The Ft. Hood Massacre

Okay folks...I have to leave for a bit here and quite frankly, I'm not ready to post about the massacre that happened at Ft. Hood today in Texas.

The most important message is of sympathy and support for the families of those lost and wounded. And an eternal gratitude for the sacrifice of those we lost today.

I will post about this later tonight and believe me, there will be NOTHING held back. The killer, the cowardly assassin of these soldiers of America was:

Nidal Malik Hasan

from CNN:

Officials: 11 killed, plus gunman, in Fort
Hood shootings

(CNN) -- Eleven people plus a gunman were dead and 31 wounded
after the gunman opened fire Thursday on a soldier-processing center at Fort
Hood, Texas, officials said.
The gunman was a soldier, and two other
soldiers have been detained as suspects, Army Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said.
The
slain gunman was identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, a law enforcement
source told CNN. Licensed in Virginia, Hasan was a psychiatrist who previously
worked at Walter Reed Army Medical Center but more recently was practicing at
Darnall Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, according to professional records.
Ten of the other dead also were soldiers, while the remaining one was a
civilian police officer who was working as a contractor on the base, Cone said.
Two of the injured were in "very serious" condition, Fort Hood spokesman
Christopher Hogue said.

More than one shooter may have been involved,
Cone said.
"All the casualties took place at the initial incident, that took
place at 13:30 [1:30 p.m. CT], at the soldier readiness facility," Cone
said.

The primary shooter had two weapons, both handguns, he said.
"The local police response forces were there relatively quickly and killed
the confirmed shooter," Cone said.
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said
she was told that the soldiers at the readiness facility "were filling out paper
processing to go to Iraq or Afghanistan," according to CNN affiliate KXAN in
Austin, Texas.

A senior officer who was playing golf Thursday about 2.5
miles from the attack said he witnessed the arrest of one of the two surviving
suspects.
Shortly after the shooting, military police told him to clear the
course, and he saw other MPs surround the building that held the golf carts, he
said. He ducked into a nearby house for cover as 30 to 40 cars carrying MPs
approached, he said.
A congressional aide said he was on the post to attend
a graduation service when he saw a soldier with blood on his uniform near the
building where the service was being held, the Austin American-Statesman
reported.
Greg Schannep, an aide to U.S. Rep. John Carter, said the soldier
ran past him and said a man was shooting. He said the soldier appeared to be
injured in a shoulder, the American-Statesman reported.
President Obama
called the shootings "tragic" and "a horrific outburst of violence." He
expressed his condolences for the shooting victims.
"These are men and women
who have made the selfless and courageous decision to risk, and at times give,
their lives to protect the rest of us on a daily basis," Obama said. "It's
difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas. It is
horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil."
Officials at Fort Hood, which is the Army's largest U.S. post, were asking
people there to stay away from windows, CNN affiliate KXXV said. The incident
took place at the sports dome, now known as the soldier readiness area, the
station reported.
The Army has asked the FBI to look into the background of
the suspects, Cone said.
On the Fort Hood Web site, the word "closed" is
posted with the statement, "Effective immediately, Fort Hood is closed.
Organizations/units are instructed to execute a 100 percent accountability of
all personnel."
Fort Hood, with about 40,000 troops, is home to the Army's
1st Cavalry Division and elements of the 4th Infantry Division, as well as the
3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and the 13th Corps Support Command. It is located
near Killeen, Texas.
At least 25,000 people are at Fort Hood on any given
day, an Army spokesman at the Pentagon said.
Fort Hood is home to the
Warrior Combat Stress Reset Program, which is designed to help soldiers overcome
combat stress issues.
In June, Fort Hood's commander, Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch,
told CNN that he was trying to ease the kind of stresses soldiers face. He has
pushed for soldiers working a day schedule to return home for dinner by 6 p.m.,
and required his personal authorization for anyone working weekends. At the
time, two soldiers stationed there had committed suicide in 2009 -- a rate well
below those of other posts.