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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

DOD Not Prepared for Internal Threat,|Says Pentagon Report on Fort Hood Killings

WASHINGTON (CN) - The Pentagon released its review of the Fort Hood shooting on Friday, saying the military must improve communication and keep a closer eye on its members to prevent similar attacks in the future. "DoD policies are not optimized for countering internal threats," the report states.

"We believe a gap exists in providing information to the right people," it continued, while also blaming several officers for not following protocol.

The report analyzes the November attack at a military base in Fort Hood, Texas, where a soldier opened fire, killing 13 people and injured 43 others.

Major Nidal Malik Hasan - who reportedly has unpredictable behavior and was in communication with a radical cleric - was the military psychiatrist accused of the shootings.

The report seeks to determine how a similar situation could be prevented in the future.

It suggested that officers maintain detailed performance reports to better track the behavior of military members and proposed that lower-rung leaders be taught to recognize behavior of dangerous service people.

The report also recommended that the Defense Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation cooperate better. The F.B.I heads an inter-agency terrorism task force.

Apart from the suggested improvements, the analysis largely praised protocols, but said they weren't followed.

"We conclude that although the policies we reviewed were generally adequate, several officers failed to comply with those policies when taking actions regarding the alleged perpetrator," it reads, specifying that medical officers failed to look beyond Hasan's academic records.

Several officers could face punishment for failing to properly supervise Hasan.

The White House is expected to comment later in the day on the findings.

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