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Tragedy at Fort Hood Fails to Kill Morale

November is National Military Family Appreciation month. Nobody works harder at protecting American freedom than our brave men and women who deploy to combat zones, those who stay behind to guard the fort, and the brave spouses that stay behind guarding the home.

Military spouses, which have their own day early in the year, have to learn to be alone for months at a time just waiting for the day they can run towards their spouse across the glistening tarmac. They prepare just as much as any soldier does and life in the military is a never ending cycle where the only constant is change.

Families are supported by Readiness Programs that prepare them for deployments. They learn to be supportive, faithful to the work of the Nation, and stand ready and prepared for any outcome. The Army runs one of the strongest and most structured Family Readiness Programs out of all the services and the spouses are resilient because of the success of the Programs. But nothing could have prepared the families of those who lost their lives under the fire of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan at Ft. Hood on November 5th, 2009.

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, is responsible for killing 13 people  and injuring over 30. As a psychiatrist, Maj. Hasan helped American soldiers deal with the pressures of military and home life. One psychiatrist who had worked with Maj. Hasan, who requested to remain anonymous, told NPR that “he was being treated as a Muslim by the Army — an Arab — and not as an American. He felt he was being discriminated against.” Maj. Hasan was also dreading a future deployment to Afghanistan or Iraq. If he was torn about deploying because he felt he had an affinity to one of those nations, then he was never American to begin with.

Those that lost their lives in the violence were “Americans of every race, faith and station. They were Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus and nonbelievers,” according to NPR. They are:

* Capt. John P. Gaffaney, 54, of San Diego, Calif., assigned to the 1908th Medical Company, Independence, Mo.

* Capt. Russell Seager, 41, of Racine, Wis., assigned to the 467th Medical Company, Madison, Wis.

* Staff Sgt. Justin Decrow, 32, of Plymouth, Ind., assigned to the 16th Signal Company, Fort Hood, Texas.

* Sgt. Amy Krueger, 29, of Kiel, Wis., assigned to the 467th Medical Company, Madison, Wis.

* Spc. Jason Hunt, 22, of Tillman, Okla., assigned to the 1st Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

* Spc. Frederick Greene, 29, of Mountain City, Tenn., assigned to the 16th Signal Company, Fort Hood, Texas.

* Pfc. Aaron Nemelka, 19, of West Jordan, Utah., assigned to the 510th Engineer Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas.

* Pfc. Michael Pearson, 22, of Bolinbrook, Ill., assigned to the 510th Engineer Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas.

* Spc. Kham Xiong, 23, of St. Paul, Minn., assigned to the 510th Engineer Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas.

* Pvt. Francheska Velez, 21, of Chicago, Ill., assigned to the 15th Combat Support Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas.

* Mr. Michael Cahill of Cameron, Texas., a civilian employee on Fort Hood.

It is the worst kind of injustice for the families and the Nation to take the life of a soldier who is ready to run into battle. According to National Post, Maj. Hasan has been taken of the respirator, but is still in intensive care.

Public donations can be made to the families involved in the shooting by going to the official Ft. Hood Homepage and clicking on the “Public Donations to Help Families of Victims” link.

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