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Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.defenselink.mil//news/newsarticle.aspx?id=56604

President, Top Leaders to Attend Fort Hood Service

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Nov. 9, 2009 – President Barack Obama will join Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Joint Chiefs Chairman Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, Army Secretary John M. McHugh and Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. at Fort Hood, Texas, tomorrow for a ceremony to honor the victims of the Nov. 5 shooting rampage that left 13 dead and 38 wounded.
Many of those wounded in the attack have recovered enough to attend the ceremony, said Army Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone, commander of 3rd Corps and Fort Hood.

“We still have 15 of our great soldiers hospitalized; eight are in intensive care, and seven are in wards,” Cone said during a news conference at Fort Hood today. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to them and their families during this difficult time.”

Cone said he is most concerned that the healing phase begins. “I think what’s absolutely critical is that we understand the nature of what has happened here,” he told reporters. “There are probably about 600 people who were somehow directly touched by this incident.”

Cone said authorities’ initial focus in these last three days has been working on getting those 600 people the right behavioral assessments and counseling.

Now, officials are dealing with the larger population at the sprawling post. “I had a very good session yesterday with … the civilian personnel and the soldiers who worked at the soldier readiness site, and had a good opportunity to address their concerns,” Cone said. “And … they began their processing through this critical-incident debrief process.”

Soldiers are among the best prepared to deal with the stress of this incident, the general noted, because they have had training and experience. “Many of us are used to being in theater, and something like this happens, and we come back right away. We get on with the mission. We do the memorial service, we send our comrades home, and then we move on with the mission,” he said.

But dealing with the civilians and families poses more of a challenge. They’ve always considered the base to be a safe place, Cone noted, and now officials must devise ways to help them. “We are right now in the process of executing a comprehensive program to address the needs of all of these populations,” he said.

Officials also must find ways to help soldiers who suffered post-traumatic stress from earlier combat-related incidents, Cone said. They, too, saw Fort Hood as a safe place. “We don’t really know what the impact of something like this has on them,” the general acknowledged.

The Army has mobilized resources to help, with 27 military family life consultants, 18 combat stress control teams, 41 behavioral health specialists and 57 ministry support teams on the ground at Fort Hood.

“We have additional resources coming in as we need it,” Cone said. “As General Casey tells me, the entire resources of the United States Army are at the disposal of Fort Hood and its population to help deal with the impact of this event.”

People who wish to donate to aid the victims and the families have a number of options.

Checks can be mailed to:

Chaplain’s Fund Office
Bldg 44, 761st Tank Battalion Ave.
Fort Hood, TX 76544-5000

Checks should be made payable to “CTOF” — which stands for Chapel’s Tithes and Offerings Fund — with a note on the memo line stating “Nov. 5 Tragedy.”

Contributions on behalf of Fort Hood soldiers also can be made to:

Fisher House
Bldg 36015, Fisher Lane
Fort Hood, TX 76544

For questions about the Fisher House operation, phone 254-286-7927 or 254-286-7929.

Donations also can be made through the Red Cross:

Killeen Red Cross
208 W. Ave. A
Killeen, TX 76541
Phone 254-200-4400 or visit http://www.waco.redcross.org.

Finally, donations can be made through the USO:

USO Fort Hood
Building 1871, 50th St.
Fort Hood, TX 76544
Phone: 254-768-2771 or visit http://www.uso.org.

In related news, the Army Criminal Investigation Command is seeking anyone who may have left the area of the shooting with gunshot damage to their vehicles or clothing, and anyone who may inadvertently have left the scene with material that could be used as evidence — shell casings inside their boot, for example.

The evidence would aid CID and FBI investigators, officials said.

Officials said gunshot-damaged material needs to be inspected by the soldier’s or civilian’s supervisor or chain of command, and commanders or first sergeants must verify that the person providing the evidence was at the scene.

Biographies:
Army Lt. Gen. Robert W. Cone

Related Sites:
Special Report: Tragedy at Fort Hood
Photo Essay: Tragedy at Fort Hood
Photo Essay: In the Aftermath of Tragedy

November 9, 2009

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel09/forthood110909.htm

Investigation Continues Into Fort Hood Shooting

The FBI continues to work closely with the Department of the Army in the joint, ongoing investigation into the tragic events that occurred last Thursday at Fort Hood. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the victims and their families.

With respect to the investigation—the Army Criminal Investigative Division is leading a coordinated criminal investigation with the support of the FBI and other components of the Department of Justice and the Texas Rangers. The investigation is in its early stages and the information we can provide now is limited.

With respect to what the FBI is doing—personnel from the Counterterrorism Division, Laboratory Division, and the Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG) are on site in support of the tragedy. The personnel deployed by the Laboratory and CIRG are specialists in crime scene analysis, evidence collection, and shooting incident reconstruction. Our victim assistance teams are working closely with their counterpart Department of Defense specialists, and we will continue to provide whatever resources are necessary to support the investigation.

At this point, there is no information to indicate Major Malik Nidal Hasan had any co-conspirators or was part of a broader terrorist plot. The investigation to date has not identified a motive, and a number of possibilities remain under consideration. We are working with the military to obtain, review, and analyze all information relating to Major Hasan in order to allow for a better understanding of the facts and circumstances that led to the Fort Hood shooting. Understandably, there is a large volume of information in various forms and it will take us some time to complete this work.

There has been and continues to be a great deal of reported information about what was or might have been known to the government about Major Hasan prior to the shooting.

Major Hasan came to the attention of the FBI in December 2008 as part of an unrelated investigation being conducted by one of our Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs). JTTFs are FBI-led, multi-agency teams made up of FBI agents, other federal investigators—including those from the Department of Defense—and state and local law enforcement officers.

Investigators on the JTTF reviewed certain communications between Major Hasan and the subject of that investigation and assessed that the content of those communications was consistent with research being conducted by Major Hasan in his position as a psychiatrist at the Walter Reed Medical Center. Because the content of the communications was explainable by his research and nothing else derogatory was found, the JTTF concluded that Major Hasan was not involved in terrorist activities or terrorist planning. Other communications of which the FBI was aware were similar to the ones reviewed by the JTTF.

Our top priority is to ensure that the person responsible for the Fort Hood shooting is held accountable. The ongoing investigation includes forensic examinations of Major Hasan’s computers and any Internet activity in hopes of gaining insight into his motivation. But the investigation to date indicates that the alleged gunman acted alone and was not part of a broader terrorist plot.

After meeting with the president, FBI Director Robert Mueller ordered a review of this matter to determine all of the facts and circumstances related to this tragedy and whether, with the benefit of hindsight, any policies or practices should change based on what we learn.

Again, this is a joint, ongoing criminal investigation that continues to move forward on many fronts. There is still much to learn. As a pending criminal case, the government remains limited in what information can be disclosed publicly about a United States citizen under investigation. As with any criminal investigation, all suspects are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty of a crime in a court of law.