Review raises issues of military’s readiness for another Ft. Hood incident, Gates says
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An internal Pentagon review has raised serious questions about how prepared the military is to deal with an incident similar to the Ft. Hood massacre, Secretary of Defense Roberts Gates said this morning.
Speaking to reporters at a televised news conference, Gates discussed the report that looks at Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, who is accused in the shootings that killed 13 people at the Texas Army base on Nov. 5.
“The reports raises serious questions about the degree to which the entire Department of Defense is prepared for similar incidents in the future,” Gates said. “It also reveals shortcomings in the way the Department is prepared to defend against threats posed by external influences operating on members of our military community.”
Hasan has been described as a loner with some professional failings who had also become more interested in Islam and the U.S. role in the Iraq and the Mideast. Several supervisors, who oversaw Hasan when he was a medical student and during his early work as an Army psychiatrist at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, failed to act on these warning signs, according to the report.
Gates said he could not address the specifics of the Hasan case because it was pending in the courts. However, he confirmed that he will be making “accountability recommendations involving personnel supervising Hasan” to Army leaders for “appropriate action.”
Gates also noted that there were “shortcomings in the way the department is prepared to defend against threats posed by external influences operating on members of our military community,” a reference to potential radicalizing influences.
Gates praised those who responded to the shooting attack, saying “the initial response was prompt and effective.”
--Michael Muskal
