One AWOL soldier (and perhaps more later) has been arrested in Killeen, TX outside of Ft Hood. Details at this point are unclear if this was a legitimate plan or the rantings of a disgruntled soldier. Ft Hood was the site of an attack by Nidal Nissan who killed 13 and wounded 30 back in 2009. Ft Hood is home of First Arm West and the First Armored Cavalry Division amongst other brigades and regiments. Ft Hood is a large base and has a huge on base population of soldiers, civilians, and contractors.
Security on any given military facility starts outside the wire with passive detections systems alerting military police of approaching threats. At the gates, military police or contract security personnel check IDs. Depending on threat levels, vehicles may be physically searched before they are allowed on base.
Once past the security perimeter, things look much a city with roving military police patrols. Other than MPs, no one else on base is permitted to be armed. Someone like Nissan could have brought a weapon on legally to fire at the range. Once inside the perimeter, he could then start shooting people.
The latest incident at Ft Hood raises some questions for the military. The most obvious source of problems is the stress brought on by many years of deployments. Soldiers are taken away from their families and friends for a year at a time where they are exposed to danger and violence. Upon returning home, a difficult supervisor or bad appraisal could be all it takes to set in motion a violent attack.
The military tends to look out very well but looking back inside is still overlooked. Our surveillance systems are top notch and are designed to look at what's coming. We have very little capability to look back at what might already be here.
The last ten years have been grueling on all branches but the Army and Marines the most since they engage in close quarter combat. I don't think we truly understand what repeated deployments has done to our service members. I still maintain we know even less about the effects on female military members who have been in combat.
The other problem is what we just saw in Norway. Andres Breivik committed the greatest mass murder in the history of modern Norway. He posted several pictures of himself as a commando and decorated military officer. According to everything I've been able to research, Breivik was never in the military and actually had an exemption from military service. The pictures then show a "wanna-be" who fancied himself as a military here to legitimize his self-esteem.
Even in the US military, we have the wanna-be who never deployed or was never in combat (you vets know who I mean, the guy that claimed he went to the Q-course but can only score a 180 on his AFPT). These are the ones the military tends to forget about. The returning soldier from a combat area is screened and their battle-buddies (or wingman in the USAF) helps support and look out for them.
The wanna-be is left feeling jealous of the real combat veterans. They may invent some ridiculous fantasy about their record. For the most part, that's where it ends. Others however start to deteriorate more as teh gap widens between their fantasy world and reality.
The wanna-be exists outside the military as well. The guy who pretends to part of the local SWAT team or who has been secretly trained in the lost ninja arts. For the most part, we can safely ignore these people. However, every once in a while the wanna-be isn't satisfied with mere fantasy and we get the Andres Breivik reaction.
I'm sure neighbors and friends would describe Breivik as a nice guy. Translated, he didn't say much and kept his grass cut. We don't need to start getting paranoid of one another but in these times, if someone makes you feel uncomfortable you may want to pay a little more attention.
FoxNews.com
“If you would not be forgotten, as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write things worth reading, or do things worth the writing.”--Benjamin Franklin
Showing posts with label Ft Hood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ft Hood. Show all posts
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Senators Say FBI & DOD Could Have Prevented Ft. Hood Shooting
Somewhere along the way in "Being All You Can Be" and "An Army of One", the US Army along with the other branches of the military got directed to be kinder and more inclusive. So what if little Johnny or little Janey couldn't pass their PT (Physical Training)? Rather than just kick them out, we need to give them special attention and remedial PT. So what if little Johnny or Janey is a fat-ass that gulps down Whoppers (BK has a restaurant on just about ever major military installation) like there is not tomorrow? We need to be them on the weight management program and teach them to make better choices.
Soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen cuss with legendary proficiency. You cuss when things don't go right, when things go right, or just because cussing is the only thing left that you can do sometimes. Ah but all of that cussing may be offensive to others so there are any number of sensitivity programs (no, I am not making this up) that military personnel are required to attend. Usually in the Air Force as soon as you arrive on at a new assignment you have to go through 4-8 hours of "Don't abuse alcohol, be sensitive about other people's feelings, don't do drugs, and if you feel uncomfortable about any of the above report it". You also get refresher training about harassment in the workplace, inappropriate relationships, and respect of others that don't look or pray like you do. I cannot begin to imagine what the post "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" training is going to be like.
I worded my descriptions in terms you would hear from the average service member. Yes, I know it is vital to have a cohesive fighting force and teaching service members to respect and get along with one another is just part of mission readiness.
But all of the sensitivity training starts to take on a life of its own. If you are a supervisor and you give someone of a different color or gender a lower rating, you will probably be challenged that you are either a racist or a sexist. The supervisor gets put on the spotlight and has to prove that the subordinate deserved the lower rating. (In my experience, rarely does the subordinate get subjected to the same level of scrutiny to prove they deserve a higher rating or promotion.)
Without intending to, the military equal opportunity and sensitivity programs emboldens the entitlement mentality of some of the younger personnel. They know they should be a first sergeant or a colonel after six months of service. If you don't agree, they it must because you are a racist, sexist or insensitive.
To insure those that truly are racist, sexist or insensitive don't run roughshod over their people, review boards and investigations are set into motions once a charge is made. If Johnny Snotrag is a dumb ass who happens to also be a minority, the supervisor will spend more time justifying one performance appraisal than doing their own job. Unfortunately this can lead to the phenomena known as "F-up, move up". Rather than spend inordinate amounts of time supporting why little Johnny Snotrag is a turd, the supervisor may allow the turd to transfer. Now the turd becomes somebody else's problem.
Some may take exception to what I've written and that's fine. My point was not to criticism our system but rather to give those unfamiliar with it an understanding of how the situation at Ft Hood may have occurred.
“The Fort Hood massacre resulted because of what I would call a tragedy of errors – just one after another - by organizations that normally perform effectively. But in this case – for a host of various reasons and frankly some things that are hard to explain – just totally failed to act in a way that as you look back at the evidence with the clarity of hindsight just shouts out, ‘Stop this guy before he kills somebody!’ And he was not stopped.”
A lot of people passed MAJ Nidal Hassan to the next assignment because they did want the headaches of dealing with his issues. Charging a service member with mental health problems can result in months of paperwork. Hindsight is always perfect but you have to ask, what did they see at the time? A potential mass-murder or just a head-case that wasn't worth the time to do due diligence.
Seung-Hui Cho made many students and faculty uncomfortable at Virginia Tech before he went on his rampage. Fears about HIPPA violations and a lack of clear guidance offered faculty and administrators no options to deal with Cho in advance. The same thing happened with Jared Loughner at his community college. A disturbing head-case but no options were available to deal with him in advance.
MAJ Hassan did not have as many protections as Cho and Loughner but military's system of checks and balances accomplished the same thing. By creating an environment that demands such high burden of proof, it caused his superiors to simply avoid dealing with him before he became a mass murderer.
Article Here
Soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen cuss with legendary proficiency. You cuss when things don't go right, when things go right, or just because cussing is the only thing left that you can do sometimes. Ah but all of that cussing may be offensive to others so there are any number of sensitivity programs (no, I am not making this up) that military personnel are required to attend. Usually in the Air Force as soon as you arrive on at a new assignment you have to go through 4-8 hours of "Don't abuse alcohol, be sensitive about other people's feelings, don't do drugs, and if you feel uncomfortable about any of the above report it". You also get refresher training about harassment in the workplace, inappropriate relationships, and respect of others that don't look or pray like you do. I cannot begin to imagine what the post "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" training is going to be like.
I worded my descriptions in terms you would hear from the average service member. Yes, I know it is vital to have a cohesive fighting force and teaching service members to respect and get along with one another is just part of mission readiness.
But all of the sensitivity training starts to take on a life of its own. If you are a supervisor and you give someone of a different color or gender a lower rating, you will probably be challenged that you are either a racist or a sexist. The supervisor gets put on the spotlight and has to prove that the subordinate deserved the lower rating. (In my experience, rarely does the subordinate get subjected to the same level of scrutiny to prove they deserve a higher rating or promotion.)
Without intending to, the military equal opportunity and sensitivity programs emboldens the entitlement mentality of some of the younger personnel. They know they should be a first sergeant or a colonel after six months of service. If you don't agree, they it must because you are a racist, sexist or insensitive.
To insure those that truly are racist, sexist or insensitive don't run roughshod over their people, review boards and investigations are set into motions once a charge is made. If Johnny Snotrag is a dumb ass who happens to also be a minority, the supervisor will spend more time justifying one performance appraisal than doing their own job. Unfortunately this can lead to the phenomena known as "F-up, move up". Rather than spend inordinate amounts of time supporting why little Johnny Snotrag is a turd, the supervisor may allow the turd to transfer. Now the turd becomes somebody else's problem.
Some may take exception to what I've written and that's fine. My point was not to criticism our system but rather to give those unfamiliar with it an understanding of how the situation at Ft Hood may have occurred.
“The Fort Hood massacre resulted because of what I would call a tragedy of errors – just one after another - by organizations that normally perform effectively. But in this case – for a host of various reasons and frankly some things that are hard to explain – just totally failed to act in a way that as you look back at the evidence with the clarity of hindsight just shouts out, ‘Stop this guy before he kills somebody!’ And he was not stopped.”
A lot of people passed MAJ Nidal Hassan to the next assignment because they did want the headaches of dealing with his issues. Charging a service member with mental health problems can result in months of paperwork. Hindsight is always perfect but you have to ask, what did they see at the time? A potential mass-murder or just a head-case that wasn't worth the time to do due diligence.
Seung-Hui Cho made many students and faculty uncomfortable at Virginia Tech before he went on his rampage. Fears about HIPPA violations and a lack of clear guidance offered faculty and administrators no options to deal with Cho in advance. The same thing happened with Jared Loughner at his community college. A disturbing head-case but no options were available to deal with him in advance.
MAJ Hassan did not have as many protections as Cho and Loughner but military's system of checks and balances accomplished the same thing. By creating an environment that demands such high burden of proof, it caused his superiors to simply avoid dealing with him before he became a mass murderer.
Article Here
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