9 answers we'd like to have regarding Maj Hasan and the Fort Hood shootings:
- Reports described Hasan as a non-traditional medical student who had experience as prior enlisted. Were his academic credentials appropriate for USUHS?
- Some reports suggested Hasan struggled academically at USUHS during medical school. If this was the case why was he allowed to graduate and why was he allowed to go straight into a residency without a GMO tour?
- A very negative evaluation authored by Hasan's psychiatry residency program director was published by a variety of news outlets. Why was he allowed to graduate residency?
- Walter Reed's psychiatry residency program director was described as an Army Major. An unwritten rule in military medicine is that program directors must be a LTCOL or COL who have a lot of experience making complex decisions and navigating ethical minefields. Why wasn't that program director a LTCOL or COL?
- Why was he permitted to go straight into a fellowship without a utilization tour especially if he was struggling academically?
- What was Hasan's performance like during fellowship? Why was he allowed to graduate?
- With apparently a long track record of problems, why was he allowed to PCS to a smaller command?
- Given all that, why was Hasan penciled for a deployment where he would work in an enviornment where he would be required and expected to be at the top of his game?
- Finally, how does a military officer, a physician and a mental health professional lose their way, moral compass and end up killing people?
Comment: The Fort Hood shootings were a an unfathomable act of pure evil. At the same time, with every act of of evil there is good. What good will come of this and how can military medicine use this situation to become stronger?
