Francis Rooney: “On November 5, 2009, Nidal Hassan, after coordinating with known terrorist leader Anwar al-Awlaki, opened fire at Fort…”

“On November 5, 2009, Nidal Hassan, after coordinating with known terrorist leader Anwar al-Awlaki, opened fire at Fort Hood, Texas, killing 14 and wounding 32 others. This was clearly an act of terror, yet the Department of Defense and the Army have classified this case as workplace violence. This is an insult to the brave men and women who were killed and injured that day. But this isn't about semantics; this is about who we are as Americans. By declaring their deaths as injuries as a result of workplace violence, the Department denied these soldiers and their families benefits like VA health care, counseling and critical mental health services, disability benefits, and combat-related special compensation. It's also made them ineligible to receive the Purple Heart. As someone who served in the Army at Fort Hood, I can say without hesitation that the Army should be ashamed of this poor level of care and outright disrespect it has shown our soldiers. Yesterday, I joined one Republican and one Democrat, Congressman Wolf and Congressman Fattah, in sending a letter to Secretary Hagel asking them to change the designation from workplace violence to combat- related. Let us send a message that that is who we are as Americans and that is how we treat our veterans. ____________________”