NGU Skyliner

Julie Cobb
Staff Writer

America’s armed forces suffered a blow on Nov. 5 when a fellow soldier opened fire at Fort Hood, a military base in Killeen, Texas.

Thirteen people were killed–12 soldiers and a civilian–and 43 others were injured.

Major Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, a military psychiatrist for the Army, was shot four times by two civilian officers to end the deadly rampage. He is in critical but stable condition in Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, and is now paralyzed from the waist down.

One of the officers, Sergeant Kimberly Munley, was injured in the shootout but is expected to make a full recovery.

“My wife and I were heart broken,” said Lt. Col. William Maddox, professor of military science for both the Furman and North Greenville University ROTC. “We have been a part of the Army family for 22 years. The Army is really not that big and we have several friends and former colleagues in the Fort Hood Community.”

The attack on Fort Hood was the deadliest mass shooting on a U.S. Army base in modern history.

“The Army is a real people-centric organization,” Maddox said. “It really strives to take care of soldiers and their families. The fact that this shooting occurred at a center where soldiers come together to help take care of personal/family issues prior to deploying overseas is particularly troubling.”

President Barack Obama has called for a thorough investigation of the shooting and of the possibility that Hasan had terrorist connections.

Hasan had communications with Pakistan and also became belligerent when discussing the war on terrorism.

Stephanie Patton, sophomore interdisciplinary studies, moved to South Carolina from Texas four years ago.

“I personally know people who serve in the military and to think that it could happen here in the US, especially near my hometown, is very upsetting,” Patton said.

The possibility of having soldiers attacked on home soil makes the shooting even more disturbing.

“Being wounded or killed in the line of duty is always possible in the Army, but the soldiers killed at Fort Hood were home—which also had a tremendous impact on the Army community,” Maddox said.

Many of the fallen soldiers were laid to rest on Saturday, Nov. 15, as the Fort Hood community began the healing process.

Tags: Fall 2009, Vol. 109 - Issue 10

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