Showing posts with label Fort Hood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fort Hood. Show all posts

Friday, April 4, 2014

How Can Government Battle A 'Suicide Epidemic' Among Veterans? --Stress of fighting "terror"+ unpopularity of war?

April 04, 2014 Congressional Budget Office , Fort Hood 0 Comments
By Jordain Carney, Apr. 3, 2014, Nationaljournal.com
The Fort Hood shooting is an extreme and shocking example of what has become a chronic concern for the military: soldiers with mental-health problems taking their own lives.
And it's not just the active-duty military who face what has become an increasingly daunting problem.
At least 22 veterans commit suicide each day, according to the Veterans Affairs Department. This adds up to more than 2,000 veterans killing themselves so far this year alone, and the military community is facing what advocates refer to as a suicide epidemic.
Read the full story:  www.nationaljournal.com


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Thursday, April 3, 2014

Ft. Hood Shooter Ran Free for 15 To 20 Mins—Before Being Stopped By Military Policewoman --Another gun free zone

April 03, 2014 Army Major Nidal Hasan , Fort Hood 0 Comments
Source:  www.nbcnews.com
By Gina Cassini, Apr. 3, 2014, Top Right News
Outrageous. Reckless. Senseless. That is what many military families are calling the continuing ban on concealed carry for servicemembers on U.S. military bases. Bases like Ft. Hood, where 3 brave members of our military were gunned down by an apparently mentally-compromised Spc. Ivan Lopez.
And the outrage will only grow in light of a new shocking report that Lopez was able to remain free for 15 to 20 minutes — more than enough time for him to kill 3 and wound 16 — before finally being confronted by a military policewoman, and took his own life.

For contrast, the wholesale slaughter of 26 children and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary took just 11 minutes.

Read the full story:  www.toprightnews.com


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FLASHBACK: Deadly Combination--Political Correctness In A Gun-Free Zone By Larry Elder

April 03, 2014 Aaron Alexis , Army Major Nidal Hasan 0 Comments
By Larry Elder, Sep. 19, 2013
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., after another mass shooting, predictably wasted no time in demanding still more gun control legislation.
This week, a killer with a valid ID entered the Washington Navy Yard in southeast D.C., a military facility where 16,000 people -- mostly civilians -- work. He killed 12 people and wounded several others at the Naval Sea Systems Command headquarters, where 3,000 people work.
The suspect, Aaron Alexis, who was killed at the scene, was a 34-year-old former Navy reservist, employed by a military contractor after an honorable discharge. It is unclear which of the three firearms found near his body were brought in by Alexis -- or whether he got them from security guards after he shot them.
Early reports on the shooting claimed that Alexis used an AR-15 assault rifle, the same weapon used in other mass shootings. Turns out there wasn't even an AR-15 at the crime scene. Still, advocates call for more restrictions.
But Alexis' troubled background literally screamed: "Red flag! Red flag!"
Alexis, a native New Yorker, had been arrested three times from 2004 to 2010. The first occurred in Seattle, when he shot out the tires on the truck of a construction worker who had reportedly angered Alexis for "disrespecting" and "mocking" him. Alexis told the police he had an anger-fueled "blackout" and could not recall the incident. Alexis' father told the police that his son had anger management issues and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of assisting "as an active participant in rescue attempts" of 9/11.
Seattle police booked and jailed Alexis for malicious mischief and according to their paperwork, sent the case to Seattle Municipal Court. But the Seattle City Attorney's office say they never received a police report, so they never charged Alexis.
In August 2008, Alexis was arrested on a charge of disorderly conduct in DeKalb County, Ga. "It appears he might have spent a night in jail," said DeKalb County Police Chief Cedric Alexander, "but ended up for forgiveness bond on a county ordinance." The reports did not indicate any weapons were involved, said the chief.
Then in 2010, Fort Worth, Texas, police arrested him for shooting his gun through the ceiling of his apartment. The bullet went through the floor above and came within a few feet of a woman living upstairs, according to the police report. Alexis told the police that the gun accidently discharged as he was cleaning it while cooking dinner, but the above-floor neighbor believed Alexis fired intentionally because he had complained to her several times about her making too much noise. Again, no charges filed.
And during his four-year military career in the Navy Reserves, he was cited at least eight times for "misconduct," including multiple unexcused absences and the rather serious offenses of insubordination and disorderly conduct.
Why the "honorable" discharge?
Did he get a pass from a military not willing to take the trouble to get him discharged under less-than-honorable conditions?
How does someone with three arrests, two of which are gun-related, become a military contractor's employee? How does someone with a military record that includes several citations for "misconduct" pass security background checks, obtain a "secret"-level security clearance, and get hired by a military contractor?
Were disqualifying factors overlooked or minimized for fear that Alexis, a black man, would accuse the military of racism?
Recall the case of Army Major Nidal Hasan, the Muslim psychiatrist who murdered 13 on Nov. 4, 2009, at the military base in Fort Hood. Colleagues reportedly feared him, thought he had anger issues, and some even heard him express pro-jihadist sentiments. In the months before the murders, intelligence agencies intercepted at least 18 emails between Hasan and al-Qaida recruiter Anwar al-Awlaki, several discussing jihad. Authorities took no action.
Did Hasan benefit from a fear an investigation would provoke a charge of bias against Islam?
In Los Angeles, ex-LAPD cop Christopher Dorner, a black man, went on a killing spree that resulted in the deaths of five, including Dorner. He wrote and posted on his website an angry "manifesto" that accused the LAPD of racism. Since the LAPD's stated hiring goal is for a force that "represents the diversity of the city," the best and most qualified do not necessarily get hired. In Dorner's case, he became a cop despite run-ins during training at the police academy, including an accusation of an accidental discharge of the police-issued firearm.
Did Dorner benefit from the LAPD's quest for "diversity''? Did political correctness and fear of being accused of "profiling" allow Alexis, Hassan and Dorner to skate through?
Finally, the Navy Yard, like Fort Hood, has a no-gun rule. A 1993 military policy change under President Bill Clinton effectively prohibited guns on military bases. Only military police posted at entry or other security points are armed.

Rather than a poster child for more gun control, Alexis looks like a case study of how political correctness -- in a gun-free zone -- can get people killed.


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Fort Hood Gunman Sought Mental Health Treatment --Time to reconsider gun free zones?

April 03, 2014 Army Secretary John McHugh , Associated Press 0 Comments
Source:  www.usacarry.com
By Will Weissert and Paul J. Weber, Apr. 3, 2014, Associated Press
FORT HOOD, Texas (AP) -- The soldier who killed three people at Fort Hood may have argued with another service member prior to the attack, and investigators believe his unstable mental health contributed to the rampage, authorities said Thursday.
The base's senior officer, Lt. Gen. Mark Milley, said there is a "strong possibility" that Spc. Ivan Lopez had a "verbal altercation" with another soldier or soldiers immediately before Wednesday's shooting, which unfolded on the same Army post that was the scene of an infamous 2009 mass shooting.
However, there's no indication that he targeted specific soldiers, Milley said.

 Read the full story:  www..ap.org
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NBC: Military Spokesperson--Shooting Apparently Not Related To 'Terrorism Or Radicalism' --Why so quick to dismiss?

April 03, 2014 Alex Johnson , First Medical Brigade 0 Comments
Photo Credit: Reuters / Jessica Rinaldi
By Alex Johnson, Jim Miklaszewski and Pete Williams, Apr. 2, 2014, NBC News
Four people were dead, including the gunman, and at least 16 others were wounded in a shooting at Fort Hood, Texas, military officials told NBC News.
The gunman, identified as Ivan Lopez, 34 — an enlisted soldier — took his own life with a .45-caliber Smith and Wesson semi-automatic pistol, officials said. 
A U.S. military official told NBC News that Lopez was an active-duty soldier who was assigned to a Sustainment Brigade.
All of the wounded and killed were also military, according to Lt. General Mark Milley, who spoke to reporters at the base after the shooting.
Milley, who didn't use Lopez's name pending family notification, said that the gunman was being evaluated for post traumatic stress disorder, and had self reported a traumatic brain injury.
The soldier had not been wounded in Iraq, but was being treated for behavioral problems, anxiety and "a number of other psychological issues," according to Milley.
The soldier "put his hands up and then reached under his jacket" when a female officer drew her weapon, Milley said. "He pulled out the gun, and she engaged, and he put the weapon to his head."
“Experience has taught us many things here at Fort Hood. We know the community is strong .... The soldiers who have served so bravely through the last 13 years in Iraq are strong, and we will get through this.”
Milley said that the shootings didn't appear to be related to terrorism or radicalism but that nothing had been ruled out so early in the investigation. 
The soldier's body was found in a parking lot near the First Medical Brigade area, Milley said. His weapon had been bought in the area recently and wasn't registered with the base.
Three other people died in local hospitals, Milley said.
Doctors at Scott & White Memorial Hospital said they were treating eight patients — seven men and one woman. Three of the patients were said to be in critical condition and on ventilators, while five others were in serious condition. 
Read the full story:  www.nbcnews.com


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