Fort Hood

An Army psychiatrist who was about to be deployed to Iraq allegedly armed himself with two guns and opened fire Thursday afternoon on the grounds of Ft. Hood, the country's largest military base, killing 12 people and injuring 31 others. Officials said that soldiers and civilians heroically ripped apart their clothes to make bandages for fallen colleagues, many of whom were waiting at the base's Soldier Readiness Center for medical and dental exams before deployment. The attack sent shock waves through the military establishment and raised questions about base security.

Sgt. Justin "Jon" Garza joined the Army eight years ago at age 20. When he arrived at Ft. Hood in June, the communications specialist had deployed six times to Europe and the Middle East, including two bloody stints in Iraq, and was due to return in September. He had broken up with his girlfriend, developed a drinking problem and gone AWOL. While he was AWOL, Garza threatened to kill himself with a shotgun. Military personnel took him to Ft. Hood's Darnall Army Medical Center. Psychiatrists there diagnosed him with an adjustment disorder and depression and sent him home with his best friend, a fellow soldier.

The FBI and the Army on Sunday were investigating whether the military psychiatrist suspected in the Ft. Hood shooting rampage had an association with militants at a mosque in Virginia or in cyberspace. A senior federal law enforcement official said there was no immediate evidence of such a link, nor of any direct connection between the suspected gunman, Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, and terrorist groups or individuals, either in person or online. Hasan is accused of opening fire at a readiness center in Ft. Hood, Texas, on Thursday, killing 13 and wounding 29. He reportedly had been depressed about his upcoming deployment to Afghanistan.

After eight grueling years of casualties overseas and suicides at home, this vast Army base took an unusual step recently to aid soldiers and their families facing overwhelming grief. A former chapel with stained-glass windows was transformed into a Spiritual Fitness Center. It offers counseling, soothing music, a religious library and meditation space, among other services, to help survivors cope with psychological trauma. "When you're hit, you don't break," explained Brig.

When an Army psychiatrist allegedly fired upon soldiers preparing to deploy to war, the highest victim toll was exacted from his peers in the counseling realm -- members of the Wisconsin-based 467th Medical Detachment. Three members of the 43-soldier unit were killed and several more injured before the suspected gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was brought down by two civilian police officers. A week later, the 467th embodies Ft Hood's struggle to return to normalcy. Its members are wrestling with the grief and trauma of the attack even as they prepare to leave for Afghanistan, where they will counsel soldiers struggling to deal with the stresses of the battlefield.

The 13 killed CAPT. JOHN GAFFANEY 56, San Diego Gaffaney was a psychiatric nurse who worked for San Diego County for more than 20 years, and on the day before the shooting he had arrived at Ft. Hood to prepare for deployment to Iraq. Gaffaney, born in Williston, N.D., had served in the Navy and the California National Guard, his family said. After Sept. 11, he tried to sign up again for military service. Although the Army Reserves at first declined, he got the call about two years ago asking him to rejoin, said his co-worker Stephanie Powell: "He wanted to help the boys in Iraq and Afghanistan deal with the trauma of what they were seeing."

He was trained by the military as a psychiatrist to help returning soldiers deal with the mental stress of combat, but by some reports, the horror stories he heard gradually began to change him too. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan turned against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and was becoming a more devout Muslim. When he recently got orders to deploy to Iraq on Nov. 28, he became distraught. "He never told us" he was going to deploy, his cousin Nader Hasan told Fox News. "We've known for the last five years that was probably his worst nightmare.

When an Army psychiatrist allegedly fired upon soldiers preparing to deploy to war, the highest victim toll was exacted from his peers in the counseling realm -- members of the Wisconsin-based 467th Medical Detachment. Three members of the 43-soldier unit were killed and several more injured before the suspected gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was brought down by two civilian police officers. A week later, the 467th embodies Ft Hood's struggle to return to normalcy. Its members are wrestling with the grief and trauma of the attack even as they prepare to leave for Afghanistan, where they will counsel soldiers struggling to deal with the stresses of the battlefield.

Sgt. Justin "Jon" Garza joined the Army eight years ago at age 20. When he arrived at Ft. Hood in June, the communications specialist had deployed six times to Europe and the Middle East, including two bloody stints in Iraq, and was due to return in September. He had broken up with his girlfriend, developed a drinking problem and gone AWOL. While he was AWOL, Garza threatened to kill himself with a shotgun. Military personnel took him to Ft. Hood's Darnall Army Medical Center. Psychiatrists there diagnosed him with an adjustment disorder and depression and sent him home with his best friend, a fellow soldier.

The FBI and the Army on Sunday were investigating whether the military psychiatrist suspected in the Ft. Hood shooting rampage had an association with militants at a mosque in Virginia or in cyberspace. A senior federal law enforcement official said there was no immediate evidence of such a link, nor of any direct connection between the suspected gunman, Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, and terrorist groups or individuals, either in person or online. Hasan is accused of opening fire at a readiness center in Ft. Hood, Texas, on Thursday, killing 13 and wounding 29. He reportedly had been depressed about his upcoming deployment to Afghanistan.

After eight grueling years of casualties overseas and suicides at home, this vast Army base took an unusual step recently to aid soldiers and their families facing overwhelming grief. A former chapel with stained-glass windows was transformed into a Spiritual Fitness Center. It offers counseling, soothing music, a religious library and meditation space, among other services, to help survivors cope with psychological trauma. "When you're hit, you don't break," explained Brig.

The 13 killed CAPT. JOHN GAFFANEY 56, San Diego Gaffaney was a psychiatric nurse who worked for San Diego County for more than 20 years, and on the day before the shooting he had arrived at Ft. Hood to prepare for deployment to Iraq. Gaffaney, born in Williston, N.D., had served in the Navy and the California National Guard, his family said. After Sept. 11, he tried to sign up again for military service. Although the Army Reserves at first declined, he got the call about two years ago asking him to rejoin, said his co-worker Stephanie Powell: "He wanted to help the boys in Iraq and Afghanistan deal with the trauma of what they were seeing."

An Army psychiatrist who was about to be deployed to Iraq allegedly armed himself with two guns and opened fire Thursday afternoon on the grounds of Ft. Hood, the country's largest military base, killing 12 people and injuring 31 others. Officials said that soldiers and civilians heroically ripped apart their clothes to make bandages for fallen colleagues, many of whom were waiting at the base's Soldier Readiness Center for medical and dental exams before deployment. The attack sent shock waves through the military establishment and raised questions about base security.

He was trained by the military as a psychiatrist to help returning soldiers deal with the mental stress of combat, but by some reports, the horror stories he heard gradually began to change him too. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan turned against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and was becoming a more devout Muslim. When he recently got orders to deploy to Iraq on Nov. 28, he became distraught. "He never told us" he was going to deploy, his cousin Nader Hasan told Fox News. "We've known for the last five years that was probably his worst nightmare.