The White House Broke Its Promise to the Victims of the First Fort Hood Shooting. Will History Repeat Itself? Just after last weeks shooting rampage at Fort Hood, President Barack Obama made a simple promise to survivors: We are going to do everything we can to make sure the community at Fort Hood has what it needs to deal with the current situation, but also any potential aftermath. For victims of the previous attack on Fort Hood in 2009, these words were a bitter reminder of the empty assurances they received from the Army and Obama administration officials, who pledged to take care of them and their families after the shooting. Retired Army Staff Sgt. Shawn Manning, who was shot six times and nearly suffocated on his own blood, recalls then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates handing his wife a business card and saying, If you ever need anything, call me. And yet, in the years since Maj. Nidal Hasan opened fire in a crowded medical center, leaving 13 people dead and 32 wounded, survivors have struggled to obtain medical care, psychiatric treatment, and financial benefits. Five years later, were still fighting, Manning says. Every time we get our hopes up, we run into another road block. Survivors of last weeks attack will likely face similar challenges. Under military rules, soldiers wounded in combat or terrorist attacks are supposed to receive a raft of benefits, including tax breaks, compensation, and special medical services. So are the families of those killed in action. But the Army doesnt consider either of the Fort Hood shootings to be combat or terrorism related. Although Hasan is an avowed jihadist with links to Al Qaeda, the Pentagon labeled that incident workplace violence— a term that seems more fitting for last weeks attack based on the sketchy details that have emerged about the alleged shooter, Spc. Ivan Lopez. The decision to brand the event workplace violence has had profound consequences for survivors of the first Fort Hood shooting, many of whom say theyve had difficulty providing for themselves and obtaining medical care due to the lack of benefits. (The Army declined to answer questions about specific services victims allege they were denied, but in a written statement to Mother Jones said that it provides emergency treatment and long term access to care to all of our beneficiaries, regardless of the circumstances under which these injuries took place. An Army spokeswoman also noted that the Fort Hood victims are eligible for a number of financial benefits, including life insurance and funeral allowances.) In late 2012, nearly 150 Fort Hood victims and their family members filed a lawsuit against the Department of Defense, accusing it of reckless disregard for the victims lives and emotional wellbeing. Theyre seeking unspecified damages for their suffering and lost benefits. -Erika
Posted on: Thu, 10 Apr 2014 22:00:01 +0000
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