Inside the US army’s deadliest base

Overloaded ... Due to budget cuts American soldiers are having to do more deployments overseas. Picture: John Moore/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

IN the latest controversy for US military base Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, a soldier has killed himself along with two others.

The murders took place at two houses outside the Fort Hood base and were described as a "domestic incident" by Killeen Police Department spokeswoman Carroll Smith, reported Stars and Stripes.

Smith said Specialist Ata-Se Giffa, 30, shot three people, killing two and wounding a third, before taking his wife back to their home and shooting her and then himself.

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What made him do it? ... Specialist Ata-Se Giffa killed three people including himself. Picture: US Army Source: Supplied

Giffa was a veteran of Afghanistan.

This latest killing spree is just one of many incidents in a long list, and they are all connected to Fort Hood. It begs the question, what is going on at one of the top army bases in the country?

Last year Specialist Ivan Lopez, an Iraq war veteran, went on a shooting spree at the Fort Hood base killing four people, including himself, and wounding 16 others.

No warning signs ... Army Specialist Ivan Lopez killed three people and wounded 16 others in a shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. Picture: AP/Courtesy of Glidden Lopez Source: Supplied

Stars and Stripes reported that the US army investigated but said there were no clear warning signs before the incident.

Also in 2014 a female soldier based at Fort Hood returned home from Afghanistan to find her two daughters and husband (who was a civilian) dead.

The husband, Rouhad Ahamd Ezzeddine, had killed his daughters and then himself.

There was also the case last year of the White House intruder, a troubled Iraq war veteran who managed to break into the White House carrying a knife. He also had 800 rounds of ammunition in his car. The man, Omar Gonzalez, was also from Fort Hood.

Omar J. Gonzalez, 42, of Copperas Cove, Texas, near Fort Hood, was arrested and charged with unlawful entry to the White House complex.

Neighbours talked about Gonzalez as a friendly, big-hearted man who changed dramatically reported the New York Times.

He became increasingly disturbed, unpredictable and paranoid, particularly about the government.

The Obama family were not home when Gonzalez broke in.

Last year Sergeant 1st Class Gregory McQueen was accused and stood trial for running a prostitution ring at the Fort Hood military base.

A court heard that McQueen tried to recruit cash-strapped female soldiers and connect them with higher-ranking officers who would pay for sex.

Fence jumper ... Omar Gonzalez had ammunition in his car and was carrying a knife when he broke into the White House. Picture: AP/Courtesy Jerry Murphy Source: AP

Facing 21 charges ... Sergeant First Class Gregory McQueen, was a sexual assault prevention officer, at Fort Hood military base in Killeen, Texas. Picture: Supplied. Source: Supplied

In 2013 Private First Class soldier Dustin Billy Cole, 24, opened fire on two Killeen police officers responding to a disturbance call.

Cole killed Officer Robert Layden Hornsby, 32, before other officers returned fire and killed him. Cole, who had returned from his second deployment five months earlier, had been threatening and waving the gun at neighbours reported US publication Chron.

In 2009 army psychiatrist Major Nidal Malik Hasan went on a shooting spree at the Fort Hood base.

Red flags ... Nidal Hasan killed 13 people and wounded more than 30 others in a 2009 shooting spree. Picture: AP/Bell County Sheriff's Department Source: AP

According to trial testimony, he walked into a crowded building, shouted "Allahu Akbar!" — Arabic for "God is great!" — and opened fire, killing 13 soldiers and wounding 32.

The rampage ended when Hasan was shot in the back by base police officers — an injury that left him paralysed from the waist down.

During the trial, the court heard Malik had meticulously planned the massacre, which he said he carried out "to protect Islamic insurgents abroad from American aggression".

There was evidence he even tried to clear the area of civilians before he started shooting.

Lock down ... The Fort Hood base has been on lockdown numerous times when incidents occur. Sirens blare to warn everyone to stay indoors. Picture: Brent Stirton/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

The US government said that Major Hasan had sent more than a dozen emails starting in December 2008 to Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical US-born Islamic cleric killed by a drone strike in Yemen in 2011.

He has been convicted for his crime and now awaits the death penalty.

For some of the cases such as Gregory McQueen and civilian Rouhad Ahamd Ezzeddine you could argue that their crimes had nothing to do with Fort Hood. But the alarming list of other incidents, such as the mass shootings, create a far more pressing problem for top brass.

There seems to be an emerging theme of troubled soldiers no longer able to cope with life.

Alarming number ... Nearly as many US troops have killed themselves in the last 11 years as have died in Iraq. Picture: Brent Stirton/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

Nearly as many US troops have killed themselves in the past 11 years as have died in Iraq, reported Stars and Stripes. Fort Hood, which repeatedly sent troops from two divisions to Iraq during the war, has long recorded the highest number of suicides than other bases. 15 suicides happened at the base last year alone.

Many believe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is to blame which is made worse by the culture in the army surrounding seeking help and the increasing pressures soldiers find themselves under.

Beyond Blue describes PTSD as a particular set of reactions that can develop in people who have been through a traumatic event. That is, they have experienced or witnessed an event which threatened their life or safety, or that of others around them, and led to feelings of intense fear, helplessness or horror.

Overwhelmed ... The mental health program at Fort Hood can't cope with the number of soldiers who need help. Picture: Chris Hondros/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

In an article published last year in Chron, Killeen residents told reporters the incidents at the Fort Hood base and in the town are a problem that has plagued the community for years.

Suicides, family violence and child-abuse cases have reached frightening levels, and the numbers, they fear, will only get worse.

Residents say they're concerned about the hundreds, maybe thousands of other soldiers also suffering from PTSD who remain untreated.

Locals blame the Army's policy of using a smaller number of soldiers to do more work for the mental health problems, reported Chron.

Budget cuts meant the Army had to decrease the number of active-duty soldiers. With a smaller force, each soldier was required to make multiple tours of the war zones.

Stigma ... while many soldiers are seeking help many others are still staying quiet. Picture: Chris Hondros/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

"Six or seven deployments has got to take a toll on the soldiers," said Raul G. Villaronga, a retired colonel and a three-term Killeen mayor in the 1990s, in the Chron article.

"I have some concerns about it. The mental stress of deployment every other year puts a lot of pressure on soldiers and their families."

A 2010 article published on Common Dreams however said Fort Hood had one of the strongest mental health programs in the army.

But despite this they are struggling to cope with the sheer number of soldiers needing help.

Army's vice chief of staff, General Peter Chiarelli, said the number of soldiers seeking help for combat stress, substance abuse, broken marriages or other emotional problems is continually increasing.

Persisting attitudes ... Many soldiers surveyed at Fort Hood said they would be viewed as weak, treated differently or harm their careers if they admitted suffering emotional issues. Picture: Brent Stirton/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

With the army's mental health programs booking out soldiers are being directed to seek help outside the army.

Some prefer this option as they can seek help and it will not be shown on their army file; others however refuse to go elsewhere.

There is the fear that if the number of patients keeps climbing, soldiers will give up waiting to see someone and avoid seeking help altogether reported Common Dreams.

There is also still a stigma surrounding seeking help, a problem that persists in the army with many soldiers staying quiet.

Retired Colonel Kathy Platoni, who was the US Army Reserve's chief psychologist, said studies show few people will admit they need mental health help.

Entrenched ... Soldiers are trained to fight through hardships. Picture: Chris Hondros/Getty Images Source: Getty Images

This is heightened in the army where soldiers are trained to fight through hardships, an attitude shared by comrades and commanders. With that sort of peer pressure it's possible that a soldier never seeks the help, Platoni said in Chron.

Common Dreams reported that in a survey conducted after the 2009 mass shooting soldiers at Fort Hood were asked to anonymously share their thoughts on the issue of seeking help.

One in four said they would be viewed as weak, treated differently or harm their careers if they admitted suffering emotional issues, said Colonel William Rabena, who led the campaign. The attitude was particularly strong among majors, lieutenant colonels and full colonels.

It's clear that the overwhelmed mental health system, the stigma surrounding seeking help, and the pressures on soldiers must be addressed urgently otherwise these deaths will continue.

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