PAGES

DA FORM 2823, DEC 1998

9) Are you aware of anyone involved with this incident or the investigation thereof being reluctant to release that this was a fratricide? If so, who was it and what was the reluctance to release the information?
I am not aware of any reluctance of any kind on anyone's part to disclose that this was a fratricide.

10) Are you a General Court-Martial Convening Authority (GCMCA)?
I am not normally a General Court-Martial Convening Authority, although I might have been for this operation.

11) Who was your GCMCA on 22 Apr 04?
I am not sure who the GCMCA for us was at that time.

12) Do you know why the decision was made to initiate the AR 15-6 investigation at the Regimental level rather than at the GCMA level?

[Delete] [Author: Nixon] called me and told me that he was going to conduct an investigation into this incident. I told him that I agreed an investigation needed to be done and I was comfortable with his decision to do an investigation.

13) Are you aware of anyone being told not to discuss that this was a fratricide? If so, what was the reason for that instruction?
This was treated as any other incident involving a death. We did not want any speculation as to what happened, but I did not hear anyone say not to talk about this nor did I direct anyone not to say anything about this incident.

14) Were you involved in the family briefing once the 15-6 was approved? Did you provide any instructions to anyone / receive any instructions from anyone on what should be / should NOT be disclosed to the family?
I was not involved in the family briefing.

15) When was the 15-6 investigation submitted to your HQ? When did your HQ forward it to CENTCOM?
I don't recall when my HQ got the 15-6 nor do I recall when we sent it to CENTCOM. My JAG would know that.

16) Is there any other aspect of this 15-6 investigation, award submission, release of information on the incident in which you have been involved?
I was not involved in the VTC regarding this incident that took place right before the press conference. No one has ever shied away from saying that this was a fratricide, but we did want to make sure we were correct before we said it. I did send a P4 message to [Delete] [Author: Gen. Brown, Abizaid, Kensinger] about this, telling them we suspected fratricide, which I can provide to you.

AFFIDAVIT

I, [DELETE], HAVE READ OR HAVE HAD READ TO ME THIS STATEMENT WHICH BEGINS ON PAGE 1, AND ENDS ON PAGE 2. I FULLY UNDERSTAND THE CONTENTS OF THE ENTIRE STATEMENT MADE BY ME. THE STATEMENT IS TRUE. I HAVE INITIALED ALL CORRECTIONS AND HAVE INITIALED THE BOTTOM OF EACH PAGE CONTAINING THE STATEMENT. I HAVE MADE THIS STATEMENT FREELY WITHOUT HOPE OF BENEFIT OR REWARD, WITHOUT THREAT OF PUNISHMENT, AND WITHOUT COERCION, UNLAWFUL INFLUENCE, OR UNLAWFUL INDUCEMENT.

(Signature of Person Making Statement) [Delete]

Subscribed and sworn to before me, a person authorized by law to administer oaths, this 10th day of December, 2004, at Fort Bragg, NC.

(Signature of Person Administering Oath) [Delete]

(Typed Name of Person Administering Oath) [Delete]

(Authority to Administer Oaths) [Delete]

This map, provided by the Rangers, is of the region between Magarah and Manah,Afghanistan. where Pat and the AMF soldier "Thani" were killed. Serial One left Magarah 10 to 15 minutes ahead of Serial Two. Though the final position of the vehicles in Serial Two remains in dispute, the map depicts what is thought to have happened during the ambush. The positions of Pat and "Thani" are represented by two small bursts near the letters "PT 'TM." Bryan O'Neal was directly behind them. Lieutenant David Uthlaut and Special Jade Lane were wounded in the course of the incident, represented here by the two bursts in the village.

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