'War comes home' with Ft. Hood shootings

While investigators probe for a motive behind the mass shooting at the Fort Hood military base in Texas Thursday, in which an army psychiatrist is suspected of killing 13 people, military personnel at the base are in shock as the incident "brings the war home". "Fort Hood is pretty much a ghost town right now," Specialist Michael Kern, an active duty veteran of the Iraq war, told IPS by telephone. "Most units gave their soldiers the day off. Security is heightened all over. There are soldiers on guard everywhere. In my opinion, they are afraid of another attack." Kern, who is based at Fort Hood, served in Iraq from March 2007 to March 2008. "We're all in shock," Kern added, "Every single person that I've talked to is in shock. I'm surprised this hits so close to home, but at the same time, I knew something like this was going to happen given what else is happening - the war is coming home, and something needs to be done." "Innocent civilians are being wounded and killed here at home by soldiers, and this is completely unacceptable," he said.