Fort Hood assessing soldiers after suicides

Astonishing! Fort Hood soldiers discovered someone they lived with, someone they served with, someone put in the position of being responsible for their mental health, was also the person who would open fire on them and kill 13, plus wound many more. Yet with all of this, all that happened before the rampage, the commander at Fort Hood does not think this had anything to do with the rise in suicides on base.

Fort Hood is their home. Their wives go shopping with the kids. Families eat at the food court. Their kids go to school and they play at the neighbor's house. They ride their bikes and play in the parks. This was supposed to be a safe place for them with security so this one place on earth was a place they could relax without having to worry about someone trying to kill them there. That was taken away from them. All that happened before it came with the sense of betrayal by the military when someone like Hasan was not only put in position of taking care of them but that there were signs he hated them. Did the Commander of Fort Hood consider what kind of message that sent?

I did a lot of post after the shooting and one of the first ones was about issuing a warning about what was to come after all this.

November 5, 2009
Aftermath of Fort Hood shootings may be worse

As the news reports kept coming out today about the carnage at Fort Hood, my greatest fears were not for today, but for the next few months ahead. No one is talking about "secondary stressors" and this needs to be addressed quickly.

There are crisis teams heading there according to the press briefing by Lt. Gen. Robert Cone. This is one of the best things they can do. I spent months taking this kind of training and it is very thorough. The issue that we need to be concerned about is when there are thousands of soldiers, combat soldiers with multiple tours, many of them are dealing with mild PTSD. Mild PTSD is not that hard to cope with. They live pretty normal lives while covering up the pain they have inside. Many even cope well the rest of their lives but many do not. Like a ticking time bomb, PTSD rests waiting to strike if untreated. It waits for the next traumatic event and then mild PTSD turns into PTSD on steroids.

These are the soldiers that will need the greatest help as soon as possible.

These bases are very well secured. That makes the soldiers and their families feel safe. Think about going into combat and then making it home alive where you are supposed to be safe. Then having this happen.

I was at Fort Hood in March. I had an auto rental and even though I had a military issued ID, that was not good enough at the guard house. I had to show my rental agreement every time I drove onto the base. Even if you have a Department of Defense sticker on your car, you still have to show your military ID. That makes them feel they are safe. Then away from harm, away from combat, they end up having to face something like this from not only one of their own, but a Major and a Doctor who is supposed to be there for them, trying to kill them.
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Aftermath of fort Hood Shootings may be worse

But they must not agree or they wouldn't take the view they did.

Fort Hood assessing soldiers after suicides
By Angela K. Brown - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Sep 29, 2010 20:52:09 EDT
FORT HOOD, Texas — Thousands of soldiers stationed at Fort Hood are receiving extra visits from their superiors this week following a recent spate of suspected suicides, the Texas Army post's senior commander said Wednesday.

Fourteen suicides among soldiers stationed at Fort Hood have been confirmed so far this year. Six more are suspected, including four in the past week, according to figures released by the Army Suicide Prevention Task Force. The Army reported 11 suicides of Fort Hood soldiers in 2009, down from the previous record high of 14 in 2008.

The task force did not return calls from The Associated Press seeking the number of suicides reported at other Army bases so far this year.

Maj. Gen. William Grimsley said Wednesday that Fort Hood soldiers from the rank of sergeant and below — more than 32,000 soldiers — would be visited in their barracks or off-post homes this week to get "a better sense" of how they are doing. Their superiors also will make sure weapons privately owned by soldiers are properly registered, Grimsley said.

He said he does not know what may have caused the rash of apparent suicides, but that soldiers who take their own lives often are struggling with financial or relationship problems and multiple deployments. Grimsley said Fort Hood leaders also plan to offer more training on how to recognize and help at-risk troops.

The commander sees no correlation between the suicides and the shooting rampage last year that killed 13 and injured dozens more on the sprawling Army post, where 46,500 troops are now stationed. Maj. Nidal Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, has been charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder in the Nov. 5 attack.

"People on the afternoon of the 5th felt their sanctuary was violated ... but the immediate aftermath of that ... is that Fort Hood is incredibly resilient and bounced back immediately," Grimsley said.

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Fort Hood assessing soldiers after suicides