What's new

US Army major kills 12 in shooting rampage

A sad event. but i talked to my mother and she told me that the highest rates of suicides among doctors are psychiatrist's. he might have something called secondary PTSD because of listening to horrible stories that he had to here while treating soldiers.

But that in no way excuses what the man did and should be punished to the full extent of the law. As far as seeing muslims in a bad light lets just see what the investigation turns up and then draw some conclusions
 
this is really sad news. our hearts and mind go out to all the people who lost their family members and also to all the american members of this forums.
 
The loss of lives is saddening for everyone....But "you reap what you sow"

It seems the blade of your policies is cutting your own throat

This is neither the correct thread nor the correct time for such remarks.
 
US Army major kills 12 in shooting rampage



HOUSTON: A U.S. Army major firing two handguns killed 12 people and wounded 31 others in a shooting rampage on Thursday at Fort Hood base in Texas, a prime point of deployment for U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The gunman is in a hospital in stable condition, contrary to previous reports he had been killed, an Army general said. ‘Our investigation is ongoing but preliminary reports indicate that there was a single shooter,’ Lieutenant-General Robert Cone told a news conference. ‘The shooter is not dead but in custody in stable condition.’ Cone said the suspect had been shot multiple times. U.S. broadcast media identified him as Major Malik Nidal Hasan, and said he was a psychiatrist who was facing an upcoming deployment to Iraq.

U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas told FOX news: ‘I do know that he has been known to have told people that he was upset about going (to Iraq).’ U.S. military officials say the shooter's motives were still unclear.

The incident at Fort Hood, the largest military installation in the world, was one of the worst killings reported on a U.S. military base. In May a U.S. soldier at a base in Baghdad shot dead five fellow soldiers.

It raised new questions about the toll that six years of continuous fighting in Iraq and nearly eight years fighting in Afghanistan have taken on the U.S. military and on individual soldiers, many of whom have been on several combat tours.

In Thursday's incident, the shooter opened fire at about 1:30 p.m. CST (1930 GMT) at the Soldiers Readiness Processing Center, where soldiers were getting medical check-ups before leaving for overseas deployments, the Army said.

The shooter killed one civilian police officer, Cone said.

Initial reports said two other soldiers had been detained as possible suspects. – Reuters.
DAWN.COM | World | US Army major kills 12 in shooting rampage

---------- Post added at 06:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:21 AM ----------

This is crazy stuff. The British soldiers were killed and now the American soldiers. Whats the solution to this?
 
This is crazy stuff. The British soldiers were killed and now the American soldiers. Whats the solution to this?

bring the boys home.
 
They would be probably saying Pakistani Nukes in danger as there is lack of unity in Army lol.

If the Americans cannot even secure their main Armed Forces Base from these attacks, I feel sorry for the civilians already.

I sure hope that the US nukes are safe and some crazy person is not an appointed Psychiatrist where these nukes are!
 
the major was born in US, but his parents were from Jordan.
 
^thank your stars it wasn't a pakistani, because we wouldnt have heard the end of it - this stems from the stereotyping from the american media.

in any case it is a sad episode and brave soldiers have lost their lives for reasons we may never know!
 
Scared And Losing Heart In Afghanistan


Living conditions are good — abundant food, air-conditioned tents, hot water, free internet — but most of the men are on their second, third or fourth tours of Afghanistan and Iraq, with barely a year between each. Staff Sergeant Erika Cheney, Airborne’s mental health specialist, expressed concern about their mental state — especially those in scattered outposts — and believes that many have mild post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “They’re tired, frustrated, scared. A lot of them are afraid to go out but will still go,” she said.

Lieutenant Peter Hjelmstad, 2-87’s Medical Platoon Leader, said sleeplessness and anger attacks were common. A dozen men have been confined to desk jobs because they can no longer handle missions outside the base. One long-serving officer who has lost three friends this tour said he sometimes returned to his room at night and cried, or played war games on his laptop. “It’s a release. It’s a method of coping.” He has nightmares and sleeps little, and it does not help that the base is frequently shaken by outgoing artillery fire. He was briefly overcome as he recalled how, when a lorry backfired during his most recent home leave, he grabbed his young son and dived between two parked cars.

Martin Fletcher at Forward Operating Base in Wardak province

American soldiers serving in Afghanistan are depressed and deeply disillusioned, according to the chaplains of two US battalions that have spent nine months on the front line in the war against the Taleban.

Many feel that they are risking their lives — and that colleagues have died — for a futile mission and an Afghan population that does nothing to help them, the chaplains told The Times in their makeshift chapel on this fortress-like base in a dusty, brown valley southwest of Kabul.

“The many soldiers who come to see us have a sense of futility and anger about being here. They are really in a state of depression and despair and just want to get back to their families,” said Captain Jeff Masengale, of the 10th Mountain Division’s 2-87 Infantry Battalion.

“They feel they are risking their lives for progress that’s hard to discern,” said Captain Sam Rico, of the Division’s 4-25 Field Artillery Battalion. “They are tired, strained, confused and just want to get through.” The chaplains said that they were speaking out because the men could not.

The base is not, it has to be said, obviously downcast, and many troops do not share the chaplains’ assessment. The soldiers are, by nature and training, upbeat, driven by a strong sense of duty, and they do their jobs as best they can. Re-enlistment rates are surprisingly good for the 2-87, though poor for the 4-25. Several men approached by The Times, however, readily admitted that their morale had slumped.

“We’re lost — that’s how I feel. I’m not exactly sure why we’re here,” said Specialist Raquime Mercer, 20, whose closest friend was shot dead by a renegade Afghan policeman last Friday. “I need a clear-cut purpose if I’m going to get hurt out here or if I’m going to die.”

Sergeant Christopher Hughes, 37, from Detroit, has lost six colleagues and survived two roadside bombs. Asked if the mission was worthwhile, he replied: “If I knew exactly what the mission was, probably so, but I don’t.”

The only soldiers who thought it was going well “work in an office, not on the ground”. In his opinion “the whole country is going to s***”.

The battalion’s 1,500 soldiers are nine months in to a year-long deployment that has proved extraordinarily tough. Their goal was to secure the mountainous Wardak province and then to win the people’s allegiance through development and good governance. They have, instead, found themselves locked in an increasingly vicious battle with the Taleban.

They have been targeted by at least 300 roadside bombs, about 180 of which have exploded. Nineteen men have been killed in action, with another committing suicide. About a hundred have been flown home with amputations, severe burns and other injuries likely to cause permanent disability, and many of those have not been replaced. More than two dozen mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles (MRAPs) have been knocked out of action.

Living conditions are good — abundant food, air-conditioned tents, hot water, free internet — but most of the men are on their second, third or fourth tours of Afghanistan and Iraq, with barely a year between each. Staff Sergeant Erika Cheney, Airborne’s mental health specialist, expressed concern about their mental state — especially those in scattered outposts — and believes that many have mild post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “They’re tired, frustrated, scared. A lot of them are afraid to go out but will still go,” she said.

Lieutenant Peter Hjelmstad, 2-87’s Medical Platoon Leader, said sleeplessness and anger attacks were common.

A dozen men have been confined to desk jobs because they can no longer handle missions outside the base. One long-serving officer who has lost three friends this tour said he sometimes returned to his room at night and cried, or played war games on his laptop. “It’s a release. It’s a method of coping.” He has nightmares and sleeps little, and it does not help that the base is frequently shaken by outgoing artillery fire. He was briefly overcome as he recalled how, when a lorry backfired during his most recent home leave, he grabbed his young son and dived between two parked cars.

The chaplains said soldiers were seeking their help in unprecedented numbers. “Everyone you meet is just down, and you meet them everywhere — in the weight room, dining facility, getting mail,” said Captain Rico. Even “hard men” were coming to their tent chapel and breaking down.

The men are frustrated by the lack of obvious purpose or progress. “The soldiers’ biggest question is: what can we do to make this war stop. Catch one person? Assault one objective? Soldiers want definite answers, other than to stop the Taleban, because that almost seems impossible. It’s hard to catch someone you can’t see,” said Specialist Mercer.

“It’s a very frustrating mission,” said Lieutenant Hjelmstad. “The average soldier sees a friend blown up and his instinct is to retaliate or believe it’s for something [worthwhile], but it’s not like other wars where your buddy died but they took the hill. There’s no tangible reward for the sacrifice. It’s hard to say Wardak is better than when we got here.”

Captain Masengale, a soldier for 12 years before he became a chaplain, said: “We want to believe in a cause but we don’t know what that cause is.”

The soldiers are angry that colleagues are losing their lives while trying to help a population that will not help them. “You give them all the humanitarian assistance that they want and they’re still going to lie to you. They’ll tell you there’s no Taleban anywhere in the area and as soon as you roll away, ten feet from their house, you get shot at again,” said Specialist Eric Petty, from Georgia.

Captain Rico told of the disgust of a medic who was asked to treat an insurgent shortly after pulling a colleague’s charred corpse from a bombed vehicle.

The soldiers complain that rules of engagement designed to minimise civilian casualties mean that they fight with one arm tied behind their backs. “They’re a joke,” said one. “You get shot at but can do nothing about it. You have to see the person with the weapon. It’s not enough to know which house the shooting’s coming from.”

The soldiers joke that their Isaf arm badges stand not for International Security Assistance Force but “I Suck At Fighting” or “I Support Afghan Farmers”.

To compound matters, soldiers are mainly being killed not in combat but on routine journeys, by roadside bombs planted by an invisible enemy. “That’s very demoralising,” said Captain Masengale.

The constant deployments are, meanwhile, playing havoc with the soldiers’ private lives. “They’re killing families,” he said. “Divorces are skyrocketing. PTSD is off the scale. There have been hundreds of injuries that send soldiers home and affect families for the rest of their lives.”

The chaplains said that many soldiers had lost their desire to help Afghanistan. “All they want to do is make it home alive and go back to their wives and children and visit the families who have lost husbands and fathers over here. It comes down to just surviving,” said Captain Masengale.

“If we make it back with ten toes and ten fingers the mission is successful,” Sergeant Hughes said.

“You carry on for the guys to your left or right,” added Specialist Mercer.

The chaplains have themselves struggled to cope with so much distress. “We have to encourage them, strengthen them and send them out again. No one comes in and says, ‘I’ve had a great day on a mission’. It’s all pain,” said Captain Masengale. “The only way we’ve been able to make it is having each other.”

Lieutenant-Colonel Kimo Gallahue, 2-87’s commanding officer, denied that his men were demoralised, and insisted they had achieved a great deal over the past nine months. A triathlete and former rugby player, he admitted pushing his men hard, but argued that taking the fight to the enemy was the best form of defence.

He said the security situation had worsened because the insurgents had chosen to fight in Wardak province, not abandon it. He said, however, that the situation would have been catastrophic without his men. They had managed to keep open the key Kabul-to-Kandahar highway which dissects Wardak, and prevent the province becoming a launch pad for attacks on the capital, which is barely 20 miles from its border. Above all, Colonel Gallahue argued that counter-insurgency — winning the allegiance of the indigenous population through security, development and good governance — was a long and laborious process that could not be completed in a year. “These 12 months have been, for me, laying the groundwork for future success,” he said.

At morning service on Sunday, the two chaplains sought to boost the spirits of their flock with uplifting hymns, accompanied by video footage of beautiful lakes, oceans and rivers.

Captain Rico offered a particularly apposite reading from Corinthians: “We are afflicted in every way but not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair; persecuted but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sad

Goes to show that criminals exist all over the world.

I am just amused that if the same number of soldiers would have died in Pakistan; no American would be heading this way owing to the US media frenzy calling Pakistan a terror state and DoS issuing travel advisories to ban non-essential travel. Does Ft. Hood get the same treatment?
No it would not and it should not. Do you realize how simplistic your criticism really is? Ft. Hood is considered home territory and fellow soldiers are friends and families. We are supposed to be comfortable among friends and families and we should be at ease among friends and families. Friends and families gain nothing if they hurt us. But strangers can gain much when they do hurt us. The less of ties anyone has to us, emotional or cultural or ethnic, the more cautious we become whenever we are among them, that is why we call some people 'strangers' and treat them differently.
 
Not good, not good at all. RIP to all the victims.

Just when Pakistan is facing such types of attacks on it's military facilities and officers by the mad dog talibs, the US now will have up security on it's bases too.

Especially troubling is that the shooter was a soldier and Muslim. In the Pakistani military any soldier found involved with being involved with acts of violence against the military is dealt with very very seriously. The ISI spares no one and is almost ruthless in quelling any such internal strife. I'm sure the US will deal accordingly as well, but without painting too broad a brush for all Muslims in the service.

But it's bad for the US military, and it's bad for Muslims, even if this guy's motivation was something else or he just went nuts.
 
yes, their morale is being disheartened!!!! but their fangs are still on, they can just attack anyone to ventilate their frustration over the failure of oppressing world by military conquest.
 
No it would not and it should not. Do you realize how simplistic your criticism really is? Ft. Hood is considered home territory and fellow soldiers are friends and families. We are supposed to be comfortable among friends and families and we should be at ease among friends and families. Friends and families gain nothing if they hurt us. But strangers can gain much when they do hurt us. The less of ties anyone has to us, emotional or cultural or ethnic, the more cautious we become whenever we are among them, that is why we call some people 'strangers' and treat them differently.

I am a man of simple critique!

But I don't get it! Was this Army Major a friend among strangers or a stranger among friends to do what he did?

Attack on your Armored HQ was then done by a friend or a stranger in shape of this major?

Hope you do not have more 'friends' in your 'family' like this kooky Major!

Hope your nukes are safe too! I am seriously concerned about their safety and security after this incident!! :smokin:
 
Back
Top Bottom