Pentagon: Wide probe likely in wake of shootings at base

WASHINGTON (AP) — Worried that the Army may have missed red flags about the shooting suspect in the Fort Hood massacre, the Pentagon will likely launch an inquiry into how all the military services keep watch on other volatile soldiers hidden in their ranks, officials said Tuesday.

The probe, still in the planning stages, would be a broad examination ranging beyond the specific case of Army psychiatrist Dr. Nidal Malik Hasan, officials said. The inquiry, they said, could look at personnel policies and the availability of mental-health services for troubled troops.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants a unified probe that goes beyond the Army, but he has not decided how far-reaching the inquiry would be or who would lead it, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said Tuesday.

“There are issues that need to be looked at departmentwide, and the focus at this point is trying to figure out some of these questions,” Morrell said.

The Army’s No. 2 officer bluntly said Tuesday that officials fear more people like Hasan may be undetected inside the armed forces.

“I think we always have to be concerned about that,” Army Vice-Chief of Staff General Peter Chiarelli said as he outlined separate efforts to curb rising suicide rates in the Army. The service has been the combat force most affected by the stress of fighting two wars.

The Army has been preparing for its own examination of what went wrong in the Hasan case and ways to prevent a similar attack. That probe could stand alone or be part of a larger inquiry.

Hasan apparently slipped through cracks in the Army’s personnel and mental-health systems, keeping his job and readying for overseas deployment to Afghanistan even though aspects of his behavior and statements had alarmed co-workers and others.

Hasan, an Army major, is accused of killing 13 people when he opened fire Nov. 5 on mostly unarmed soldiers and civilians at the Texas base. He is charged with murder and is expected to be tried in a military court.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey had said that the service would take a hard look at itself in the wake of the deaths.

Any inquiry would have to be careful not to overlap the criminal investigation and legal case against Hasan.

Chiarelli said the Army has begun collecting information that would go into the investigation. He would not discuss the probe beyond that but said the Army is trying to keep better tabs on mental health and improve services for the mentally ill or troubled.

The investigation would consider some questions Morrell described as immediate, although he would not be specific, and some he said will take longer to frame and sort through.

Another official said there will be a speedy look at whether the military has missed danger signs in other cases. Still, another said, one possibility would be to bring in outsiders to examine practices and safeguards. Those officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still being organized.

Two military officials said Tuesday that Casey is looking at forming an investigative panel. It would look at Hasan as a whole, his career development and at what point someone should have or might have raised an alarm, one of the officials said.