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Nov 6, 2009 2:27 pm US/Central
Fort Hood Med Chief Talks About Suspected Shooter
FORT WORTH (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
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Fort Hood Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center Deputy Commander for Clinical Services, Col. Kimberly Kesling.
KTVT / KTXA
Members of the Fort Hood military staff are still in shock one day after a deadly post shooting left 13 people dead.
CBS 11 News spoke with the Deputy Commander for Clinical Services at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, Col. Kimberly Kesling, who said she didn't have much interaction with the suspected shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, but as chief kept track of him to make sure he was fitting into the organization and taking care of patients.
Col. Kesling said, by all reports, Hasan was fitting in since arriving at the post in August from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Col. Kesling said Hasan was reportedly "a dedicated, hard working provider."
In terms of medical staff on the post, Col. Kesling was the boss of Hasan's boss, but said when she interacted with the Major she found him to be "a quiet, dedicated young man."
The Colonel said she was shocked when she learned one of her people was involved in the shooting. "Because I never could have imagined that anyone that I knew, or any member of our organization, could do something like this… make such a bad choice," she said.
There are reports that Hasan was in the 'preparation stage' of deployment to Afghanistan. Col. Kesling spoke to that possibly having influenced Hasan's actions. "It's a very rare person who is ecstatic about going overseas, 'cause it's a very, very tough job," she said. "He [Hasan] never expressed, to me, any disgruntlement, any displeasure, any difficulty with taking on this assignment."
In the wake of the shooting rampage many people are questioning if there had been signs that Hasan was troubled and if there was anything, anyone could have done to prevent the massacre. "Yes, you always second guess yourself," Col. Kesling said. "You always wonder what you could have seen, what you should have seen or what you might see. But no one in our organization saw this coming."
While Col. Kesling had no direct involvement in treating the wounded, she said the scene inside the medical center was "controlled chaos" and that she was very proud of her staff. "My people, unfortunately, are very good at this," she said.
Reports are that Hasan is a U.S.-born Muslim. Col. Kesling said she didn't know what influence, if any, Hasan's faith had in his decision making. "I know that he was devout in his religion, but that's all that I can say. He never spoke to me about that and I never heard anything about that."
For now, Col. Kesling and other members of the U.S. military are left to wonder why Maj. Hasan committed the murders. "I can't imagine what demons would possess someone to make them make such a poor choice, with such catastrophic results."
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