Fort Hood massacre stuns Valley veterans

Salvador Salinas had just returned home from a medical appointment Thursday afternoon when his son Daniel asked if he knew what happened at Fort Hood.

When Salinas said no, his son told him there had been a shooting that left 12 soldiers dead and 30 injured at Fort Hood, one of the largest military bases in the United States.

Salinas, 58, a 19-year veteran of the U.S. Army who heads the Cameron County Veterans Office, was shocked by the Fort Hood shooting. He was more stunned that the shooter was a U.S. Army major. He asked himself how it could happen and who would do such as thing.

"In the most secure places in the world that you think nothing is going to happen — and bam, this happens," Salinas said. "It sure shakes up your confidence, not only in the military but what types of people are currently serving. It’s kind of scary."

Authorities said Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, of Muslim descent, gunned down his fellow troops at Fort Hood. The shooting spree began shortly after 1:30 p.m. as about 300 soldiers lined up to get vaccinations and eye exams at a Soldier Readiness Center, where soldiers are preparing to be deployed or who are returning for medical screenings.

Salinas, who served in the military from 1969 to 1989, said having to worry about security on one’s home base never crossed his mind.

Media reports suggest that Hasan appeared to be preparing for a suicide mission — by giving away his personal items and by his actions, Salinas said. He wonders why the clues left by Hasan went unchecked.

"I don’t know if the Army failed to pick up the little red flags. ... Someone on the line did not believe that the major was suicidal," Salinas said. "Something is terribly wrong with the way the Army is handling these cases."

Salinas said he’s more concerned that similar tragedies could occur at other bases and believes the military needs to revise its security plans.

"Who knows if somebody is going to show up with this kind of plan or is leaning toward mass suicide. ... The other side of the coin is that now anybody with an Arabic name is going to be looked at," Salinas said.

Laura Lee Ortiz, 38, of Brownsville, whose husband, Carlos, served in the U.S. Army Reserves for several years, said wives worry about their spouses being wounded on the battlefield and not in their own backyard.

Carlos Ortiz was deployed to the Middle East in 2003 where he served 14 months in Iraq.

"When they are getting deployed, you are thinking ahead hoping they will make it back. And now here in your own post this is happening," Ortiz said.

"I couldn’t believe it was actually somebody from the military" who committed the crime, Ortiz said. "I thought it was somebody from the outside."

How Hasan managed to walk around the base armed with two handguns is unclear. Generally, the only people on the base allowed to carry weapons at all times are military police.

What happened at Fort Hood is inconceivable to Leroy Flores, 27, of Los Fresnos, who served in the Army from 2000-2003.

"When I was there, I thought I was protected because we are all fellow soldiers," Flores said.

The only time the soldiers carried their weapons was when they were in training, Flores said. The remaining time the weapons were locked.

Those either killed or wounded in Thursday’s shooting were not armed so they were unable to defend themselves, according to media reports.

Flores said it’s bad enough that the carnage was caused by a soldier at the base, but for the alleged shooter to be a high-ranking officer is beyond belief.

"It was surprising because it was major. You figure they set the example, especially for young soldiers such as privates who are just entering" the military, Flores said.