Pentagon: Wide probe likely after Fort Hood

Pentagon: Wide probe likely after Fort Hood
By Anne Gearan - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Nov 17, 2009 19:47:32 EST

WASHINGTON — Worried that the Army may have missed warning flags about the mental state of the alleged shooter in the Fort Hood massacre, the Pentagon probably will open an inquiry into how all the military services keep watch on other volatile soldiers hidden in their ranks, officials said.

The investigation, still in the planning stages, would be a broad examination ranging beyond the specific case of Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist accused in the 13 Fort Hood, Texas, killings, officials said. The inquiry, they said, could look at personnel policies and the availability of mental health services for troubled personnel.

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

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


Rest oif article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/11/ap_hood_investigation_111709/