On Aug. 18, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates released the final Fort Hood follow-on review, in which he proposed initiatives to “mitigate internal threats, ensure force protection, enable emergency response and provide care for victims and families.” Radical Islam is nowhere to be found.

Some passages hint at the nature of what took place, such as the need to clarify the rules for religious accommodation “to help commanders distinguish appropriate religious practices from those that might indicate a potential for violence or self-radicalization.” PowerPoint briefings that describe the duty of jihad against the unbelievers – as Maj. Hasan presented to a military audience – probably don’t fall in the “appropriate” category. The report also calls for increased counterintelligence awareness of the potential for linkage to international terrorism. For example, if someone already showing signs of radicalization exchanges 18 e-mails with a Yemen-based al Qaeda field commander over six months, as Maj. Hasan did, it’s probably worth looking into more closely.

A vaguely worded passage recommends firming up the process whereby individuals act as “ecclesiastical endorsers of chaplains.” These are people who vouch for those who serve in the military chaplaincy. The original Fort Hood incident report found that “DoD standards for denying requests for recognition as an ecclesiastical endorser of chaplains may be inadequate.” A majority of the Muslim chaplains in the U.S. military were validated by the Graduate School of Islamic and Social Sciences, part of Cordoba University in Leesburg, founded by Taha Jabir Al-Awani, president of the Fiqh Council of North America. A fatwa from this institution on Muslims serving in the U.S. military states, “We abide by every law of this country except those laws that are contradictory to Islamic law.” In other words, Shariah is supreme to the officer’s oath to the Constitution. An endorsement from this group should be considered a red flag, not qualification to serve.

The Defense Science Board currently is examining “behavioral indicators of violence and radicalization,” and the report recommends a better force protection reporting system for suspicious behavior. This is where the system breaks down. Maj. Hasan didn’t slip under the radar because of an inadequate reporting system or lack of indicators that he was a problem. He escaped strong scrutiny solely because he was Muslim.

In the prevailing politically correct climate, few officers want to risk reporting anything to do with a Muslim for fear of official retaliation. Those who report Islamic extremists in the ranks, or even try to give poor fitness reports to troops who happen to be Muslim, are more likely to be the subject of investigation or suffer administrative harassment. The force cannot be protected until military members are convinced they can report on Muslims without placing their careers in jeopardy.

The latest Fort Hood report fails to face the Islamic problem head-on. It reinforces the generally understood rule that Muslims are a privileged class in the American military who – figuratively speaking – can get away with murder.

♦ CI CENTRE COURSE: 361–The Global Jihadist Threat Doctrine

The report addresses some government failures and other problems uncovered in the Pentagon investigation launched after the Nov. 5 shootings that left 13 dead and dozens injured on the Texas Army post. In some cases, the final report does not provide specific guidance on how to change, update or clarify policies but says they should comply with certain military policies and codes. Soon after the Pentagon report’s January release, Defense Secretary Robert Gates ordered a comprehensive weapons policy for military bases and addressed other pressing issues.

The 23-page Defense Department report released Friday addresses the remaining Pentagon recommendations — including a greater focus on predicting and preventing internal threats. It also says policy changes will improve communications between government agencies and military installations, and expand military bases’ emergency response capabilities.

But it says more studies are necessary in certain areas, because medical and mental-health screening policies “do not provide a comprehensive assessment of violence indicators” and another policy “lacks the clarity necessary to help commanders distinguish appropriate religious practices from those that might indicate a potential for violence or self-radicalization.” . . . .

DOD Releases Final Fort Hood Review (DOD, 20 Aug 2010)
The Department of Defense (DoD) released today the final review of the recommendations from the independent report “Protecting the Force: Lessons Learned from Fort Hood.”

The DoD will place a high priority on implementing recommendations that will strengthen policies, programs and procedures in the following areas:

• Educating commanders about the symptoms of potential workplace violence and the tools available to them to address it;
• Ensuring commander and supervisor access to appropriate information in personnel records throughout a service member’s career;
• Improving law enforcement and force protection information sharing with partner agencies and among installations to ensure that all relevant personnel are aware of and able to analyze and respond to potential threats;
• Expanding installations’ emergency response capabilities, to include enabling enhanced 911 to notify dispatchers of a caller’s location, mass notification and warning systems to guide installation personnel and emergency responders to an emergency, and a common operating picture to ensure that emergency responders have access to real-time information in a crisis;
• Integrating force protection policy through the creation of a consultative and policy-making body which will bring together the various entities across the department with force protection responsibilities; and
• Ensuring that we provide top quality health care to our service-members and our healthcare providers though the hiring of additional healthcare providers – particularly in the mental health field – and ensuring that healthcare providers receive appropriate post-deployment respite and dwell time.

The tragic shooting of military personnel at Fort Hood in November 2009 underscored the need for the DoD to review its approach to force protection and to broaden its force protection policies, programs, and procedures to go beyond their traditional focus on hostile external threats. The follow-on review final report recommends concrete actions across a range of issues that all contribute to the safety and health of our military forces.

The DoD will track implementation of the various recommendations contained in its final report, focusing particularly on force protection issues.

REPORT: Department of Defense Implementation of Recommendations from the Independent Review Related to Fort Hood

♦ CI CENTRE COURSE: 361–The Global Jihadist Threat Doctrine

Authorities said the hearings could have been held as early as July 1 if Col. Pohl hadn’t granted the request of Hasan defense attorney Col. John Galligan to delay them until Oct. 4. Col. Galligan told The Washington Times that granting more time in potential death-penalty cases is not unusual.

The Army psychiatrist’s appearance at the small fortified military courthouse at Fort Hood marked the first time he has been on base since the Nov. 5 shootings that left 13 dead and 32 wounded. According to wire reports from Texas, the wheelchair-bound Maj. Hasan — who was paralyzed during the attack — said nothing during the short hearing except when answering questions, and then only with soft direct replies such as, “Yes, sir.” . . .

. . . . Maj. Hasan will be tried under Article 32 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which outlines the protocols for investigating an officer. Col. Morgan Lamb of the 21st Calvary Brigade will preside over the Article 32 hearings. . . .

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee had demanded that the Pentagon share documents and witnesses about the deadly incident by Tuesday morning. An unusual Senate subpoena sought material the Pentagon claims would jeopardize prosecution of the suspect, Major Nidal Hasan. The U.S. Army psychiatrist has been accused of killing 13 people in November at Fort Hood, Texas.

Senators have said they want to be sure the Pentagon is working to prevent similar tragedies. Committee spokeswoman Leslie Phillips said that “as far as we’re concerned they have not complied with the subpoena.” She said the panel is considering its next step. . . .

Fort Hood information snub irks Senate panel leaders (GovExec, 28 April 2010)
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and ranking member Susan Collins, R-Maine, criticized the Obama administration Tuesday for refusing to provide information about last year’s shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas.

Lieberman and Collins had given the Justice and Defense departments until Monday to comply with subpoenas seeking information about the November attack in which 13 soldiers were killed and more than 30 others were wounded. . . .

Army Maj. Nidal Hasan has been charged with 13 counts of murder and 32 counts of attempted murder. The psychiatrist allegedly opened fire at a facility where soldiers were processing for overseas deployments.

The defense secretary asked former Veterans Affairs Secretary Togo D. West Jr. and former chief of naval operations retired Adm. Vernon E. Clark to chair the investigative panel. They detailed 79 recommendations to improve force protection and tighten gaps in personnel policies, emergency response, mass casualty preparedness and support to Defense Department health care providers.

The secretary approved 26 recommendations in their entirety. The panel’s full report is expected to be released in June, and work on the other 53 recommendations continues, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said today. Some of those recommendations require changes in law, and the department is working closely with Congress on the recommendations, he added. . . . .

. . . . The interim recommendations allow the department to continue increasing force protection measures. Gates has ordered immediate expansion of the “eGuardian” pilot program throughout the department. The program is a force-protection threat reporting system designed to handle suspicious activities. The department will adopt the unclassified FBI-owned and maintained reporting system as soon as possible.

The secretary also ordered the complete deployment of the Law Enforcement Defense Data Exchange System to all Defense Department law enforcement entities. The system will allow agencies to share criminal investigation and other law enforcement data.

Gates tasked Paul Stockton, the assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and America’s security affairs, to serve as the department’s lead in the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force program. The independent report called the Defense Department’s commitment to the program “inadequate,” and Pentagon officials are working with the FBI to develop a memorandum of understanding between the agencies.

The secretary also directed significant strengthening of the Defense Department’s antiterrorism training program by incorporating best practices learned by the Department of Homeland Security. . . . .

Interim Fort Hood Recommendations Approved (DOD News Release, 15 April 2010)
The Department of Defense announced today near-term actions to address gaps and deficiencies in personnel policies, force protection measures, emergency response, mass casualty preparedness and support to DoD healthcare providers identified by the DoD Independent Review panel.

The actions follow-up on 26 of the 79 recommendations made by the panel chaired by former Army secretary Togo D. West, Jr., and retired Adm. Vern Clark, the former chief of naval operations, in the wake of the shootings at Fort Hood, Texas on Nov. 5, 2009. DoD’s follow-on review, which is headed by Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense & Americas’ Security Affairs Paul Stockton, will recommend to Secretary Robert M. Gates what actions should be taken on the remaining 53 recommendations in June.

Among the actions to be taken in the near-term are:

(1) Expand the pilot program to fully deploy eGuardian as the DoD-wide force protection threat reporting system to handle suspicious incident activities. The eGuardian system, which is FBI-owned and maintained, will safeguard civil liberties, while enabling information sharing among Federal, State, local, and tribal law enforcement partners, including interagency fusion centers.

(2) Complete the deployment of the Law Enforcement Defense Data Exchange system (D-DEx) allowing all DoD law enforcement agencies to share criminal investigation as well as other law enforcement data as appropriate. D-DEx will be a consolidated database to enable organizations across the Department to query, retrieve, and post criminal investigation and law enforcement data in a single repository.

(3) Establish the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Americas’ Security Affairs as the DoD lead for the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force program.

(4) Strengthen DoD’s antiterrorism training program by incorporating lessons learned from the Fort Hood incident, Department of Homeland Security best practices on workplace violence, and civilian law enforcement active shooter awareness training.

Gates’ implementation memo, as well as a detailed description of the actions to be taken on each of the 26 recommendations, can be found at http://www.defense.gov/news/d20100415fthood1.pdf .