MCT Campus

The recent shooting at Army base Fort Hood is a tragedy that happened because of our negligence. The shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who killed 13 and left 30 others wounded, was one of our own military psychiatrists.

While media coverage of this event has focused on the Muslim background of the shooter, it is also important to emphasize that his job was to help men and women deal with the personal challenges associated with being in the military. Hasan was part of the support program for the Army, yet no one was inquiring about his well-being.

The shooting draws attention to the weakness of resources provided to the military and has prompted the Pentagon to consider reviewing military watchdog and psychological services. This review is a crucial initiative. President Barack Obama, as our commander in chief, needs to be considering the troops’ quality of life.

With the largest, most powerful military in the world, we easily assume we are doing the right thing and taking care of our troops. But the shooting at Fort Hood demonstrates why the current training and deployment practices of our strong military need to be updated.
Hasan, an Army psychiatrist, constantly witnessed the psychological harm caused by war.

He treated troops who were sent back to the United States because they had attempted suicide in Iraq or Afghanistan. His job was to confront some of the harshest outcomes of the military experience and no one was paying careful attention to him. While inquiries into the exact motives of the shooter are ongoing, the incident has certainly exposed the necessity for a review of military services.

We desperately need to weigh the effectiveness of our entire military machine against the physical and mental cost endured by the troops. Obama’s visit to Dover Air Force Base to view the caskets of troops killed in Afghanistan is a step in the right direction of recognizing losses suffered by the military. Nonetheless, there is no sign of an effective enhancement of services or individualized attention to those who are in active duty.

Not far from our small student community of San Diego State, thousands of men and women are engaged in the military way of life. These people are based at Camp Pendleton and other locations around San Diego.

When Obama considers increasing troops to Afghanistan while he gazes at the caskets of our fallen troops coming home, he should remember that it is not only death in combat that plagues the troops of the U.S. military. The troops’ challenges extend beyond the obvious, into something we can improve right here at home, in San Diego.

Obama is considering whether to send thousands more to the Middle East. Marines who are based in San Diego comprise approximately one-forth of the total Marine troops currently in Afghanistan. A tragedy like the one at Fort Hood could happen again and it could happen here unless preventive steps are taken.

The military personnel around us in San Diego are making a great sacrifice. They deserve to have the president, as well as the rest of the nation, inquiring as to whether they are receiving the attention and treatment they need.

In times of war, the well-being of the troops should be a top priority. The Pentagon’s proposed review of psychological and other military support services is essential to insuring troops’ health and safety.

We have to take care of the most important aspect of the military 8212; the people.

8212;Sally Schilling is a political science senior.

8212;This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec. Send e-mail to opinion@thedailyaztec.com. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Include your full name, major and year in school.