Pentagon: Probe possible after Fort Hood shooting

WASHINGTON – Worried that the Army might have missed red flags about the alleged shooter in the Fort Hood massacre, the Pentagon likely will launch an inquiry into how all the military services keep watch on other volatile soldiers hidden in their ranks, officials said Tuesday.

The probe, in its planning stages, would be a broad examination ranging beyond the specific case of Army psychiatrist Dr. Nidal Malik Hasan, officials said. The inquiry, they said, could look at personnel policies and the availability of mental health services for troubled troops.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants a unified probe 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 Tuesday.

“There are issues that need to be looked at departmentwide, 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 might be undetected inside the armed forces.

“I think we always have to be concerned about that,” Army Vice-Chief of Staff Peter Chiarelli said 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 probe 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 overseas deployment to Afghanistan even though aspects of his behavior and statements 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.