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Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009
A senseless act of violence, the shooting that took place at Fort Hood, just outside of Killeen, Texas on Thursday killing 13 and wounding 29 has left that community along with an entire nation reeling from grief, fear and confusion.
As officials continue to investigate just what might have led Nidal Malik Hasan to allegedly open fire on so many United States military personnel were making their way through the base’s processing center the situation is another striking blow to an already fragile military community.
This country’s citizens have been blessed with rights that amount to a right of opinion. This is hardly the first of America’s wars to see so many taking strong stances on either side of the war line. The line in support or in opposition of the current war.
But for members of the United States military there is only the front line. Whether fighting on the ground in Afghanistan or Iraq, training in one of countless bases across the globe, gathering information, sailing miles away from home, soaring through the skies or tending to their fellow wounded – the country’s soldiers are in a rather precarious position these days.
While their mission remains in question among those who can question it at home -it remains the mission they are charged with carrying out each and every day.
It may become increasingly controversial – but it does not become any less the focus of countless American men and women.
The effects of an elongated war, whether one is in support of military action or not, are becoming increasingly evident on those who have dedicated themselves to serving their country.
Many questions will surround Hasan and whether his actions were part of a radical allegiance to terrorism or just another result of the psychological toll so many soldiers are under.
Hasan, however, should not become the embodiment of the issue, for there is no excuse for opening 100 rounds worth of fire on the innocent.
Instead, as the issue of psychological trauma directly or indirectly caused by war becomes more and more imperative, the focus must remain on active duty soldiers, returning soldiers and those soldiers being trained with the very real possibility that they could find themselves facing an uncertain future.
There are several ways to show support to those soldiers at home and overseas. Local organizations, churches and American Legion posts often work hard to raise awareness and support for troops.
Groups like Give 2 The Troops, www.give2thetroops.org and Operation Gratitude, www.opgratitude.com, continue to send care packages to those serving overseas. And, of course there is also the USO, which continues to support America’s soldiers.
One need not support war to support the neighbor’s son or daughter, so far from home facing danger each and every day. One need not support the mission to understand that they are not the ones on it.
Journalist Bob Woodruff, who saw the dangers up close when severely injured by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) reporting from Iraq, has since developed the Bob Woodruff Foundation and www.remind.org, which focuses on researching, educating and rehabilitating those troops returning home with physical, emotional, mental and even societal challenges.
Support is a line that should know no sides.
Hassan is indeed, as we are finding, the embodiment of the issue. It appears that our domestic intelligence gatherers either accidentally or deliberately overlooked seditious acts being carried out by Maj. Hassan right under their noses. Was it, as we will undoubtedly be told, a “mistake” or will we be told that overt political correctness caused the deaths of thirteen Americans and untold harm to thirty more. It is becoming obvious that this may well have been an act of domestic terror, carried out from within, and seemingly allowed to be carried out lest we “profile” or some other supposed unfair act. Why is our military in such fragile shape? Even that answer is reasonably easy to see. They have no clear cut mission, a lack of support from the civilian command, and rules of engagement and law that nearly require our soldiers and Marines to have a lawyer present when on patrol to make sure that they do not violate the “rights” of enemy combatants. It is difficult enouth to take an eighteen year old from his home and train him or her to accept military training, discipline, and the phisical and mental strains of soldiering, but to place a fear of doing wrong in them essentially cripples them. Make no mistake, this writer does not accept bad or illegal behavior, but soldiers are not just fighting an ideology, they are fighting for survival on a daily basis, and again, our civilian command is not helping. A clear cut mission, rigorous training, constant screening, and adequate physical and mental health support is a must. We are entrusting our freedom to their hands. Let’s unbind them.