Ft. Hood, it is the Army's headquarters for heavy armor.................
They are now reporting that the shooters as well as the victims are all soldiers.
**sighs**
I am frankly NOT surprised this has happened. The suicide rate and the PTSD rate is significant now.
In addition to that the Army has been using what is called STOP LOSS
A stop loss is when your time is up and you want to discharge and the military denies the request
and instead ships you off to wherever they decide you are needed.
I am somewhat knowledgeable due to what happened in my own
family.
When my father put in his papers at 25
the Navy denied him retirement and instead gave him two options:
1) they could cut accompanied or
2) unaccompanied
These were his only options. Mom had put money down on a house here in Oregon and he had even
been offered a job.
The Navy determined he was needed so were uninterested claiming that his
specialty was in high demand.
There have been over 81, 000 stop losses connected to Iraq and Afghanistan
I cannot but believe that that is part of the stress in addition to the daily grind that has created this scenario
at Ft. Hood AND am not surprised that the shooting took place in the readiness center........ie those getting
ready to deploy or have just returned.......
I witnessed significant morale problems from those who had come out of sea duty into equally grueling
conditions on shore.
That is the same thing the troops at Hood are in right now.........
I just wish Washington had a clue, but they just commit and don't seem to consider what it is doing to
the bodies and minds of those who serve.
***Steps down off soapbox***
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And it does matter. But again, I'm more inclined to wait to hear what actually happened than to sit around speculating about motive.
It is NOT surprising given the high amount of PTSD and the suicide rates that exist now among active duty and vets.........What is also disturbing is the troops are being medicated, if they do seek help, which is disaster in combat operations. That is putting a bandaid on a huge gaping wound.
It is tragic beyond belief not only for the personnel but their
families who suffer also and it often does not stop once they leave the service; it becomes then a problem for VA, if they seek help, but so often they do not.
I observed morale issues in the military and was involved in issues in my last job. They were often horrific, not only for vets but their family members.
It is why I made the observations that I did about Washington.
I am sorry my comments have been upsetting to you.
Heart wrenching