Truth comes out: Pat Tillman was hit by a .50 cal machine gun

[Mookow]

Originally posted by: 3chordcharlie

Originally posted by: ToeStub
Friendly fire casualties in combat are common. Get over it.

Are you serious?

Friendly fire is common in warfare, but 'getting over it' requires accepting the unacceptable.

Pat Tillman lost no more by dying than any other soldier, but he was willing to give up a life of ease to do what he thought was right. It doesn't make his sacrifice greater, but it did make him a truly inspirational individual.

In a large scale war, FF will happen, and is pretty much unavoidable to some extent. Sure, in an ideal world you'd have time to ID your target, check around him, find out what is behind him and to the sides, etc. In reality, you are often as not firing at muzzle flashes or areas you think an enemy might be concealed behind.

Hell, even the elite of the elite (ie, Delta) have conceeded that in some situations blue-on-blue will happen if you want to achieve your objective. You have to strike an optimal balance between agression and caution. Obviously, FF comes from being too aggressive. Being too cautious, OTOH, can cause as many if not more casualties.

I'm not saying that US forces always maintain that balance. And I'm not saying that there shouldnt be a push for more fire discipline. But I do think a lot of people who have never heard a shot fired in anger judge people who were there far more harshly than they would if they had ever been in that situation.

 

[3chordcharlie]

Originally posted by: Mookow
In a large scale war, FF will happen, and is pretty much unavoidable to some extent. Sure, in an ideal world you'd have time to ID your target, check around him, find out what is behind him and to the sides, etc. In reality, you are often as not firing at muzzle flashes or areas you think an enemy might be concealed behind.

Hell, even the elite of the elite (ie, Delta) have conceeded that in some situations blue-on-blue will happen if you want to achieve your objective. You have to strike an optimal balance between agression and caution. Obviously, FF comes from being too aggressive. Being too cautious, OTOH, can cause as many if not more casualties.

I'm not saying that US forces always maintain that balance. And I'm not saying that there shouldnt be a push for more fire discipline. But I do think a lot of people who have never heard a shot fired in anger judge people who were there far more harshly than they would if they had ever been in that situation.

I accept that FF is almost inevitable; I don't accept 'get over it'. I think tragic errors like that need to be met with concern and inquiry; you can't turn back the clock, but you *might* be able to identify why it happened, and prevent it from happening next time.

 

[UNCjigga]

So it all started when the first one they saw in Tillman's unit was the Afghan ally, and they started firing on their position because they thought they were Taliban.

Moral of the story: don't serve in the Army if you're brown (and a corollary: don't let brown allies serve with you.)

 

[oogabooga]

damn that sucks.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

my god US army is so inept

 

[Babbles]

CNN Link

 

[mobobuff]

Originally posted by: Jigga
So it all started when the first one they saw in Tillman's unit was the Afghan ally, and they started firing on their position because they thought they were Taliban.

Moral of the story: don't serve in the Army if you're brown (and a corollary: don't let brown allies serve with you.)

While part of me wants to stand up for the right of every American to defend his or her country regardless of their race... the rest of me can't help but acknowledge the obvious blinding logic behind that concept.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

It sucks that he died. Sucks worse that his death was because of FF. --but this guy has been WAY overplayed in the media. He's worth no more than anyone else who's died over there but the media dumbs down everyone else's story because they weren't in the NFL or something. :roll:

 

[Goosemaster]

Originally posted by: Nik
It sucks that he died. Sucks worse that his death was because of FF. --but this guy has been WAY overplayed in the media. He's worth no more than anyone else who's died over there but the media dumbs down everyone else's story because they weren't in the NFL or something. :roll:

I love everyone's use of the word "over," especially in conjunction with stuff such as this.

He was not "overplayed." Everyone else was just under-played.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Originally posted by: Goosemaster

Originally posted by: Nik
It sucks that he died. Sucks worse that his death was because of FF. --but this guy has been WAY overplayed in the media. He's worth no more than anyone else who's died over there but the media dumbs down everyone else's story because they weren't in the NFL or something. :roll:

I love everyone's use of the word "over," especially in conjunction with stuff such as this.

He was not "overplayed." Everyone else was just under-played.

His story was played more than the stories of others who've died. Therefore, his story was overplayed in comparison to other stories. Other stories were underplayed in comparison to his story.

I don't get what the problem is, although I see the point you're trying to make. Pat Tillman was no more or less deserving than anyone else who's died over there when it comes to airtime.

 

[0roo0roo]

not surprised. one shot from that and ur dead anyways, can't fix that mistake. its how it is.

think like 100 have died in the last month anyways, so meh...

 

[Goosemaster]

Originally posted by: Nik

Originally posted by: Goosemaster

Originally posted by: Nik
It sucks that he died. Sucks worse that his death was because of FF. --but this guy has been WAY overplayed in the media. He's worth no more than anyone else who's died over there but the media dumbs down everyone else's story because they weren't in the NFL or something. :roll:

I love everyone's use of the word "over," especially in conjunction with stuff such as this.

He was not "overplayed." Everyone else was just under-played.

His story was played more than the stories of others who've died. Therefore, his story was overplayed in comparison to other stories. Other stories were underplayed in comparison to his story.

I don't get what the problem is, although I see the point you're trying to make. Pat Tillman was no more or less deserving than anyone else who's died over there when it comes to airtime.

see, that wasn't so hard. This is of course what you meant, but many people are quite different.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Originally posted by: Goosemaster

Originally posted by: Nik

Originally posted by: Goosemaster

Originally posted by: Nik
It sucks that he died. Sucks worse that his death was because of FF. --but this guy has been WAY overplayed in the media. He's worth no more than anyone else who's died over there but the media dumbs down everyone else's story because they weren't in the NFL or something. :roll:

I love everyone's use of the word "over," especially in conjunction with stuff such as this.

He was not "overplayed." Everyone else was just under-played.

His story was played more than the stories of others who've died. Therefore, his story was overplayed in comparison to other stories. Other stories were underplayed in comparison to his story.

I don't get what the problem is, although I see the point you're trying to make. Pat Tillman was no more or less deserving than anyone else who's died over there when it comes to airtime.

see, that wasn't so hard. This is of course what you meant, but many people are quite different.

Yeah, everyone else sucks 😉

 

[Mo0o]

Sucks, but inevitable in war.

 

[KidViciou$]

whoever says "get over it" is extremely shallow, and is slow in the head

dumbasses