Off-Topic :
Fairfax Underground
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Who promoted Hasan?
Posted by:
Judge Crater
()
Date: November 19, 2009 11:18AM
Who promoted Peress? That was the question posed by Sen. Joseph McCarthy, the indefatigable red-hunter of the 1950s, regarding an obscure army dentist named Irving Peress who was promoted from captain to major despite having refused to answer questions regarding his loyalty. That right-wing rallying cry ought to be revived, only this time to pose a much more serious question: Who the hell promoted Nidal Malik Hasan?
The case of the Army psychiatrist charged with the murder of 13 persons at Fort Hood raises many questions -- about terrorism, of course, and whether the massacre could have been prevented. But it also makes me wonder how Hasan went from captain, which he was in April, to major, which is what he was the day he allegedly went on his homicidal rampage. The question is pertinent because while he was a mere captain and stationed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, he was evaluated as supremely incompetent.
The evaluation, obtained by National Public Radio, shows that Hasan’s superiors had serious concerns about him. He was accused of having a “poor record of attendance,” of inappropriately discussing religion his patients, of being “consistently late,” of not being available even for emergencies, of permitting a “homicidal patient” to escape the emergency room and of simply not showing up for a night shift.
NPR went to private psychiatrists and asked them if they would hire someone with such a record. They all said no -- they’re not crazy, after all. That being the case, this raises the question of how and why Hasan went from captain to major. Was it because of an excess of caution regarding political correctness? Was it because no one cared enough or paid enough attention to stop it? Was it because Hasan filled a slot -- and the poor patients be damned? Whatever the case, Hasan moved up a grade. The Senate is now investigating what went wrong at Fort Hood. It ought to start with a simple question:
Who promoted Hasan?
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/
The case of the Army psychiatrist charged with the murder of 13 persons at Fort Hood raises many questions -- about terrorism, of course, and whether the massacre could have been prevented. But it also makes me wonder how Hasan went from captain, which he was in April, to major, which is what he was the day he allegedly went on his homicidal rampage. The question is pertinent because while he was a mere captain and stationed at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, he was evaluated as supremely incompetent.
The evaluation, obtained by National Public Radio, shows that Hasan’s superiors had serious concerns about him. He was accused of having a “poor record of attendance,” of inappropriately discussing religion his patients, of being “consistently late,” of not being available even for emergencies, of permitting a “homicidal patient” to escape the emergency room and of simply not showing up for a night shift.
NPR went to private psychiatrists and asked them if they would hire someone with such a record. They all said no -- they’re not crazy, after all. That being the case, this raises the question of how and why Hasan went from captain to major. Was it because of an excess of caution regarding political correctness? Was it because no one cared enough or paid enough attention to stop it? Was it because Hasan filled a slot -- and the poor patients be damned? Whatever the case, Hasan moved up a grade. The Senate is now investigating what went wrong at Fort Hood. It ought to start with a simple question:
Who promoted Hasan?
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/
Re: Who promoted Hasan?
Posted by:
eesh
()
Date: November 19, 2009 11:26AM
It's pretty easy to get promoted to Major in the Army. It takes a pretty big fuck up to be denied 0-4. Usually a 2nd lieutenant can expect to make Major in less than ten years.
It would have been even easier for Hasan to make his rank. The professional corps (doctors, nurses, lawyers) are always in shortage and they push promotions through to make people want to stay in (rentention.)
Having said this, someone should have spoken up about Hasan, but just as the Muslim NCO that threw the grenade at officers back in 2003, these things fall through the cracks.
Blessed are the murderous.
It would have been even easier for Hasan to make his rank. The professional corps (doctors, nurses, lawyers) are always in shortage and they push promotions through to make people want to stay in (rentention.)
Having said this, someone should have spoken up about Hasan, but just as the Muslim NCO that threw the grenade at officers back in 2003, these things fall through the cracks.
Blessed are the murderous.