RSS
Home
Healing troubles detailed at Fort Hood
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
AP Photo/Paul Sakuma
(Killeen, TX) -- The commanding general at Fort Hood says he is worried about soldiers on his base who had prior problems with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Lt. General Bob Cone told reporters at a Monday afternoon briefing that he isn't yet sure what effect the mass shooting will have on soldiers who had already struggled with PTSD in the past, so he said counselors and commanders will be watching those soldiers closely.
The Army is also paying extra attention to the more than 100 soldiers on Fort Hood that Gen. Cone says are Muslim by faith.
He said those soldiers are an important part of the Army team, so his staff is watching closely to make sure they are not retaliated against by those reacting to last week's mass shooting.
Cone said more than 2-dozen of the victims wounded in last week's attack are expected to attend tomorrow's full ceremony on Fort Hood, which includes a visit from President Obama.
Cone said the ceremony will be familiar and comfortable to soldiers who have attended such ceremonies for war dead in the past. He said it's important to keep the ceremony familiar, but there is an added depth due to the presidential involvement.
Fort Hood's top officer also said he is trying to work on cutting down on sirens being used by police and emergency vehicles on base. He acknowledged that the sirens and movement of officers are unsettling for those who are trying to heal, including soldiers' wives, children, and other civilians.
A simple police call may dredge up memories of Thursday's ordeal since police cars were streaming all over base with sirens blaring. Gen. Cone said he was trying to scale back the sirens and police movement so that healing is easier.
For the first time, the Army is admitting that a deployment may be affected by the mass shooting. Gen. Cone said that Fort Hood's Combat Stress Detachment had been set for deployment to Afghanistan immediately, but it may be delayed while additional reinforcements are organized since they have been pushed into service right at their own home.
The head of Fort Hood said, "We will look really hard to the right and the left" since other soldiers may have similar indicators as the shooter. Gen. Cone said the full impact of the shooting on the rest of the base is still unknown so commanders are keeping a close watch for anyone who exhibits signs of stress.
The reason for the added concern for soldiers who had already struggled with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the past is the huge question mark about how this will affect them. There are no studies that provide any guidelines since there's never been a wartime mass-shooting on a US military base of this magnitude.
Cone declined to speak about the US Army major who is named as the attacker, Maj Nidal Maliq Hasan of Virgnia. He is now conscious at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, recovering from gunshot wounds inflicted by responding police.
He said Major Hasan had been filling out psychological profiles for deploying soldiers at Fort Hood.
Container trucks have been stacked to enclose the area where President Obama will join mourners for tomorrow's service. Cone said the barriers are for "privacy and security." He said around 2,000 people can fit into the area enclosed by the container trucks.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
Confidential prison files reveal years worth of attacks aimed at corrections officers, and those officers are divulging new questions about this …
(Austin) -- The Texas agency that regulates the training of police officers statewide has taken action amid reports that police academies may be …
