WASHINGTON — The Army secretary is expected to take the rare step of recommending a retired three-star general be demoted for misleading investigators probing the military's handling of the 2004 death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman, Defense officials said Thursday.
The move by Army Secretary Pete Geren would go beyond the punishment recommended by the military general assigned to review findings of a critical report earlier this year by the Pentagon inspector general. Defense officials said Geren believed the findings that retired Lt. Gen. Philip R. Kensinger Jr. misled investigators merited the harsh punishment.
Stripping a retired general of a star is an unusual move, and Army lawyers have been carefully reviewing the case. As a retired lieutenant general, Kensinger receives a retirement benefit of $9,400 a month. If demoted to major general, he would lose about $900 each month.
However, Kensinger and other officers will avoid criminal charges and face only administrative punishment, officials said. Geren is expected to formally issue the recommendation next week.
Army officials said Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates had to approve Geren's final recommendation first.
Tillman, the NFL player who gave up a multimillion-dollar contract to enlist in the Army, was mistakenly killed in Afghanistan by another member of his platoon. The Army initially announced that Tillman died in combat and not from friendly fire.
Although officers knew the truth soon after the incident, the military waited a month before telling Tillman's family he was not killed by Afghan militants.
Revelations about the Army's delay led to withering public criticism and several investigations. Eventually, the Defense Department inspector general began a probe into how the Army handled the incident.
The inspector general's report, released in March, was critical of the actions of nine officers, including four generals. That report was handed over to Gen. William S. Wallace, the commander of Army Training and Doctrine Command, to recommend punishment.
Officials briefed on the Wallace report said it, in some instances, went beyond the inspector general's investigation and singled out an additional general for punishment for failing to raise questions about Tillman's Silver Star nomination.
Wallace will recommend administrative punishments for four of the five generals whose actions he reviewed and three of five lower-ranked officers.
