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I've been deployed to Iraq for the past four months, and I've figured out how to cope with the stress that comes from being thousands of miles away from my family.

But I wasn't prepared for what happens when violence intrudes on my loved ones, who are supposed to be safe at home while I am in a combat zone. It flipped all of my attitudes toward deployment upside down. And the aftermath of the attacks at Fort Hood, allegedly committed by a fellow Muslim, also raised a different set of concerns -- not just about my family's safety, but about the perceptions of my faith.

I was working late on Thursday and decided to call my wife, at home on post in Fort Hood, Tex., to check in. She didn't answer. I tried again.

The story continues here.

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is pushing back a trip to Capitol Hill aimed at discussing the proposed health care overhaul with lawmakers.

Obama had planned to head to the Capitol on Friday. Now the White House schedule shows Obama planning to visit the Capitol on Saturday.

On Friday afternoon, Obama plans to visit Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama spent nearly two hours visiting wounded U.S. soldiers Friday afternoon.

The president met with 19 soldiers being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital, as well as the families of three soldiers in intensive care, and hospital staff. He also awarded two Purple Hearts.

The president's visit came a day after an Army psychiatrist who once trained at Walter Reed hospital allegedly killed 13 people at Fort Hood. The White House says the hospital visit was planned before the shootings.

Friday's visit was Obama's first to Walter Reed since taking office, though he visited as a presidential candidate.

Obama will attend a memorial service that will be scheduled at the convenience of the victims' families, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said.

Gibbs added that a memorial service is keeping Obama's schedule next week in flux. The president is scheduled to leave for Asia on Wednesday but wants to attend a memorial before starting the 10-day trip. Gibbs says the White House would not rule out delaying the trip because of the service.

With families of fallen soldiers living throughout the United States, the logistics of the mission could prove complicated.

However, it appears the effort to simplify may be under way:

A U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft will arrive at Dover Air Force Base the night of Nov. 6 with the remains of 12 U.S. Army soldiers and one U.S. Army civilian employee killed Nov. 5 during a gunman's rampage at Fort Hood, Texas.

Upon arrival the bodies will be transported to the Air Force Mortuary Operations Center.

The families of the Fort Hood servicemen have not authorized media coverage and media access to the base will be restricted.

A forensic investigation, including a complete autopsy, will be performed by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology's Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner. The autopsy results will be made available to the appropriate federal agencies active in the ongoing investigation into the shooting.

Army Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operations is working closely with affected families to determine their wishes regarding final preparation of their loved ones remains.

Transportation to Dover is not standard protocol for military members killed in the United States.

Previously: Aftermath

From a story on one of the soldiers wounded at Ft Hood: "Lunsford is in stable condition at the hospital in Temple, Tex., where hundreds waited in line to give blood for the wounded."

Staff Sgt. Joy Clark, 27, was standing in line when shots rang out, says her father, Jerry Nelson of Des Moines.

"She heard some noise and the soldier in front of her went down," he says. She tore off her jacket and knelt to apply it to his wound.

"That's when she got shot," Nelson says. The bullet tore through her left forearm and broke two bones. A soldier for seven years who was a medic before becoming an occupational therapist, his daughter reacted instinctively, Nelson says.

She was about to deploy to Afghanistan. Clark's husband, Josh Clark, drove all night to Temple, Texas, where his wife is hospitalized, Nelson says. He and his wife, Danise, are flying to Texas today.

"I'm glad that she's alive ... and very disappointed for those who lost their lives," Nelson says.

Cpl. Nathan Hewitt was hit by two bullets as he led other soldiers out of the Fort Hood building during the rampage, says his uncle Rex Deaton, who spoke with him two hours after the shooting.

Deaton told USA TODAY that Hewitt described one bullet grazing his hip and another hitting his calf.

In an interview with CBS' "The Early Show", Lt. Gen. Robert Cone said soldiers caught in the hail of bullets at an on-base medical facility were "really remarkable in terms of their reaction."

Witnesses told Cone that the suspected gunman, military psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, walked into the Soldier Readiness Center and opened fire in a "very calm, measured approach." Thirteen people - 12 of them military personnel - were killed and at least 30 were injured.

One soldier, who was wounded four times, told Cone that when he was on the ground, he "made the mistake of moving," and was shot again.

But the carnage could have been worse if not for soldiers' reactions.

"As the shooter would change directions, the soldiers would scramble on the ground and try to help each other to carry each other outside the building," Cone told "Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith.
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After realizing some of the soldiers were escaping, Cone said the gunman followed them outside where he continued to fire at them. He was eventually brought down by civilian police officer Kimberly Munley, who was the first responder on the scene. She shot the suspect four times while sustaining a gunshot wound herself, though she was in stable condition.

The toll may still rise:

W. Roy Smythe, head of surgery at Scott & White, said six of the wounded at the hospital remain in intensive care, while four have been moved to regular rooms. Smythe said the patients were shot in various parts of the body, and several had multiple gunshot wounds. Of the six still in intensive care, he said, two require additional surgery.

Although all the patients are stable at the moment, Smythe said, it was possible that the death toll could mount.

"I don't think there is an excellent chance that everyone will recover," he said. Several of the patients are "not at all out of the woods."

Names have not been officially released, but around the country family members have been notified. And the story isn't just about Ft Hood, it's about a cross-section of Americans - men, women, old, young - united by service to the country in which they fell. The youngest was 19, the oldest, 62. Many were health care professionals. One, 51-year old Russell Seager, was described by his uncle as a man who "joined the Army a few years back because he was a psychiatrist who wanted to help returning veterans adapt back to civilian life."

Their stories follow.

Hasan was born in Arlington to Palestinian immigrants from near Jerusalem who later settled in Vinton.

Neighbors on Vinton's Ramada Road remembered him as a "studious" boy who went by "Michael."

While his brother Eyad -- "Eddie" -- would play football with Zachary Garlick, 21, who lived across the street, Michael didn't come out to play much.

"Michael was more school and less play," said Zachary Garlick. "He'd get home and he'd have his book bag, and he'd go straight inside."

That quiet demeanor and apparent social awkwardness would follow Hasan into adulthood.

Hasan's family settled in an apartment on Lancelot Lane off Cove Road in Northwest Roanoke, the 1987 Roanoke City Directory shows.

Hasan's father, Malik Awadallah Hasan, immigrated from Palestine to Virginia in 1962, when he was 16, stories in the Times' archives show. He moved to Roanoke in 1985, with his wife, Hanan Ismail "Nora" Hasan, following in 1986. Neighbors on Ramada Road said they moved to the Vinton neighborhood in the early 1990s.

The Hasans ran the infamous Capitol Restaurant on the Roanoke City Market from 1987 to 1995. It was a dive beer hall and diner with a bad reputation and a lot of down-and-out regulars. The Hasans closed the Capitol to open the short-lived, Mediterranean-themed Mount Olive on Jefferson Street.

Other details of his later years are emerging.

Great comment here: "To me, this is just a guy that, for whatever reason, decided to cut ranks and join the other side." I agree.

And this appears to be the now-frequently mentioned message board comment - allegedly from the Major - that supposedly brought him to the attention of authorities:

There was a grenade thrown amongs a group of American soldiers. One of the soldiers, feeling that it was to late for everyone to flee jumped on the grave with the intention of saving his comrades. Indeed he saved them. He inentionally took his life (suicide) for a noble cause i.e. saving the lives of his soldier. To say that this soldier committed suicide is inappropriate. Its more appropriate to say he is a brave hero that sacrificed his life for a more noble cause. Scholars have paralled this to suicide bombers whose intention, by sacrificing their lives, is to help save Muslims by killing enemy soldiers. If one suicide bomber can kill 100 enemy soldiers because they were caught off guard that would be considered a strategic victory. Their intention is not to die because of some despair. The same can be said for the Kamikazees in Japan. They died (via crashing their planes into ships) to kill the enemies for the homeland. You can call them crazy i you want but their act was not one of suicide that is despised by Islam. So the scholars main point is that "IT SEEMS AS THOUGH YOUR INTENTION IS THE MAIN ISSUE" and Allah (SWT) knows best.

If you live in the Ft Hood area, blood donors are needed.

Blood donations are being accepted at Scott & White Blood Center until 6 p.m. today and all blood types are needed at this time. No appointment is necessary. Currently the wait is approximately 30-45 minutes.

Remember to bring a photo ID when donating and please make sure you have eaten a good meal prior to donation.

The hospital reports "10 people were transported to Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple yesterday after a shooting incident at the base."

According to local news "victims were being transported to Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center where they were triaged and sent on to other hospitals. Victims were flown to Scott & White Hospital in Temple and to Seton Hospital in Round Rock. Other victims were also taken to Metroplex Hospital in Killeen."
]]> http://www.mudvillegazette.com/032860.html http://www.mudvillegazette.com/032860.html Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:19:10 -0500 "I hear that Dr. Joe Medicine Crow was around, and so I want to give a shout-out to that Congressional Medal of Honor winner. It's good to see you." - President Obama, in remarks that preceded his statement on Ft Hood.

But for the record, while Joe Medicine Crow sounds like an incredible and accomplished person whose service during WWII is awe-inspiring, he has not received America's highest military medal:

Joseph Medicine Crow (or Joe Medicine Crow, full name Joseph Medicine Crow-High Bird, born October 27, 1913) is a Crow historian and author. He is also an enrolled member of the Crow Nation of Native Americans. His writings on Native American history and reservation culture are considered seminal works, but he is best known for his writings and lectures concerning the Battle of Little Big Horn. He is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Bronze Star Medal, the Congressional Gold Medal and the Légion d'honneur.

President Obama did present him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in August of this year.

More on this incredible man here.

Consider donating to the Soldiers' Angels Valour-IT fundraiser, running through November 11 (Veterans Day). We're raising money for technology that reconnects wounded warriors and supports their recovery.

Every cent raised for Project Valour-IT goes directly to the purchase and shipment of laptops and other technology for severely wounded service members, aiding in their recovery and reconnecting them to the world. As of October 2009, Valour-IT has distributed over 4100 laptops to severely wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines across the country, and is now expanding its mission to include other technology that supports physical and psychological recovery.

Donate here.

The hero cop who ended the bloody rampage at Fort Hood had been directing traffic moments before she confronted the gunman and pumped four bullets into him despite being shot herself.

Civilian police Sgt. Kimberly Munley and her partner responded within three minutes of reported gunfire Thursday afternoon, Lt. Gen. Bob Cone said Friday.

Colonel Steven Braverman, commander of the base hospital and Major Hasan's supervisor, said that Sergeant Munley was in a stable condition in a nearby community hospital.

Her Twitter biography reads: "I live a good life ... a hard one, but I go to sleep peacefully @ night knowing that I may have made a difference in someone's life."

More - a slightly different version of the story:

The police officer who brought down a gunman after he went on a shooting rampage at the Fort Hood Army base here was on the way to have her car repaired when she responded to a police radio report of gunfire at a center where soldiers are processed before being sent overseas, the authorities said Friday.

An incredible story - read the whole thing.

In other news:

The news of the mass shooting at Fort Hood Thursday hit close to home for some Utahns. One man says his daughter heard the shooter exclaim "Allah Akbar" as he opened fire.

We want to stress that no government or military officials are reporting that and there is no way for us to independently confirm that it is true.
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"A person behind counter stood up, and he said, 'Allah Akbar!' And just opened up on everybody," the father told us.

Again, that's what the man tells us his daughter said, but no one else is saying that and we cannot confirm whether it's true. He, himself a military veteran, says at first his daughter thought it was some sort of drill but quickly discovered it wasn't.

"It was within a second or two she realized it was real because the person right next to her was shot and killed instantly," he said.

Earliest report:

"I was here for a 2 p.m. graduation,"Retired Army Col. Greg Schannep said. "A I drove up, I heard some shots. A soldier came running past me and said 'sir there is someone shooting.'

"As he ran past me I saw blood on his back. I don't think he even knew he had been shot. He has since been treated and should be OK," he said.

"I can tell you there are casualties," Schannep said.

"I heard three or four volleys of shots with eight to 12 shots in each volley. Initially, I thought it was a training exercise," he said.

Just as the tragedy was unfolding at Fort Hood, officials from a veterans group based in Austin were meeting in Washington with the staff of the Senate Armed Services Committee to plead for more mental health counselors for U.S. soldiers coming home from war.

"We warned the military about this. We warned the military about the need to increase the number of mental health care providers. We warned the military about lowering recruiting standards, about the medical exams for soldiers coming back from the war and needing mental health care and brain injury exams."

Later they would learn the killer was a mental health care provider - one who had never deployed. Other than that, we'll acknowledge that lowered recruiting standards could have been a factor, but there's an obvious lesson about jumping to conclusions without facts here.

What name did this veterans group chose for itself? "Veterans for Common Sense".

But as ridiculous as that seems in hindsight, this defense of the Ft Hood killer (part of a longer piece explaining that the soldiers got what they deserved) might be the most ignorant bit of typing I've ever seen:

"There are also reports that he had recently been the victim of a hate crime: His car was vandalized, with the word "Allah" scratched into the paint, and he was reportedly extremely upset by it."

But it's early; plenty of people will have the chance to top it, and many are trying their very best.

It shouldn't have to be emphasized that not every Muslim is a murderous fundamentalist, or that not all mass murderers are Muslims, but common sense ain't so common anymore - as the very old saying goes.

Sure, the Major was a Muslim. Sure, the Major was "anti-war" (at least at the time of the shootings). Sure, he was a psychiatric medical professional. Sure, he set his sites upon and fired his weapons into the bodies of United States military troops. And this all leads up to... what again? Nothing more than what has been previously stated. He was a crazed lunatic of a military psychiatrist who was an anti-war religious guy. That's it -- unless and until we learn there is more to the story. Until anything more is confirmed, let's try to refrain from becoming bigotted racists, shall we?

I agree that his actions reflect on him, and no more on other Muslims than on other soldiers.

More: Know your mass murderer: Nidal Malik Hasan