Ft. Hood investigation under way

I recently read an article on abcnews.com entitled Pentagon Probe Leaders Visit Fort Hood to Begin Investigation. It stated that today November 24th, 2009 the Pentagon sent investigators to Ft. Hood to gather information as to how to prevent future incidents from happening. The investigation will go on a course of 45 days in which former Secretary of the army, Togo West, said they will examine policies and procedures

"that have to do with how we deal with service members who may ... cause trouble or harm to their fellows." After the terrible Ft. Hood massacre on November 5, 2009 many people have been asking themselves what would drive someone to that breaking point.

Investigators are also to evaluate first responders. Former Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Vernon Clark and head of the investigation board along with Togo stated that ,"the story about how the first-responder team performed is very, very encouraging." In the article it is also mentioned that the Ft. Hood shooter ,Army Major Nidal Hasan, will face 13 counts of premeditated murder and is to be tried in military court. His lawyer issued a statement saying that there is a possibility of pleading not guilty with an insanity defense.

In my professional opinion the investigation can do a lot of good not only for situations in military bases but also in civilian cases. As far as Nidal Hasan pleading not guilty due to insanity I believe that due to the extent of the damage he caused it would not help as much in his defense.