I will never forget the day of terror at Ft. Hood. Obama said nothing until a scheduled speech to a native American group. It was only after giving smiley shout outs to everybody there, he mentioned the incident. I don’t remember if he immediately called it workplace violence.
These are men and women who have made the selfless and courageous decision to risk and at times give their lives to protect the rest of us on a daily basis.
It's difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas. It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an army base on American soil.
I've spoken to secretary Gates, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, and I will continue to receive a constant stream of updates as new information comes in.
We are working with the Pentagon, the FBI, the department of homeland security all to ensure that Fort Hood is secure and we will continue to support the community with the full resources of the federal government.
In the meantime, I would ask all Americans to keep the men and women of Fort Hood in your thoughts and prayers.
We will make sure that we get answers to every single question about this horrible incident and I want all of you to know that as commander in chief, there's no greater honour but also no greater responsibility for me than to make sure that the extraordinary men and women in uniform are properly cared for and that their safety and security when they're at home is provided for."