My Morning Anger

I am very angered over what happened at Fort Hood yesterday afternoon.

Not because some shrink was teased and he snapped because he reached some threshold, because I don't believe this was the case. I beieve that folk that do things like this have them planned already. Sometimes they don't know the time nor place or to what degree they'll do their damage, but I believe they know.

Something tells all of us what we're capable of... How one deals with it is the tell tale.
It still takes a lot for a man to kill. Overstand that.

This individual should have never joined the Army. According to co-workers, family and Uncle CID (we call the Central Intelligence Division that), he was already opinionated about certain things related to policy and needed no further convincing after counseling soldiers returning from the shit.

All I need to know. Now the times I get to sit in front of a television will be mired with case studies and stories of this guy with video montages and investigative reports and timelines on how and what he did. There will be stories about the soldiers and families that took a loss...

I used to live there. If memory serves me correct and if there hasn't been any new construction there, I know exactly where those places are. Can't say for sure but I probably utilized that very same place when my unit processed thru there. I know how calm and comfortable those places were. A friend of mine asked me how he was able to take out so many before he was taken out himself and all I could think was how it was when I was there in 1990. We were unarmed. We were always unarmed. There has never been a need to carry live weaponry on a military installation, even after September 11. There are police and security personnel that have live firing weapons, but other than that, we have shooting ranges...

There are countless arms rooms. One for each unit and the weapons we used to live fire are kept under lock and key, inventoried and accounted for at all times. All of our equipment is done this way to prevent...

Shit.

This is why I'm angry that this happened. He took them all by surprise because the only way this happened...

Yeah.

He was making comments and felt the way he felt long enough for him to have been processed out of the military. There is always room for another to climb on board and take one's place. It is still a volunteer service. We may be hurting for fighting troops but garrison employees are very abundant. Why this guy was still active and participating with other active duty personnel after his actions and statements in the past is beyond me. I used to process security clearances and fingerprint folk during my stint in the Army and how they investigated folk and how tight things were with investigations... Sheesh. This cant be right. Dude would have never passed muster to have still been an active soldier in my day.

Apples and oranges though. I believe that the basic principles and the premise in the military is the same now as it was in the past. I can be critical but I will not disrespect the process. Somebody did drop the ball though, and it cost us lives. Right here at home. This is unacceptable.

But he was. Had a lawyer he retained to help jettison him from the Army too.

In my mind this should not have happened, but it has. And now we must deal with our inaction and find a way to soothe the souls of more than a dozen families that lost loved ones not in a combat situation, but in the comfort and 'security' of a secure military installation known for its comfort and warm people.

And now I'll get a chance to hear the spin as well. The hatred and contempt for the few will rise and become very noisy now from certain masses. Yet another tool to be used to politicize things.

I will never forget. I am still one of you. You, your families and your sense of purpose and duty still matter to me.