BayArea.Com: SJ’s Tillman, who quit NFL to fight, killed in Afghanistan
He was three four years ahead of me in school and I knew his younger brothers. (The Tillmans were a sports dynasty at my high school.) I’m wondering what it’s going to be like to go home in May after this happened. This is the first person I knew within two degrees of separation of me that has been killed in Afghanistan or Iraq.
Along the same lines…
Pentagon Angered by Soldier Coffin Photos
The Department of Defense has been catching so much fire over this. It used to be that the cameras were on and taking the coffins off the plane was a last tribute and hurrah to those who had died. Now… the cameras are off. All the Vietnam-era people and family members of those who have died are up in arms because they want the world to see the coffins being taken off the planes and the bodies of their sons and daughters coming home. I happen to agree.
can i disagree here, on the issue of showing the coffins lined up. to me, that dis-personalizes the real tragedy of death-at-war. we all know how many people are getting killed – we hear it everywhere every day, and having local news report on local fallen brings it home. to somehow be able to point at all the coffins and now say, “look how many are dying” – i don’t think it’s necessary to do that. and now that it’s done, it’s being used politically the other way, which is at least as wrong as is being claimed for keeping the pictures away. – hope that made sense… thanks.
The current ban on showing coffins came at the behest of families who lost loved ones in Gulf War I. That said, I’m not offended by it, nor are my political views threatened by it.
That said, as a contractor who’s had to go through a high security clearance process, and having to sign my life away in non-disclosure agreements to make sure my loose lips didn’t sink any ships, I think the woman who took the shots foobar’d big league. And in losing her top-secret clearance, voided her husbands (don’t worry, it works both ways).
Part of the problem is that she took pictures and displayed them without a military screening to make sure no military secrets were exposed, such as new hardware inside the cargo bay, body armor, etc …
… of course, I guess I’m going to have to ask some press buddies if they have to have photos cleared for the same reason … then again, they’re not contractually obliged to maintain security.
Actually, there have been cameras on between GW1 and GW2. I remember seeing pictures of coffins being unloaded from planes when I was in high school (’94-’98).
I will agree that she shouldn’t have taken the pictures, but I think America has a right to see the coffins and nobody from this conflict seems to object but the DOD.
Well, keep in mind, the DOD has to complain if nothing else to discourage other photos coming in from the battlefield that might actually compromise security. Oh, I’m sure there are some politicos who think it’s bad press, but I’d bet a buncha pizza that the guys in the field are more concerned about giving the enemy an advantage and/or setting a bad precedent.
i heard about the NFL player on the radio today and was struck by how sad it was. i think it was striking because he didn’t need to go into the military; he completely chose to do so. intriguing.
now, i heard an interesting comment about the coffins in relation to pat tillman. he obviously believed in the war in afghanistan and chose to go there. what if the coffins are allowed to be photographed and then someone uses them in a documentary or commercial or whatever to show how evil the u.s. is to be at war. wouldn’t that be a slap in the face to the family and to his memory?
that’s the only reason i can see to not show the photos.