Tag Archives: fort hood

Army Chief of Chaplains to Open Fort Hood Chapel Campus

The Army’s Chief of Chaplains, Chaplain (MajGen) Donald Rutherford, is scheduled to open the Fort Hood “Warrior and Family Chapel Campus” today.  The huge multi-million dollar facility will serve the spiritual fitness needs of one of the largest military installations in the US.

The $28 million facility houses approximately 100,000 square-feet devoted to the spiritual fitness of the Fort Hood military community. The four buildings will serve as a multi-purpose activity center, a home for the installation’s Chaplain’s Family Life Training Center, a worship center and a religious education facility.

Fort Hood reportedly has a burgeoning faith community; for example, Catholic service attendance is more than 1,000 each Sunday.

Abdo to Face More Charges

A federal judge referred the case of US Army PFC Naser Abdo to a grand jury, and indicated Abdo may face additional charges in the foiled “terror plot” in which he stands accused.

Given the testimony, Abdo seems to have largely confessed to the public characterization of the attempted attack:

After Abdo was arrested at the motel, with some items found in his backpack, he told authorities he was planning “a massive attack in the Killeen and Fort Hood area,” [FBI special agent Michael] Brogan testified. Abdo said he planned to make two bombs and detonate them in a restaurant where Fort Hood soldiers eat, according to documents filed in the case.

The Army Times article notes US Army Maj Nidal Malik Hasan is also in jail not far away, awaiting his capital trial.

Trust is a Casualty: Abdo Makes Eighth Attack/Attempt on Military

Update:  This post has been corrected here; the actual number of attacks/attempted attacks is nine, not eight.

Following the arrest of PFC Naser Abdo on charges he planned to kill Soldiers at Fort Hood in what has been described as a “terror attack,” a local paper says “trust is a casualty” for the military and Islamic communities, describing a tension between non-Islamic Soldiers and their Muslim comrades.

Some may not realize Abdo’s arrest marks eight recent attacks or attempted attacks on the US military by assailants who have apparently been motivated by their Islamic faith. Half of those attacks or attempted attacks have been by members of the US military:  Read more

“Terror Plot” Soldier Naser Abdo Defiant, Weinstein Equivocates

US Army PFC Naser Abdo, arrested last week on charges he was planning to blow up a restaurant and kill Soldiers near Fort Hood, Texas, was defiant at his court appearance.

Abdo…refused to stand up during Friday’s hearing when everyone in the court was asked to rise for the judge.

As he was being led out of the courtroom, he yelled out “Iraq 2006” and the name of the 14-year-old Iraqi girl who was raped and murdered in 2006 by a U.S. soldier. He then shouted: “Nidal Hasan Fort Hood 2009.”

Organizations that had previously supported Abdo in his objector application have now disavowed him:

“If any of these allegations are true, any sort of violence toward anyone goes completely against what a conscientious objector believes,” said Jose Vasquez, executive director of Iraq Veterans Against the War.

Another group, Read more

US Army Private Naser Abdo Arrested in Terror Plot

Private First Class Naser Abdo has reportedly been arrested by Texas police near Fort Hood, Texas.  Abdo wasn’t assigned to Fort Hood; he was assigned to Fort Campbell in Kentucky.  The Army said Abdo was AWOL from Fort Campbell.

Local police indicated they had interrupted a “terror plot” in their arrest of PFC Abdo.  He was reportedly found with guns, gunpowder, and the makings of a backpack bomb.  The arrest was made possible by a tip from local gundealer Guns Galore.  Clerk Greg Ebert said the staff of the store was concerned because Abdo was purchasing large quantities of gunpowder — while asking questions about how to use it.  Guns Galore is reportedly the same store where Maj Nidal Malik Hasan purchased his firearm.

According to AP reports, Abdo has admitted to planning an attack at Read more

Fort Hood Shooting Suspect Arraigned, Changes Lawyers

US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, accused in the Fort Hood massacre in 2009, has been arraigned for military trial.  His civilian lawyer, retired Colonel John Galligan, reportedly “took a leave of absence” from the case.  FoxNews implied his departure might have been related to his lack of security clearance.  Galligan has been vocal about Hasan’s “mistreatment” to date:

“I have consistently argued that Major Hasan has not been treated fairly. I maintain that belief,” Galligan said Wednesday.

Col. Gregory Gross, the military chief circuit judge, scheduled the trial for 5 March 2012 in response to the defense’s request for a delay.

By that date, the baby killed in the rampage would have been about 2 years old.

Fort Hood Freedom Fest Headliner Offends?

Fort Hood recently hosted its “Freedom Fest.”  No, not the Fort Bragg atheist event that temporarily used the same name; this was the Independence Day celebration.  By all accounts it was a rousing success.  Due to fire bans across Texas, Fort Hood had one of the only fireworks displays in the region.  Around 100,000 were expected to have attended.

In the past, some have taken issue with the US military having “Christian” musicians or bands at similar events.  Apparently, they are concerned about exposing troops and their families to edifying or God-honoring lyrics.

Few people seem to have any problem when the opposite is the case.  The musical act at Fort Hood’s Freedom Fest was Read more

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