Posted on 11/05/2009 12:18:55 PM PST by DCBryan1
Edited on 11/05/2009 2:37:55 PM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]
Twelve people have been killed and 31 wounded in a shooting spree at a Texas military base by what officials believe was possibly carried out by an Army officer.
The suspected gunman was identified by ABC News as Major Malik Nadal Hasan.
The shooter was killed and two other suspects, who are also soldiers, have been apprehended, Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone said.
The gunman used two handguns, Cone said. He wasn't sure if the shooter reloaded the weapons during the attack.
It’s political correctness — a cancer that has invaded all walks of society.
ADDING to post no. 2571:
http://www.strategycenter.net/research/pubID.218/pub_detail.asp
“Who is the Imam Consulted by the Ft. Hood Assassin?
A Look at the Terrorist Ties of Anwar al-Aulaqi and the Radicalization Process”
Print this article by Susan Schmidt
Published on November 9th, 2009
SNIPPET: “Anwar al-Aulaqi, the former imam of mosques in Falls Church and San Diego who was a spiritual advisor to two of the 9/11 hijackers is suspected of involvement in terrorist plots directed at the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and other parts of the world, according to U.S. counterterrorism officials.
Aulaqi, a U.S. citizen who was imam at Virginia’s Dar al Hijrah on 9/11, moved to Yemen a few months after the attacks. Audiotapes and transcripts of his lectures on waging jihad against the West have been discovered in the password protected computer files of numerous suspects arrested in bombing plots in Europe and North America.
He pronounced suspected Fort Hood slayer Nidal Hasan “a hero” and “a man of conscience” in an internet blog posting Monday.
U.S. officials have believed for several years that Aulaqi’s activities go beyond proseletizing to include recruiting, training, marshaling resources and planning attacks.
“There is good reason to believe Anwar Aulaqi has been involved in very serious terrorist activities since leaving the United States, including plotting attacks against America and our allies,” a U.S. counterterrorism official told The Washington Post last year.
Aulaqi was arrested in Yemen on August 2006 and released in late 2007. Authorities there had little to say about why he was held. In a taped interview posted on a British website after his release, Aulaqi said he did not know why he was held, but said he was interrogated several times by the FBI. Before his arrest, Aulaqi had been teaching at an Islamist university run by Sheik Abd-alMajid al-Zindani, designated a terrorist in 2004 by the United States and the United Nations.”
Posted here for archival purposes and notation.
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http://www.rewardsforjustice.net/index.cfm?page=gadahn&language=english
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Quote:
http://counterterrorismblog.org/2009/11/video_american_al-qaida_spokes.php
Video: American Al-Qaida Spokesman Urged “Shooting Spree” at U.S. Military Base in 2006
By Evan Kohlmann
In light of the Nov. 5 mass shooting incident at Ft. Hood, Texas, the NEFA Foundation has released an excerpt from a July 2006 propaganda video produced by Al-Qaida’s As-Sahab Media Foundation to mark the first anniversary of the 7/7 suicide bombing attacks in London. Among other things, the video featured a recorded message from American Al-Qaida spokesman and California-native Adam Gadahn, who explicitly encouraged those with burning grievances against U.S. military actions in Iraq “to go on a shooting spree at the Marines’ housing facilities at Camp Pendleton.”
The video can be viewed on the NEFA Foundation website.
November 9, 2009 05:13 PM
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Video here:
http://www.nefafoundation.org/multimedia-prop.html#adamgadahn
It just astounds me, too, that I'm only learning this week that Hasan's brother belongs to CAIR. Is the press "merely" incompetent, or is it in the pay of other forces??
ADDING to post no. 2597:
http://hoekstra.house.gov/UploadedFiles/RM_Hoekstra_Ltr_to_Blair_7_Nov_2009.pdf
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http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/56879
“Intel Committee Republican Says Administration is Withholding Information on Fort Hood Attack, Demands Preservation of Documents for Possible Congressional Probe”
Monday, November 09, 2009
By Christopher Neefus
Yes, and it is a malignant deathly dangerous disease which may well end up allowing the murder of tens of thousands of civilians.
I went back to re-read the original articles and to research any possible updates to all that research of a few years ago how so many futurist prognosticators SERIOUSLY believe that a major terrorist nuclear attack on an American city BY 2014 is absolutely inevitable.
Horrifying.
Oh well, oh well, oh well -- let's NOT come to any hasty conclusions about any of this, right?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/09/AR2009110903618.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/09/AR2009110903618.html
“Fort Hood suspect warned of threats within the ranks
Cited stress facing Muslims Hasan spoke at Walter Reed in 2007”
By Dana Priest
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
SNIPPET: “The final three slides indicate that Hasan referred to Osama bin Laden, the Taliban, suicide bombers and Iran.”
SNIPPET: “The last bullet point on that page reads simply: “We love death more then [sic] you love life!”
Under the “Conclusions” page, Hasan wrote that “Fighting to establish an Islamic State to please God, even by force, is condoned by the Islam,” and that “Muslim Soldiers should not serve in any capacity that renders them at risk to hurting/killing believers unjustly — will vary!”
The final page, labeled “Recommendation,” contained only one suggestion:
“Department of Defense should allow Muslims [sic] Soldiers the option of being released as ‘Conscientious objectors’ to increase troop morale and decrease adverse events.””
I agree fully with the doctor's final conclusion -- we have a volunteer army, or at least we did before all those STOP-gap measures went into effect. I know on BBC radio I've heard several times that Hasan tried to "buy" his way out, that he wanted to get out of the military very badly.
Who would want such a doctor serving frontline troops?????????
"It's kind of like the Civil War, where brothers fought each other across the Mason-Dixon line," Mr. Akgun, 28, of Lindenhurst, N.Y., who returned from Iraq without ever pulling the trigger.
"I don't want to stain my faith, I don't want to stain my fellow Muslims, and I also don't want to stain my country's flag."
Thousands of Muslims have served in the United States military a legacy that some trace to the First World War. But in the years since Sept. 11, 2001, as the United States has become mired in two wars on Muslim lands, the service of Muslim-Americans is more necessary and more complicated than ever before. <<<<
Complications Grow for Muslims Serving in U.S. Military
Thanks for all of your hard work in archiving all of the info and brainstorms regarding this terrorist attack.
“It just astounds me, too, that I’m only learning this week that Hasan’s brother belongs to CAIR.”
Wow...do you have a link to that info that I can put in my file? I missed that information somehow.
I advise you to do a search on the phrase, "Hasan's brother" CAIR over at http://news.google.com or simply over at google, it's bound to show up sometime in a searchengine.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/1109/p99s01-duts.html
“Fort Hood shooter, Virginia mosque links probed”
posted November 09, 2009 at 8:12 am EST
SNIPPET: “The British Telegraph first reported the link between Hasan and the Dar al-Hijrah mosque in Great Falls, Virginia. The mosque was attended by two hijackers who carried out the September 11, 2001 attacks and its prayer leader at the time was Anwar al-Awlaki, who the Telegraph said was accused of supporting attacks on British troops and backing terrorist organizations.
Al-Awlaki moved to Dar al-Hijrah as imam in January 2001 from the west coast and three months later the September 11 hijackers Nawaf al-Hamzi and Hani Hanjour began attending his services. A third hijacker attended his services in California.
Hasan was praying at Dar al-Hijrah at about the same time and the FBI will now want to investigate whether he met the two terrorists.
The Los Angeles Times reported Monday that an unnamed law enforcement official confirmed that the FBI and Army were investigating links between Hasan and the mosque.
[A]uthorities are still scouring “voluminous” hard drives, multiple e-mail accounts and website trails “to see what’s out there, and to see what it all means,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. “There’s a lot of work being done.” ...
The mosque is one of the biggest in the United States, and the official cautioned that thousands of people go there for prayer services and other events.
The Los Angeles Times said that investigators are also looking into whether Hasan had recently been following Anwar al-Awlaki’s online sermons. Awlaki, a US citizen, left America in 2002 and is believed to be in Yemen, the Times said.
In a blog on his website a post today attributed to Awlaki read:
Nidal Hassan is a hero. He is a man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people. ...”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UjFNXfAgw
“Exclusive: Moazzam Begg Interviews Imam Anwar al-Awlaki”
Video Description - Quote:
khalifahklothing
December 31, 2007
Cageprisoners presents an exclusive interview with Imam Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki is a Muslim scholar of Yemeni heritage born in New Mexico. He served as an Imam in California, and later in the Washington, D.C. area where he headed the Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center and was also the Muslim Chaplain at George Washington University. In 2004 he returned to his native Yemen where he taught at Eman university until his arrest in mid 2006.
Imam Anwar was released from custody on the 12th of December 2007 having spent a year and a half behind bars.
In his first interview since his release, conducted by former Guantanamo Detainee and cageprisoners spokesman Moazzam Begg, he spoke about the conditions of his detention and shared his reflections on his time in prison.
http://www.cageprisoners.com/articles...
Category: News & Politics
Tags: released prison yemen jihad sharia islam muslim allah islamic muhammad jail iman hijab nasheed terrorism cia fbi
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Note: Video incldued.
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http://jarretbrachman.net/?p=1232
“Flocking to al-Awlaki’s Flame”
SNIPPET: “For those of you who don’t know, Anwar al-Awlaki is an American-Yemeni shaikh. Here’s his official bio:
Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki was born in New Mexico, USA. He studied the Islamic sciences of Quran, hadith, and fiqh with scholars from Yemen. Imam Anwar served as an Imam in Denver, Colorado; San Diego, California; and Falls Church, Virginia. He is the author of the audio series on “The Lives of the Prophets”, “The Hereafter”, “The Life and Time of Abu Bakr”, “The Life and Time of Umar” , “The Messenger of Allah” along with other single lectures. Imam Anwar also holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University, and a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership from San Diego State University.”
SNIPPET: “Currently he resides in Yemen.”
SNIPPET: “Beyond al-Awlaki’s own blog site, his comments have quickly spilled over into the broader English-language jihadist web forums. Here are some responses to al-Awlaki’s brazen support for Nidal Malik Hasan’s attacks from the Ansarnet forum.”
SNIPPET: “Anwar al-Awlaki is one of the most popular English-language jihadist shaikhs out on the circuit today. In my opinion, he and Abdullah Faisal hold the top two slots now. What makes them so appealing is that you can be an adherent having only a fairly mild ‘radical quotient’ but these guys breathe enough fire to keep even the most hardline, hardcore jihobbyist satisfied. To be clear, they are not on par with someone like Abu Qatada or Abu Hamza al-Masri in terms of their gravitas but in many ways, it doesn’t matter. These are shaikhs for a new generation. Pomp and circumstance matter less today than they did a decade ago. They are accessible. Even fun. Al-Awlaki has a great sense of humor and is really a populist in his approach. His fans love him, adore him.”
SNIPPET: “Al-Awlaki’s pièce de résistance is his book, “44 Ways of Supporting Jihad” which is kind of the poor man’s version of “39 Ways to Serve and Participate in Jihad” (much better – written by Saudi al-Qaida member, Issa bin Awshan). Either way, 44 Ways is all the rage on the jihadist forums and has been for some time. I pulled it back off the shelf today to see how many of his 44 ways fits with Nidal’s life. If media reports are correct that there is an al-Awlaki tie here (either direct or by influence), then one would imagine that we’d see al-Awlaki’s most important behavioral advice reflected in the behaviors of Nidal, right? I’ll go through each, commenting where I know something. If you see something here that sparks your interest, comment and I’ll update the post:
1. “Having the Right Intention” (ie; preparing for jihad) – Clearly
2. “Praying to Allah to award you with martyrdom” - Seems So
3. “Jihad with your wealth” – Well, given that he lived in a $350/month apartment and had a Major’s BAH coming in (tax free) on top of salary, hmmmm… where’d the money go? – Yes
4. “Fundraising for the mujahideen” – Don’t know but…
5. “Financing a Mujahid” – Don’t know but…
6. “Taking care of the family of a Mujahid” – Don’t know but..
7. “Sponsoring the family of a shaheed” (martyr) – Don’t know but..
8. “Sponsoring the families of the prisoners of war” – Don’t know but..
9. “Paying your zakah to the Mujahideen” – Likely
10. “Contributing to the medical needs of the Mujahideen” – Don’t Know
11. “Providing moral support and encouragement for the Mujahideen” (including prayer or speaking favorably about them) – Yes
12. “Defending the Mujahideen and standing up for them” – Yes
13. “Fighting the lies of the Western media” – Seems so
14. “Exposing the hypocrites” (identifying true Muslims from fake Muslims) – Seems as such
15. “Encouraging others to fight Jihad” – Don’t Know
16. “Protecting the Mujahideen and preserving their secrets” – Don’t Know
17. “Praying for the Mujahideen” – Yes
18. “Following the news of the Jihad and spreading it” – Yes
19. “Spreading the writings of the Mujahideen and their scholars” – Well, we know he was passing out Qurans, not sure about other docs…
20. “The issuance of fatwas supporting the Mujahideen” – No
21. “Providing the scholars and Imams with information and news about the Mujahideen” – Don’t Know
22. “Physical Fitness” – Yes, but…
23. “Arms Training” – Yes, but…
24. “First-aid Training” – Yes, but…
25. “Learning the fiqh of Jihad” – Don’t Know
26. “Protecting the Mujahideen and Supporting Them” – Yes, by doing everything to escape deployment to Afghanistan
27. “Developing the Aqeedah of Walaa’ and Baraa’ (Loyalty and Disavowal) – Yes
28. “Fulfilling our responsibilities towards the Muslim POW” – Don’t Know
29. “WWW Jihad” – Yes
30. “Raising our children on the love of Jihad and the mujahideen” – Don’t Know
31. “Avoiding the life of luxury” - Definitely. Where’s the rest of his money???
32. “Learning skills that would benefit the Mujahideen” – Not sure.
33. “Joining groups that work for Jihad” – Seems like this is to be determined.
34. “Spiritual preparation” – Yes
35. “Guiding others to the scholars of truth” – Probably
36. “Preparing for Hijra” – Don’t Know
37. “Giving naseehah to the Mujahideen” – Don’t Know
38. “Studying the Hadiths of fitan” – Probably
39. “Exposing Pharoah and his magicians” – Don’t Know
40. “Nasheeds” – Don’t Know
41. “Boycotting the economy of the enemy” – Seems like he didnt spend.
42. “Learning Arabic” – I don’t think he spoke a lick…
43. “Translating Jihad literature into other languages – Nope
44. Teaching others about the characteristics of al-Taifah al-Mansoura – Don’t Know at this point but let’s see how this plays out.
These behavioral prescriptions provide almost an indicators and warnings checklist for law enforcement about the kinds of behaviors that they might anticipate from a follower of Anwar al-Awlaki whose looking to transition from thought into action. This is precisely why the Jihobbyists on the forums are so pumped about this guy and desperate that he was a ‘poster’ before he was a ‘homicidal maniac.’ They want a role model.”
“This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 1:04 pm and is filed under American Jihadis, Jihobbyism 101.”
ADDING to post no. 2607:
IN HIS OWN WORDS...
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2009/11/10/GA2009111000920.html
“HASAN ON ISLAM”
“The Koranic World View As It Relates to Muslims in the U.S. Military”
Discussion Thread:
forums.islamicawakening.com/f18/imam-al-awlaki-nidal-hassan-did-right-thing-30077/
“Breaking News! Imam al-Awlaki: Nidal Hassan Did the Right Thing”
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Previously...
Discussion Thread:
forums.islamicawakening.com/f18/many-9-killed-fort-hood-shootings-officials-say-29979/
“Breaking News! As many as 9 killed in Fort Hood shootings, officials say”
ADDING to post no. 2614:
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.4729/pub_detail.asp
November 10, 2009
“Exclusive: Who is Anwar al-Awlaki?”
Adrian Morgan
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil//news/newsarticle.aspx?id=56607
Fort Hood Soldiers Reach Out to Families, Each Other
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
KILLEEN, Texas, Nov. 10, 2009 – Waiting at the airport last night for the last families to arrive for today’s ceremony honoring victims of the fatal shooting rampage at nearby Fort Hood, several soldiers were dealing with their own pain and confusion by reaching out to families of the fallen and to each other.
Army Staff Sgt. Kevin Hall, Army Sgt. 1st Class Marcus Rodriquez and Army Spc. Laurence Palmer man a table in Killeen-Fort Hood Regional Airport in Texas on Nov. 9, 2009, to welcome families arriving for a ceremony scheduled the next day to honor the 13 people killed and 38 others wounded during a Nov. 5 shooting rampage at Fort Hood. DoD photo by Donna Miles
(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.
Army Staff Sgt. Kevin Hall, Army Sgt. 1st Class Marcus Rodriquez and Army Spc. Laurence Palmer manned a table near the airport’s baggage claim area, where they welcomed arriving families of the 13 people killed and 38 others wounded during the Nov. 5 incident.
“We’re here to meet the families, to hug them and tell them God is looking out for them,” said Hall, a member of the U.S. Army Garrison. “We hope to give them a sense of comfort and community and to make sure they know that the Army is there for them.”
Army Chief Warrant Officer 1 John Mabry, a human intelligence collection technician with 3rd Corps, stood with a list of incoming family members, checking to make sure all had transportation, a place to sleep and contacts for anything they might need while at Fort Hood.
“We want to be gracious hosts,” he said. “What we’re really doing is trying to help them through the worst time of their life.”
Army Chaplain (Capt.) Kehmes Lands stood by to offer spiritual support. “Some of the families are taking it really bad,” he said. “With others, you see them trying to hold it together in the airport. But as a chaplain, I can see through it, so I reach out to them.”
Lands took several of the arriving families aside last night, praying with them and telling them about services available for them through the post’s spiritual fitness center. Many of the families were gathered there last night, he said, seeking strength from each other through their shared sense of loss.
Memorial services are an all-too-familiar occurrence at Fort Hood, where the 1st Cavalry Division alone typically holds about one a month to honor combat casualties.
But Rodriguez, a U.S. Army Garrison soldier who’s been stationed at Fort Hood for two and a half years, was struggling last night to come to terms with how a soldier could have turned on his fellow soldiers.
“I have mixed emotions,” he said, including anger that the suspect is a soldier. “That has a lot of people upset,” he said. It’s just a tragic incident.”
“You expect something like this when you go to war,” said Army Staff Sgt. Andrea Hopkins, a reservist from the 1972nd Combat Stress Control Unit, who was among the mental-health team members called to Fort Hood after the shooting. “But it’s just not something you expect at home.”
Especially painful, she said, is the fact that the alleged shooter was a fellow mental-health provider, and that one of the soldiers wounded was a reservist from her Seattle-based unit.
As Hopkins stood at the airport last night awaiting another unit member’s arrival, she struggled with her own cloud of emotions, including guilt that she hadn’t been there for her fellow soldiers.
She and 12 other members of her unit had been slated to deploy to Iraq, but Hopkins’ name had been taken off the list, she explained. She hadn’t pushed to have her name reinstated — mostly because she’d just returned from a deployment in 2007 — and as a result, hadn’t been with them at Fort Hood’s Soldier Readiness Processing Station on Nov. 5.
One of her fellow reservists was shot and ended up hospitalized. Another, Hopkins’ battle buddy, hadn’t been hurt, but was badly shaken by the incident. “It makes you feel responsible when they are your soldiers,” Hopkins said. “My soldiers were there, and I wasn’t there for my battle buddy.”
If there’s one positive takeaway from the tragedy, Rodriquez said, it’s knowing how his fellow soldiers stood up to protect and help each other while in the line of fire.
“I’m so proud of these guys,” he said. “They did exactly what the Army taught them. They took care of their battle buddies and watched out for them. And when you think about what they did, the pride comes back.”
Lands predicted that today’s ceremony will help the entire Fort Hood community share that sense of pride, while helping families “get over the hump” to begin the long process of healing.
“They are going to see the good part of what we do: the perfection of the military, and how we honor soldiers, how we honor families and friends,” he said.
Lands said he’s been amazed at tragedy’s unexpected impact. “I’ve seen the community come together like never before,” he said. “We’re stronger today than we ever were before.”
Related Sites:
Special Report: Tragedy at Fort Hood
Photo Essay: In the Aftermath of Tragedy
Photo Essay: Tragedy at Fort Hood
Fort Hood, Texas
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil//news/newsarticle.aspx?id=56618
VA Suffers Losses, Offers Help at Fort Hood
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2009 – In the midst of providing mental health services and other support to the Fort Hood, Texas, community following the recent shooting there, the Department of Veterans Affairs learned about its own losses from the violence.
Two VA employees, both serving on active duty with their Army Reserve units, were among the slain. A third VA health care worker on reserve duty was seriously wounded.
“Speaking for the entire VA family, I offer heartfelt condolences to the families of these dedicated VA employees,” said Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. “They devoted their working lives to care for our veterans, and they died in uniform, preparing to safeguard our nation’s freedom.”
Russell G. Seager a 51-year old nurse practitioner at the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center in Milwaukee and a captain in the Army Reserve, was killed in the deadly attack. In his VA duties, he led a mental health team treating a wide variety of veteran patients, from the youngest combat veterans just back from deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan to World War II veterans dealing with depression.
Seager signed up for the Army Reserve four years ago and was preparing for his first overseas deployment when he was killed. VA officials said he was motivated to prevent the mental health problems of young combat soldiers from occurring in the first place. He was to be assigned to a combat stress control unit to watch for warning signs, such as anger and insubordination, among front-line soldiers.
Seager, who held a doctorate degree and was a well-respected teacher at Bryant and Stratton College in Milwaukee, leaves behind a wife and son.
VA’s other fatality was Juanita L. Warman, 55, a nurse practitioner at VA’s medical center in Perry Point, Md. She was a lieutenant colonel in the Maryland National Guard, with two daughters and six grandchildren. She was the daughter of a career Air Force member and held a master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh.
Warman volunteered for “Beyond the Yellow Ribbon,” a program to help members of the Maryland National Guard readjust after returning from overseas deployments. She provided mental health counseling and helped to develop a program about the myths and realities of post-traumatic stress disorder. She was preparing for deployment to Iraq at the time of her death.
Dorothy Carskadon, 47, a captain in the Army Reserve and a social worker and team leader at the VA Vet Center in Madison, Wis., was wounded. She was reported to be in stable condition in the intensive care unit at Fort Hood’s Darnall Army Medical Center.
As a VA team leader, Carskadon oversees other social workers in providing individual and group counseling for combat veterans experiencing difficulty readjusting to the civilian community following military service. A new Army officer, Carskadon was preparing for her first deployment.
On an average day, officials said, more than 850 VA employees don uniforms to serve military commitments in Reserve and National Guard units across the country and overseas.
VA has been responding to the Fort Hood tragedy since shortly after the sound of gunfire was replaced by the sirens of emergency responders. Through official agreements and the shared sense of mission to care for military members and veterans in the central Texas region, VA has provided clinical supplies, including pharmaceuticals, and sent mental health teams from nearby facilities as well as four fully staffed, portable Vet Centers to aid in counseling military members and families.
Teams of physicians, nurses and other VA clinical and support personnel were placed on stand-by for possible deployment to Fort Hood or to receive additional patients following the shooting.
VA operates several clinical and benefits processing locations on Fort Hood, and routinely has about 18 employees working on the post. Initial actions included confirming the safety and security of those employees.
VA continues to coordinate with the Defense Department in providing care and support to all those affected by the tragedy, officials said.
(From a Department of Veterans Affairs news release.)
Related Sites:
Department of Veterans Affairs
Special Report: Tragedy at Fort Hood
Photo Essay: In the Aftermath of Tragedy
Photo Essay: Tragedy at Fort Hood
Fort Hood, Texas
http://www.defenselink.mil/home/features/2009/1109_ft_hood/
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Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil//news/newsarticle.aspx?id=56625
Fort Hood Renders Emotional Farewell to Fallen Comrades
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
FORT HOOD, Texas, Nov. 10, 2009 – Thousands of soldiers, veterans, military family members and civilian employees gathered here beneath brilliant blue skies to bid an emotional farewell to 13 of their own killed during last week’s shooting rampage, and to support the families left behind.
Many of the 38 wounded during the attack had recovered enough from their injuries to attend today’s memorial service, which included eulogies by President Barack Obama, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey Jr. and Army Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone, the 3rd Corps and Fort Hood commander.
The service, held in front of the flag-draped 3rd Corps headquarters, opened with the haunting call of bagpipes. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Donald Felt read a roll call, marked by painful silences after the names of the fallen. The 1st Cavalry Division’s 1st Air Cavalry Brigade broke the quiet with the roaring firing of volleys.
A flag fluttered in the breeze at half-staff as the 1st Cavalry Division’s Army Master Sgt. Natasha Harley delivered a soulful rendition of “Amazing Grace.” But nothing captured the solemnity of the occasion as movingly as Army Sgt. Christopher William’s gut-wrenching wail of taps.
“For those families who have lost a loved one, no words can fill the void that has been left,” Obama told those gathered in a sea of Army combat uniforms that stretched across the parade field.
But the president assured the families that their mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters and brothers won’t be forgotten. “Your loved ones endure through the life of our nation,” he said. “Their memory will be honored in the places they lived and by the people they touched. Their life’s work is our security, and the freedom that we too often take for granted.”
Official comments during today’s service, and in interviews with soldiers here, reflected an unshakable bewilderment that the losses allegedly came at the hands of one of Fort Hood’s own soldiers.
Cone noted the hundreds of losses Fort Hood has suffered on the battlefield. “Never did we expect to pay such a high price at home,” he said.
“It’s just sad that it had to be one of our own,” Army Spc. Brian Hill of the 2nd Warrior Transition Battalion said of the suspected gunman. “That’s been the hardest part to deal with. At home, you don’t expect things like this to happen.”
Hill, who walks with a cane after being wounded in Iraq, said he’s working through the stages of grief and acceptance since the incident – first shock, then grief and sadness, and now, as he hears more details, anger. Stopping short of assigning blame, he said, “it’s senseless, and it never should have happened.”
“It was a kick in the gut,” Casey acknowledged during his address, but also one that evoked countless acts of bravery and selflessness amidst the tragedy.
The fallen shared a belief in the United States’ values and ideals and a willingness to put themselves on the line to protect it, he said. “They gave their lives for something they loved and believed in,” he told their families.
Cone joined Obama and Casey in calling on his soldiers, their families and the close-knit local community to take care of each other as they work through the tragedy.
Many of his soldiers called today’s service an important step in a healing process they said begins with honoring the fallen and their families.
“It reaffirmed who we are and what we stand for,” said Army Spc. Jerry Jeanlouis, an Army reservist with the 478th Transportation Company here preparing for his upcoming deployment.
Jeanlouis was scheduled to be at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center when the gunshots erupted there last week. But instead, he had asked to postpone his appointment so he could go to the range for additional weapons training.
Several of his fellow soldiers were at the facility, but none were among those killed or wounded.
“Now, we must move on,” Jeanlouis said after today’s service. “We will carry the memories of the fallen in our hearts.”
Army Sgt. John Vacaro, a Ranger assigned to the 38th Cavalry’s B Troop, came to today’s service “to honor our comrades, our brothers in arms.”
He was across post in West Fort Hood when the shooting occurred, and didn’t know anyone directly affected. But Vacaro said the incident struck deeply throughout the Fort Hood community.
Back home only since August after a 12-month deployment to Iraq, Vacaro shook his head contemplating that a soldier had allegedly taken his fellow soldiers’ lives on their home soil. “This is supposed to be your safe spot,” he said.
Army Spc. Peter Kniskern, a 1st Battalion, 21st Field Artillery soldier who returned from Iraq in July, was two blocks away when the shots rang out that afternoon of Nov. 5.
Kniskern had just come off the previous night’s staff duty, and was catching some shut-eye in his barracks room when his cell phone started buzzing. Anxious family members in Alabama were calling and sending text messages, wanting to know if he was OK. He’d heard sirens in the distance, but not yet aware of the shooting, had dismissed them as some kind of drill.
“It’s an eye-opener,” he said of the incident, still unable to accept that the accused is a soldier. “It was one of our own guys who we trusted.”
Today, as he waited for the memorial service to begin, Kniskern said the significance of today’s service transcended the luminaries at the podium.
“This is about us paying respect,” he said. “I’m just happy that they are being honored, and that the family members are being taken care of and respected.”
Army Sgt. John Newhof, a 38th Cavalry B Troop soldier, said today’s service sends a message beyond Fort Hood’s gates. “It shows the outside world that we take care of our families and each other,” he said. “This is one large family.”
“This shows the world that we stick together….It shows that we are a family,” echoed Jenni Yacub, wife of retired Army Sgt. Harold Yacub, who works at the base’s military pay office.
Yacub wasn’t at the Soldier Readiness Processing Center during the shootings, but several of her coworkers were, helping soldiers just returned from deployments or preparing to deploy soon.
Behavioral counselors arrived at her office the next day to give the staff an opportunity to talk about the whirlwind of emotions they were experiencing. “That helped a lot,” Yacub said.
“We have to get through this,” she said, her voice choking with emotion. “It’s all a part of moving beyond what has happened.”
Yacub called today’s service a big step in that direction. “It’s very, very important to us,” she said, particularly with the president’s show of support. “It touches us,” she said. “It shows that he cares about the soldiers.”
Her husband, who retired from Fort Hood and has lived in the local community for the past 15 years, said today’s service helps bring a sense of closure from last week’s tragedy.
“This is a very supportive, military-oriented community. We’re bonding together and dealing with the tragedy,” he said. “But it really helps to know that we have support from the president, the vice president and the whole chain of command … We as a community will get through this.”
As he began walking off the parade field after today’s service, cane in hand, Hill said he was happy to see the fallen properly honored. “This is a part of closure that will start the healing process,” he said.
Related Sites:
Special Report: Tragedy at Fort Hood
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