The Triangle

Issue date: 11/20/09 Section: Ed-Op

Media Credit: Courtney Perry Dallas Morning News/MCT Campus

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an estimated 26.6 percent of all citizens over the age of 18 suffer from mental illness in America, most typically resulting from high stress levels. Because of our country's culture, it isn't difficult to become overwhelmed-we are in a debilitating recession with 24-hour news portraying grisly crimes, not to mention the "terror index," self-managed retirement plans, unemployment rates-and the list goes on. But when ordinary citizens house such high levels of tension that causes stress-related mental illnesses to be on the rise, how are psychological disorders treated within the military?

Judging from the tragedy at Fort Hood, not very well-an army psychiatrist randomly opened fire Nov. 5, 2009, killing 12 and injuring 31. It was the worst mass shooting to occur on an army base in United States history. The shooter was a 39-year-old veteran named Nidal Malik Hasan.

Even more disturbing, this tragedy is added to an already long laundry list of violence at Fort Hood. In July 2008, a married couple returning from Iraq to Fort Hood was killed in a murder-suicide, initiated by the husband. In July 2009, one member of the First Cavalry Division murdered another at a Fort Hood party. Not long after, Sgt. Justin Lee Garza, thought to be under stress from two deployments, committed suicide outside the base.

In light of the growing violence at Fort Hood and an increase in patients at their counseling center, Hasan was brought in to help deal with the demand. It was reported that he was set to deploy to Afghanistan soon, and was extremely unhappy about it. He publicly denounced the war and was openly hoping that Barack Obama would have ended Middle Eastern occupancy by the time of his deployment.

While dreading his imminent deployment, Hasan treated soldiers at the Fort Hood therapy center. On a daily basis, he listened to horror stories from soldiers who were being treated for depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, all while relishing in his own memories from deployments similar to those who he was treating. Private Michael Kern, a soldier who went to Fort Hood's therapy center regularly, told The Telegraph, "If [he] told you all [his] stories, you'd have nightmares."

In addition to an obvious over-exposure to stress and a probable case of PTSD (not to mention likely other undiagnosed psychiatric disorders), Hasan was apparently corresponding or attempting to correspond with an anti-United States terrorist group. Typically, individuals with an unstable mentality have no qualms with submerging themselves in extremist views. In this case, Hasan's mental illness may have caused him to associate himself with certain extremist groups, ultimately leading to an undeniable tragic outburst of violence.

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