mass military murder

I very deliberately did not post or comment about the mass murder at Fort Hood’s Soldier Readiness Center yesterday, simply because I am loathe to contribute to the wrong side of the signal-to-noise ratio – cutting-edge information is important, but I feel better presenting factual information.
First, let me say that my thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of those murdered and wounded in yesterday’s incident… military families, by their very nature, have to come to terms with the fact that their servicemembers might not come home, but those thoughts typically revolve around deployments, warzones, and other overseas activities. Having this happen literally in their own home town has to be as devstating to them as it would be to any of us.
So what do we know about this incident?
1. 13 people were murdered, and an additional 30 were wounded, with 28 of those remaining in a hospital today in stable condition. As a general rule, the military will not release the names of injured or killed servicemembers until families have been notified, though an unofficial list of victims is available – it appears as though one of the women who was murdered was pregnant.
2. There was only one shooter, and he is currently in custody. He is a United States Army Major, served as a pschiatric doctor at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, and received his medical degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Services in Bethesda. He is a Muslim, but not a recent convert – he was raised as one from childhood – however, it is reported he was shouting “Allahu Ackbar” before/during the shooting. He had been seeking discharge from the military for quite some time, but was preparing for an overseas deployment, despite being “mortified” at the idea. He apparently used two handguns, and was himself shot four times, though he is currently in a hospital, on a respirator. The FBI had been investigating whether or not he was the author of pro-suicide-bombing weblog comments/posts.
3. Those four shots that brought down the major were fired by Sergeant Kim Munley, a civilian police officer who was on a routine traffic patrol at the base when the shooting started. This undeniable hero made it to the scene of the murders within three minutes, and engaged the Major, getting shot in the leg once herself. Sergeant Munley received treatment for her wounds, and is currently recovering in the hospital, in stable condition.
4. Other individuals were detained after the incident, but were released – thus far, it is believed the Major acted alone. No official motive has been publicized as yet.
5. On military bases in America, typically only MPs (Military Police) and other security guards (often private firms or on/off-duty police officers) carry firearms on-base (at Naval bases, deck watches also carry firearms). I cannot speak to all military bases, but of the five I served at, none of them allowed the carrying of any arms outside of official duties, even in states where concealed/open carry was legal. Additionally, if a servicemember lived on-base, whatever privately-owned firearms they possessed had to be checked into the base armory, checked out only when leaving the base (we could not even use on-base ranges), and checked back in upon their return. At most of those five bases, storing firearms at the armory required a letter of approval from the servicemember’s CO (Commanding Officer). Disobeying of the storage or check-in/out proceedures could be quantified as “disobeying a lawful order”, and be punishable under the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice), with the maximum (but unlikely) punishment being a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay an allowances, and confinement for two years.
6. The UCMJ allows for the possibility of a death sentence to be adjudged in 14 separate offenses, of which murder is one. If the Major is to be charged with murder, he will be tried before a General Court Martial, comprised of a military judge and at least five military members (in this case, commissioned officers). In all courts martial, the presumption of innocence is a given, guilt must be established beyond a reasonable doubt, and the burden of proof resides upon the United States, not the accused. As for the charges, the overarching concept of murder includes the option of “premeditated”, “intent to kill or inflict great bodily harm”, “acts inherently dangerous to another”, and/or “during certain offenses (such as burglary, rape, etc.)”. The first and the last have the option of a death sentence (with a minimum requirement of life-with-possibility-of-parole), while the middle two are punishable by anything other than death. (Of interesting note, assuming premeditation charges, the Major may not plead “guilty”, due to the fact that the death penalty is an option – the UCMJ has some odd rules.) Conviction of murder requires a 2/3s vote, life sentencing requires a 3/4 vote, and the death penalty requires a unanimous vote – in addition to the President signing off on it. The current Army method of execution is lethal injection, according to Army Regulation 190-55, though that method has never actually been employed (only nine inmates await execution at Fort Leavenworth’s Special Housing Unit). (For those interested, this is all public, if dry, knowledge – I am not, nor was not, a JAG during my time in the military, and while I did receive some specific training on the UCMJ, the above information is not authoritative, not necessarily the official stance of the US Military, and should not be treated as or considered to be an official representation of the US Military or the UCMJ. The above information was presented solely for educational purposes, and as an attempt to explain how the military justice system works to those unfamiliar with it.)
Those are the facts, as I know them, at the time that I wrote them – they are probably already out of date by the time I push the “Publish” button. For anyone interested in supporting the families of the victims of this tragedy, it would appear that Soldiers’ Angels are working on putting something together. Additionally, it may be difficult to remember in circumstances such as these, but blaming the Major’s religion is as bad as blaming firearms for incidents like these. This is not to say that we should ignore his religion and sweep it under the carpet (as the mainstream media is), but so far as we know, at the moment, this individual acted alone.
Finally, some of the best of us died today – individuals who volunteered to lay their life down for their country and for their fellow citizens. Remember them, remember their friends and families, and remember that our country has been made great by men and women like them.
In closing, it may be the more vindictive side of me writing this, but I cannot but to feel some grim satisfaction at these words from Lieutenant General Bob Cone, Fort Hood’s military spokesman, regarding the Major: “I would say his death is not imminent.”
(Just for clarification, the Major’s name was not omitted due to its Muslim-sounding nature, but rather due to the self-imposed policy of my posts.)