Fort Hood review recommends action against several officers

A review panel charged with examining the Defense Department's policies and programs related to the Nov. 5, 2009, shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, recommended the Army hold accountable several officers who failed to heed warnings about the alleged shooter and to hold him to appropriate standards.

Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a psychiatrist, was charged in the shootings, which killed 13 people and wounded 43. Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered the review, separate from an ongoing criminal investigation, to examine department policies that might have contributed to the tragedy.

"We believe some medical officers failed to apply appropriate judgment and standards of officership with respect to the alleged perpetrator," the report stated.

"We also found that some medical officers failed to include the alleged perpetrator's overall performance as an officer, rather than solely his academic performance, in his formal performance evaluations," panelists noted. "Both types of failures, in our view, were significant and warrant immediate attention."

Former Army Secretary Togo West and retired Navy Adm. Vern Clark co-chaired the review panel.

During a Pentagon briefing on Friday, West declined to say how many officers should be held accountable or what actions the Army should take against them.

The report cited discrepancies between Hasan's official performance records and his actual performance during training, residency and a fellowship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

The report also noted Hasan held an active and current secret security clearance, based on a February 2008 national agency check and local agency and credit checks. While the background investigation was conducted according to current guidelines, it didn't include interviews with Hasan and his co-workers and supervisors, or expanded character references. A more thorough investigation might have resulted in his clearance being revoked and his pending deployment reassessed, the review found. As such, the review panel recommended updating background check policies.

The report singled out for praise the emergency response by military and civilian employees at Fort Hood immediately following the shootings. The after-action report and lessons learned briefed to Clark and West the following day were the best Clark had seen in a 37-year military career, he said.

West estimated that seven to eight minutes elapsed between the time the first shot was fired and when Hasan was taken into custody. Installation officials were well-prepared for a mass casualty event, and "that preparation showed," he said, adding that undoubtedly lives were saved as a result.

The report makes a range of recommendations for updating and strengthening department policies to identify and respond to radicalized service members.