BREAKING: Massacre at Foot Hood, TX-many dead

[RL3AO]

[somethingfunny]

How does a non-combat solider shoot 43 people with two pistols in a room of soldiers?

The SRC is very busy and, if you're in the right places, crowded. No one carries weapons unless they are MP's. So you let a madman go with two pistols, one of which is a semi, in a building filled with soldiers getting ready to deploy, who are also unarmed, and you could be the worst shooter in the world and walk away with that many kills.

My prayers out to the families...I couldnt even fathom someone walking in who just starts shooting people at will. Go ahead and strap him to the chair as he is right now, or perhaps hang him.

I'm glad to hear from you. Have you shipped out to Iraq yet?

[HurricaneBill]

Killeen was also the site of the Luby's massacre in 1991.

[Dionne]

Obviously the name is going to raise a few eyebrows, but its not like a new private who did this. It takes many years of service to get to the rank of major.

No it doesn't. If he had enlisted without college he would have been the equivalent of an E-4 Corporal. This soldier was trying to get out of the military. He had hired an attorney to assist in his resignation. He is a devout Muslim. Off duty he wore traditional Muslim clothing. He had not even told his mother of his pending deployment. This man had gone as far as comparing suicide bombers to soldiers that deflect grenade blasts with their own bodies. He had recently received training with weapons on Ft Hood. This guy slipped through the cracks. He's a classic 635-2 discharge....not suitable for military service.

I'd like to hear from his CO? Why was he retained?

[vbhoutex]

Call me a conspiratist(sp-is it a word?) or what you want. I am still not convinced he acted alone(he obviously was the only one shooting). The possibility of direction from an outside source(sleeper cell?)keeps coming to mind for me.
If he was so unfit for military duty then why was he recently promoted to major? This all still reeks to me.

[RL3AO]

If he was so unfit for military duty then why was he recently promoted to major? This all still reeks to me.

I guess you are automatically promoted to major when you finish your fellowship and transfer to a military hospital. At least thats what I heard.

[Ptarmigan]

Killeen was also the site of the Luby's massacre in 1991.

That was the deadliest mass shooting prior to Virginia Tech.

[vbhoutex]

If he was so unfit for military duty then why was he recently promoted to major? This all still reeks to me.

I guess you are automatically promoted to major when you finish your fellowship and transfer to a military hospital. At least thats what I heard.

I guess I could check that out with the young man I watched grow up at our church who is now a DO in the Army who was on base in the ER when this happened yesterday. I was hoping he wasn't since he is normally in San Antonio at one of the bases there or so I thought. Anyway he is fine and that is what we were worried about. Prayers still going out for all those immediately impacted and for the thousands indirectly impacted. No matter how this happened, it is a terrible tragedy.

[Dionne]

Call me a conspiratist(sp-is it a word?) or what you want. I am still not convinced he acted alone(he obviously was the only one shooting). The possibility of direction from an outside source(sleeper cell?)keeps coming to mind for me.
If he was so unfit for military duty then why was he recently promoted to major? This all still reeks to me.

Not to mention that he was promoted to Major after a poor performance report from his duty at Walter Reed.

[Ptarmigan]

Call me a conspiratist(sp-is it a word?) or what you want. I am still not convinced he acted alone(he obviously was the only one shooting). The possibility of direction from an outside source(sleeper cell?)keeps coming to mind for me.
If he was so unfit for military duty then why was he recently promoted to major? This all still reeks to me.

They are a lot of things that raise the red flag. I mean he wanted out.

[Dionne]

If he was so unfit for military duty then why was he recently promoted to major? This all still reeks to me.

I guess you are automatically promoted to major when you finish your fellowship and transfer to a military hospital. At least thats what I heard.

This is true. I wrote a long story and then deleted it.....simply put...there are automatic promotions. It's been going on for a long time.

[senorpepr]

If he was so unfit for military duty then why was he recently promoted to major? This all still reeks to me.

I guess you are automatically promoted to major when you finish your fellowship and transfer to a military hospital. At least thats what I heard.

This is true. I wrote a long story and then deleted it.....simply put...there are automatic promotions. It's been going on for a long time.

I'll piggy-back on this to a degree. I'm not sure of the exact number, but even the Air Force promotes a large percentage of Captains to the rank of Major (90+ percentile). And a "poor performance report" is pretty ambiguous too. It may not have been stellar, but most likely not bad enough to prevent promotion. (Obviously it didn't and it probably takes a lot not to get promoted.)

As for why they didn't let him out... I'm not sure. I understand he offered to repay his schooling, but that's rumor. Bottom line, he has a commitment to attend and that fact that the Army paid so much for his schooling, it's often difficult to get around that.

As for the number of people that were shot, it doesn't take much talent to get a lot of hits in a crowded place such as this. With two weapons--one semi-automatic--it's rather easy.

I seriously doubt any organized terrorism here. There could be a motive beyond him not wanting to deploy, I haven't seen anything that would suggest any type of organization.

[Dionne]

I agree. No terrorism. Simply the results of an all volunteer military. I'm going to go as far as suggesting gross negligence on behalf of those attending to his request for discharge.

Having full access to his history as a soldier prior to his rampage.....would you have discharged him? If it had been my decision....he would have been out the front gate the same day of request.

Now he's going to either Leavenworth or Supermax. Hell on Earth.

[vbhoutex]

This is where we are going to have to agree to disagree. The more I hear the more I am convinced this was an act of domestic terrorism. This man was connected to a man who is now in Yemen telling others to and how to kill US soldiers and is a known Al Queda operative.. He was the "leader"(I don't know the name to use)of the mosque he attended. NO connection? Try me again!

[Dionne]

I just read of his connection with Yemen......which the FBI flagged in '08. I would like to rescind my previous statement. It was terrorism. My primary concern is that this could have been prevented. All the warnings were in place. Very sad.

edit;

This guy was yelling "Allah Akbar" while shooting his fellow soldiers. He had purchased an FN5.7 with a 20 round clip. In '07 he gave the presentation to his seniors regarding Muslims being forced to fight Muslims......which "upset" ranking officers. All this over a 2 year time frame. Multiple red flags here.

[vbhoutex]

I just read of his connection with Yemen......which the FBI flagged in '08. I would like to rescind my previous statement. It was terrorism. My primary concern is that this could have been prevented. All the warnings were in place. Very sad.

edit;

This guy was yelling "Allah Akbar" while shooting his fellow soldiers. He had purchased an FN5.7 with a 20 round clip. In '07 he gave the presentation to his seniors regarding Muslims being forced to fight Muslims......which "upset" ranking officers. All this over a 2 year time frame. Multiple red flags here.

Amen to multiple red flags!!! Looks like a lot of CYA already going on IMO. It appears to me that several "officials", at a minimum, deserve demotions if not discharge.

[Stephanie]

Domestic terrorism along the same lines as the Oklahoma bombing. I think that he was acting alone with no outside help. The man was sick and should have been demoted, discharged, or something. He was obviously upset about going to Afghanistan to fight against "his brothers" and probably snapped.

All of the investigations should've gone further, especially if he was a part of our military.

[StormingB81]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20091110/u ... 9193733400

Now they are playing the blame game. This is sad. yes things where missed but still it happends. This is a great tragic event by a terrorist. I believe he acted alone. It is easier then you think of to get a weapon and start shooting rounds. some units give it out before you get in the plane. Maybe these should be looked over and changes made. They are saying they were politically correct. Well maybe we just need to call a spade a spade and people if the yhave nothing ot hide SHOULDN'T take offense. ANother Lessons learned. Unfortunatly alot of people died. God Bless them

[Dionne]

It is important to remember that during large troop transfers there is always confusion. Especially when our military manpower is of multiple ethnicity and religions. During combat scenarios we have always experienced conflict among our soldiers. It's part of the deal. This is nothing new. It brings back old memories.

[vbhoutex]

Domestic terrorism along the same lines as the Oklahoma bombing. I think that he was acting alone with no outside help. The man was sick and should have been demoted, discharged, or something. He was obviously upset about going to Afghanistan to fight against "his brothers" and probably snapped.

All of the investigations should've gone further, especially if he was a part of our military.

I have to disagree here. They already have proof he had been trying to contact Al Queda directly recently and had actually basically made threats(veiled though they may have been). IIRC, some emails he sent had been intercepted and should have raised a GIANT HUGE red flag, but were glossed over(called CYA quick since you didn't act properly on the knowledge) including some to the Cleric that is now in Yemen who is a proven Al Queda operative who had contact with the 9/11 terrorists and our shooter. IMO, I would say that at a minimum he was encouraged, if not coached by some of his contacts outside the military community. He is being hailed as a hero by many in the Muslim countries overseas. Acted alone? I guess that depends on your definition and how broad you care to make it.