Lives of Fort Bragg battalion commander Lt. Col. Roy Tisdale, soldier Ricky Elder

Lives of Fort Bragg battalion commander Lt. Col. Roy Tisdale, soldier Ricky Elder followed vastly different paths before ending together in tragedy
By Greg Barnes and Drew Brooks
Staff writers
Fayobserver.com
Jul 15, 2012

Photo by Dave McDermandof The Bryan-College Station Eagle
Jana Bowman is among hundreds who turned out for a ceremony honoring Lt. Col. Roy Lin Tisdale in Bryan, Texas.

By age 12, Roy Tisdale was helping tend livestock on his family's ranch, demonstrating the character that would one day propel him to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Army.

At that same age, Ricky Elder was being charged with felony burglary, the first in a series of juvenile crimes before Elder graduated from high school in 2004 and joined the Army almost immediately afterward.

Six years later, Elder and Tisdale deployed together to Afghanistan with the 525th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade.

Little is publicly known about the relationship Elder and his commander shared in Afghanistan, other than that they knew each other. What is known is that after the brigade's return from Afghanistan in July of last year, Elder was charged with stealing a $1,700 tool kit from a motor pool. He was facing court-martial and dishonorable discharge from the Army if convicted.

But that doesn't explain his actions on the blistering hot afternoon of June 28. On that day, on a field in a historic district of Fort Bragg, Elder repeatedly shot the 42-year-old Tisdale during a safety briefing before the July 4 holiday weekend. Elder, who was 27, then took his own life, leaving the families and friends of both soldiers asking the same question:

Why?

A week after his death, the funeral procession carrying Tisdale's body wound its way from Central Baptist Church in Bryan, Texas, to the Aggie Field of Honor on the far side of College Station, the home of Texas A and M.

Along the way, dozens of college students lined the grassy shoulders, waving flags. A group of construction workers stopped working on a new post office to line up and pay their respects, their helmets covering their hearts.

The funeral for Ricky Elder stands in stark contrast to the one for Tisdale. No large crowd, no mourners lining the streets; only a few members of the Patriot Guard Riders standing at the ready in case of trouble.

But judging from social network sites, Elder had a lot of friends who loved him.

One, a former soldier who asked not to be named because his brother is in the Army, said Elder was great with his children.

The friend said he and Elder once volunteered together at an elementary school on Fort Benning, Ga., tutoring children in math and reading. They also earned their expert infantryman badges together.

Friends said Elder was proud of his Army commendations, especially the Ranger tab. Last year, only 42 percent of soldiers who enrolled in Ranger School successfully completed the course.

"I think he was a good guy, overall. I think he just made a bad choice," the friend said.

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