The casualties of the November 5, 2009 attack on Fort Hood would be granted the same recognition as those from the September 11, 2001 attack on the Pentagon under an amendment by House Republican Conference Secretary John Carter included this week in the FY2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Fort Hood victims to gain parity with 9-11 Pentagon casualties
“Our Fort Hood casualties should receive the same benefits and recognition as other combat casualties,” says Carter, who represents the Fort Hood area in the House, “as this was a planned terror attack on U.S. military personnel.  It should make no difference in our care for the wounded and the families of the slain whether it occurred on an Army base in Iraq, Afghanistan, or Texas.”  

While many military and survivor benefits are the same regardless of the status of the casualty, combatant status like that granted to the Pentagon casualties allows military personnel to be eligible to receive the Purple Heart, and civilians to receive the equivalent award, the Secretary of Defense Medal of Freedom.   Combatant status would also guarantee that the beneficiaries of all military personnel who lost their lives in the attack would receive the maximum life insurance available, and other combat casualty benefits.  

Whistleblower Act Enhanced to Combat Political-Correctness
Carter also succeeded in attaching amendments to protect military whistleblowers from politically-correct pressure against reporting radical Islamic and other potential ideological threats.  Carter introduced the original version of the Military Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act, H.R. 4267 in December 2009 to provide increased force protection against similar future attacks.   Army Major Nidal Hasan, the suspected shooter, reportedly gave repeated warning signs of pending violence, but other service members did not report or take action on the threats due to fear of reprisal for violating unwritten rules of political correctness.  Members were afraid of being accused of profiling based on religious and ethnic grounds, which could be a career-killing offense.

The existing Whistleblower Protection Act protects military personnel from any negative personnel action for the report of any regulation or law violation including those prohibiting sexual harassment or discrimination. The Carter bill would further extend protected communications to include “ideologically based threats or actions” that the reporting service member “reasonably believes could be counterproductive or detrimental to United States interests or security”. 

Additional Training for Military Installation Law Enforcement
The former Texas judge was also successful in adding language to provide active shooter training for military and civilian law enforcement personnel who protect U.S. military installations.  The active shooter language was introduced for Carter in the House Armed Services Committee by U.S. Rep. Michael Conaway (R-TX11). 

Carter first introduced the active shooter proposal as an amendment to last year’s NDAA, to ensure DOD compliance with recommendations from the official review of the November 4, 2009 Fort Hood shootings that left 13 adults and one unborn child dead, and 43 wounded. 

Carter, who serves as Co-Chairman of the House Army Caucus, says it is critical to not just correct deficiencies found in the report, but to support and expand programs and policies that proved effective in responding to the attack.  “Active Shooter Training helped responding law enforcement bring down the terrorist, and by providing this training for all our installations, we can prepare every military base in America for a quick and deadly response to any future terror strike.”   Carter introduced the measure earlier this year as the Military Active Shooter Training Act of 2011, HR 826.