RANGERS

There is simply no military unit that has the pride and esprit of Army Rangers. I cannot tell you the numbers of Rangers that I've met who are simply cut from a different cloth. Pat Tillman and his buddies of the 75th Rangers were all special.

Now, with yet another investigation, Army Rangers speak about what happened. They acknowledged the true story would have been devastating for the 75th Regiment. What they really meant is that it will bring shame on the Rangers and nothing could be worse.

Ranger training includes weeks of deprivation, surviving, living in the most extreme conditions. Most fail. I don't know the exact percentages but I would say, close to 80% don't make it. When it's over, the soldier is forever changed. His only reward is a tab, a Ranger Tab worn on his left shoulder in his dress uniform or a pen signifying he's a Ranger. And, so a Ranger doesn't dare bring shame upon other Rangers.

One of Pat Tillman's fellow Rangers said, "I mean, it's horrible that Pat was dead. Absolutely horrible. But it hurts even more to know that it was one of our own guys that did it. We just, we didn't want to get anything, you know, bad said about the Regiment or anything like that. That was my guess to what the whole thing was about. We didn't want the world finding out what actually happened."

So, there you have; cover up. Not really to this soldier. Just a bunch of Rangers who didn't want to bring disgrace on fellow Rangers. Unfortunately, modern wartime, often fought in the media, has obfuscated honorable motives. My suspicion is that Pat Tillman would be the last wanting this investigation to continue. Noway would he want to take a chance on smudging the reputation of his beloved Rangers.

One soldier's opinion and I will not speak of this again.