Kevin Tillman

Kevin Tillman
Born	January 24, 1978 (1978-01-24) San Jose, California
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	2002—2005
Rank	Specialist
Unit	2nd Ranger Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment
Battles/wars	2003 invasion of Iraq Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan
Other work	The Tillman Story

Kevin Tillman is a former Minor League Baseball second baseman who left the Cleveland Indians after September 11, 2001 to enlist in the United States Army. With his brother, former National Football League star Pat Tillman, he completed Ranger School in 2002, and they were both assigned to 2nd Battalion - 75th Ranger Regiment. Pat and Kevin Tillman were deployed to the Middle East together as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In 2004, Tillman's brother, Pat, was killed in combat while in Afghanistan by friendly fire.

Education

He graduated from Arizona State University and California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo.

Baseball career

Tillman was drafted by the Anaheim Angels in the 31st round of the 1999 MLB June Amateur Draft. Prior to enlisting, he played just one season (2001) with the Burlington Indians and the Akron Aeros of the Cleveland Indians farm club.

Military career

Tillman and his more well-known brother Pat (a former NFL player) enlisted together on 31 May 2002, completed training and selection for the elite United States Army Rangers in late 2002, and were assigned to the 2nd Ranger Battalion in Fort Lewis, Washington. Both Pat and Kevin Tillman were deployed to South West Asia as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.

In late 2004, Tillman graduated from Sniper School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

On April 24, 2007, Pete Geren, acting secretary of the Army stated "We as an Army failed in our duty to the Tillman family, the duty we owe to all the families of our fallen soldiers: Give them the truth, the best we know it, as fast as we can."

In July 2005, fulfilling his 3-year enlistment, Tillman was honorably discharged from the Army.

Awards and decorations

Tillman and his brother won the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 11th annual ESPY Awards in 2003.

Author

Kevin Tillman has been an outspoken opponent of the George W. Bush administration and the Iraq War. He has also been promoting the documentary which portrays the U.S. Government cover-up of his brother's death, The Tillman Story.

On October 19, 2006, Tillman wrote a weblog article in memory of his brother that condemns recent American foreign policy.

In late 2008, Tillman published the book The Transparent Pillage.

Quotes

“We believe this narrative was intended to deceive the family but more importantly the American public,”

"The deception surrounding this case was an insult to the family: but more importantly, its primary purpose was to deceive a whole nation. We say these things with disappointment and sadness for our country. Once again, we have been used as props in a Pentagon public relations exercise."

External links

• Scott Lindlaw and Erica Werner (AP) (2007). "Ranger: "I Was Ordered Not To Tell Them"". volunteertv.com. http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/7168311.html. Retrieved 2011-04-02. 
• Johanna Neuman (2007-04-24). "Soldier said he was told to keep quiet on details of Tillman's death". LA Times. Archived from the original on 2007-04-27. http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20070427102529/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-ex-tillman24apr25,0,3324263.story?. 
• Scott Lindlaw (AP) (2007-04-24). "Pat Tillman's brother accuses military of 'intentional falsehoods' in friendly fire incident". signonsandiego.com. http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20070424-0905-tillman-friendlyfire.html. Retrieved 2011-04-02. 
• "Family blasts latest investigation of Pat Tillman's friendly fire death as `shamefully unacceptable'". mercurynews.com. http://origin.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_5527484. 
• Michael Luo (2007-04-24). "Government Challenged on Lynch and Tillman". nytimes.com. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/24/washington/24cnd-cong.html?hp.