Chaplains at Fort Hood mobilize after tragic shooting

FORT HOOD (BP)—About a dozen Southern Baptist chaplains stationed at Fort Hood in central Texas began ministering in the aftermath of a shooting on post Nov. 5 that left 13 people dead and 30 wounded.

“I was told that the chaplains at Fort Hood—about a dozen of whom are Southern Baptist —were involved on the ground yesterday, and started ministering during and right after the incident,” said Keith Travis, team leader of the chaplaincy evangelism team at the North American Mission Board.

“The Army is a big family, and the chaplains are a very prominent part of that family. And they are there right now providing pastoral care to the Fort Hood community,” Travis said. “We ask Southern Baptists to pray for our chaplains as they continue to minister.”

Gen. Douglas Carver, a Southern Baptist who serves as chief of chaplains for the U.S. Army, was at Fort Hood on Nov. 6 accompanying Secretary of the Army John McHugh, Carver's office said. About 30 grief counselors were available to soldiers at Fort Hood’s Spiritual Fitness Center (the chapel), according to the post’s public affairs office.

Gunfire broke out early in the afternoon Thursday on the base as about 300 soldiers were lined up to receive shots and have their eyes checked in preparation for deployment.

The alleged gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a 39-year-old Army psychiatrist, was shot four times by a civilian police officer and remained hospitalized on a ventilator, the Associated Press reported.

Officials said the motive for the shooting was unclear, but various reports indicated that Hasan had expressed apprehension over deployment orders as well as disapproval of the war on terror.

Experts attributed the high number of casualties at the Soldier Readiness Center to the close quarters and ricochet fire. Some soldiers rushed to treat others by ripping their uniforms into makeshift bandages, AP said, adding that all but two of the injured were still hospitalized, and all were in stable condition.

President Obama ordered that flags be flown at half-staff in what he called a “modest tribute” to those who died and the military personnel who serve the United States.

At Memorial Baptist Church in Killeen, three miles from Fort Hood’s main gate, about 60 people gathered Thursday night for a question-and-answer time and for prayer. Pastor Ken Cavey said church leaders knew people would have spiritual questions following the shooting.

“When something like this happens, you’re dealing with a significant breach of trust as well as a significant breach of your own fear,” Cavey said, according to AP. “‘I survived this, what about the next time?’”

Cavey said that of the 1,100 people who regularly attend Memorial Baptist, about 75 percent either are active or retired members of the military.
First Baptist Church in Killeen, another large congregation with strong ties to Fort Hood, was praying for the situation and available to respond to needs.

“This was equal to the Oklahoma City bombing when you say this was an American serviceman who chose to take out his venom on American servicemen,” Randy Wallace, pastor of First Baptist, told AP. “It’s more twisted and dark when the enemy is us.”

The Bells, the student newspaper at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor in nearby Belton, gathered comments from students who had connections to the Army post.

“Somebody in my class got a text message and … announced it,” Kelsy Caffas, whose husband is deployed in Iraq, told The Bells. “I was scared. I was kind of shocked, I mean … you hear about things like this happening, but you never think it's going to happen where you live … The majority of the soldiers I know on base are overseas right now, but I do know a few soldiers that, like my neighbors … that are on base.”

Another student said her father is a retired chaplain's assistant and now serves as a youth minister at Fort Hood, and some soldiers' children were at their house Thursday as the tragedy unfolded.

“They were with us when they heard the news, but as far as we know, all of their parents are OK,” Bethany Carter said. “They're all very shocked and angry.”