Shooting at Ft. Hood

[happyone]

I just saw this on CNN. They are reporting that 7 people have been killed at Ft. Hood Texas.

I spent some of my childhood there, so it brings it kind of close to home.

[PaloAltoCougar]

This isn't meant to be funny, but I just noticed that CNN's current report states that "Fort Hood is home to the Warrior Combat Stress Reset Program, which is designed to help soldiers overcome combat stress issues."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/05/texas.fort.hood.shootings/index.html

One wonders if this is a case of a couple of patients going off the deep end.

[cougjunkie]

31 wounded and 12 dead now.

[WashingtonCoug]

Wow that is tragic. My prayers go out to the families of these soldiers.

[Tim]

My brother and his wife are stationed there. My dad tells me that they're fine, though. Scary, indeed.

My dad also said this in an IM:

im pretty shaken up by this ft hood thing. they just keep sending these guys back until they snap

He was commenting on the report that the shooter was apparently distraught about having to go back to Iraq for another tour. I want to hear your thoughts on this. Why do we send people who don't want to go? Those who don't want to go shouldn't have to go. You may say that if that were the case, no one would want to go. The answer to that, then, is that perhaps we shouldn't be going at all if no one wants to go.

Really, though, what can be done to stop this kind of situation from happening? A soldier who doesn't want to go back to war has very little recourse.

[Indy Coug]

My brother and his wife are stationed there. My dad tells me that they're fine, though. Scary, indeed.

My dad also said this in an IM:



He was commenting on the report that the shooter was apparently distraught about having to go back to Iraq for another tour. I want to hear your thoughts on this. Why do we send people who don't want to go? Those who don't want to go shouldn't have to go. You may say that if that were the case, no one would want to go. The answer to that, then, is that perhaps we shouldn't be going at all if no one wants to go.

Really, though, what can be done to stop this kind of situation from happening? A soldier who doesn't want to go back to war has very little recourse.

Truly, war is hell, but these guys weren't drafted, and they certainly have a helluva lot more recourse than killing their fellow soldiers.

[byu71]

What I have heard is that this person did not want to be deployed, but he had never been deployed before. He was a psychiatrist who had worked with soldiers who had returned from being deployed.

[Hallelujah]

Truly, war is hell, but these guys weren't drafted, and they certainly have a helluva lot more recourse than killing their fellow soldiers.

No kidding. Don't go into the military if you don't want to shoot a gun or learn how to kill someone.

[Hallelujah]

My brother and his wife are stationed there. My dad tells me that they're fine, though. Scary, indeed.

My dad also said this in an IM:



He was commenting on the report that the shooter was apparently distraught about having to go back to Iraq for another tour. I want to hear your thoughts on this. Why do we send people who don't want to go? Those who don't want to go shouldn't have to go. You may say that if that were the case, no one would want to go. The answer to that, then, is that perhaps we shouldn't be going at all if no one wants to go.

Really, though, what can be done to stop this kind of situation from happening? A soldier who doesn't want to go back to war has very little recourse.

This guy hadn't been there. So that blows a hole in your story. Quit and get a dishonorable discharge. Or are you suggesting we don't want or need a military?

[happyone]

Thanks for moving this to the correct forum. I wasn't sure were to put it.

[Tim]

Quit and get a dishonorable discharge.

How little you know...

[Guest]

Odd.

He has never been deployed...

He had also more recently expressed deep concerns about being sent to Iraq or Afghanistan.

And he was a little nutty, or maybe something more than that...

The Associated Press, quoted federal law enforcement officials saying Major Hasan had come to their attention at least six months ago because of Internet postings that mentioned suicide bombings and other threats.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/06/us...t.html?_r=1&hp

[SteelBlue]

An interesting new development: the gunman is alive.

[happyone]

Moment of silence today for the Ft. Hood victims

http://www.usatoday.com/news/military/2009-11-05-Fort-Hood_N.htm

This is the paragraph from the article

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on Friday declared a moment of silence for U.S. military forces worldwide as a show of respect for the Fort Hood victims. The moment of silence was planned for 2:34 p.m. ET — exactly 24 hours after the shooting in Texas

[JohnnyLingo]

Some people are upset with President Obama's actions after the shooting.

After news broke out of the shooting at the Fort Hood Army post in Texas, the nation watched in horror as the toll of dead and injured climbed. The White House was notified immediately and by late afternoon, word went out that the president would speak about the incident prior to a previously scheduled appearance. At about 5 p.m., cable stations went to the president. The situation called for not only his trademark eloquence, but also grace and perspective.

But instead of a somber chief executive offering reassuring words and expressions of sympathy and compassion, viewers saw a wildly disconnected and inappropriately light president making introductory remarks. At the event, a Tribal Nations Conference hosted by the Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian affairs, the president thanked various staffers and offered a "shout-out" to "Dr. Joe Medicine Crow -- that Congressional Medal of Honor winner." Three minutes in, the president spoke about the shooting, in measured and appropriate terms. Who is advising him?

I don't know that I'm that bothered, but apparently some are.

Did anyone actually see this?