Tag Archives: fort hood

Rep King: Extremists have Joined US Military

Update:  Members of the joint Congressional committee “blasted” the Department of Defense for downplaying talk of terrorism and referring to the Fort Hood massacre as “workplace violence.”  The DoD was accused of being “politically correct” in avoiding association of the terrorist attacks with Islam — the same thing it was found at fault for in the months leading up to the Fort Hood shooting.

US Representative Peter King (R-NY), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, is holding another hearing on “homegrown terrorism.”  While he was criticized for his earlier hearings on the subject for the implied negativity toward American Muslims, these new hearings are a joint meeting between the House and Senate committees, showing “threat is legitimate,” according to King.

King and Senator Joe Lieberman, his Senate counterpart from Connecticut, both agreed that US military soft targets are “increasingly in the terrorists’ scope.”

There is growing evidence that homegrown terrorists see military personnel and bases as legitimate, high-value targets, lawmakers Read more

Fort Hood Families, Victims Seek $750M from Army

The US Army is facing “administrative claims” by 83 victims and families of the Fort Hood massacre in 2009 seeking $750 million in compensation.  The filings assert

willful negligence enabled psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan to carry out a terrorist attack at Fort Hood, Texas…
 
[They] said the government had clear warnings that Hasan, who is scheduled to go on trial in March, posed a grave danger to the lives of soldiers and civilians.  Read more

Abdo Pleads Not Guilty to Bomb Charges

PFC Naser Abdo pled not guilty to charges he planned to kill American Soldiers at Fort Hood by blowing up a local restaurant and shooting any survivors.

Pfc. Naser Jason Abdo answered “sure do” Thursday when U.S. Magistrate Jeff Manske asked if he understood the charges, and said “sure do have none” when asked if he had questions about the charges.

Prosecutors reportedly plan to try him first on the charges which carry the longest sentences.  He faces life in prison if convicted.

Tennessee State Rep Calls for Removing Muslims from Military

A few websites have noted Tennessee State Representative Rick Womick’s statement to ThinkProgress interviewers that Muslims should be removed from the US military.  The video is available on YouTube.

It’s worth noting Womick’s political position has been somewhat inflated in a few reports.  For example, ThinkProgress suffixed his name with (R-TN), as did some others, which is inaccurate.  The “party-state” designation is used for members of the US House; it is redundant to say “Tennessee state rep (R-TN).”  The more accurate description is (R-34) or R-Rockvale, as Womick represents District 34 in the Tennessee State House.  As a state representative, Womick has no influence over the US military.  (As an aside, Rep Womick was an F-15 fighter pilot during Operation Desert Storm.)

That said, his comments were widely reported and not well received (with one exception).  He’s been described as un-American and said to be “defaming all members of the military.”

Womick uses US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan and PFC Naser Abdo (though he forgets his name) as support for his position, saying they are examples of the Islamic inconsistency with military service.

Ironically, it seems Rep Womick agrees with religious freedom critic Michael Read more

Fort Hood Victims’ Families Grieve, Wait for Trial

The second anniversary of the massacre at Fort Hood passed quietly on 5 November 2011.  The trial of US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, the wheelchair-bound accused who faces execution if convicted, is scheduled to begin in March. 

On Saturday in a small private ceremony, some victims’ relatives planned to place wreaths on the fence that now surrounds the boarded-up building where the shootings occurred. Michael Cahill’s widow, Read more

Muslim Soldier on Faith and Service

The Stars and Stripes ran an article entitled “Some Muslim servicemembers struggle to balance faith and service,” though the article cited only a single former servicemember, former Army SSgt Mohammad A. Hasan.  After 9 years of service, with his Islamic faith a non-issue, he said a deployment to Iraq set him apart from his peers:

With a dark complexion and Muslim name, the Bangladesh-born soldier’s loyalty was at times questioned by suspicious troops during his deployment in Iraq, he said.

The article continues to use the plural with reference to “struggling” Muslim Soldiers, though it fails to mention any others.  In fact, it quotes both former Navy Read more

US Soldier Worked “as for the Lord”

The Killeen Daily Herald, local to Fort Hood, notes the July death of US Army CPL Frank Gross, who was killed in Afghanistan one month into his deployment. CPL Gross had a consistent motivation:

Cpl. Frank Gross wrote the same Bible verse, Colossians 3:23, inside his baseball caps throughout his high school and college pitching career: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”

“Basically, whatever you do, do it to the best of your ability,” his mother, Toni Gross, said…”That was his life verse.”

Notably, Gross had not only a Bachelors degree but also Read more

Spirit of Fort Hood Warrior and Family Chapel Campus Opens

As previously noted, Fort Hood has opened the first phase of a 7 year, $27 million dollar effort to support the spiritual and resilience needs of US Army Soldiers.  The campus will provide the largest facility in the US Army with the ability to serve the largest Army population in the service.

Chief of Chaplains Chaplain (Maj. Gen.) Don Rutherford joined III Corps and Fort Hood Commanding General Lt. Gen. Don Campbell Jr., III Corps and Fort Hood Command Sgt. Major Arthur L. Coleman Jr., Fort Hood chaplains and members from the community for the dedication ceremony, which officially opened The Spirit of Fort Hood Warrior and Family Chapel Campus.

Chaplain Rutherford praised the Army’s support of the Chaplaincy, which supports Army Soldiers.

“This campus is the latest Read more

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