Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants a unified inquiry that goes beyond the Army, but has not decided how far-reaching the inquiry would be or who would lead it, Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said yesterday. “There are issues that need to be looked at department-wide, and the focus at this point is trying to figure out some of these questions,’’ Morrell said.
The Army’s number two officer said yesterday officials fear more people like Hasan may be undetected inside the armed forces.
“I think we always have to be concerned about that,’’ said Peter Chiarelli, Army vice chief of staff general, 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 investigation 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 deployment to Afghanistan even though aspects of his behavior 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.
The Army chief of staff, General George Casey, had said the service would take a hard look at itself following 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 investigation 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.
