Political Correctness In The Military: How Did The Ft. Hood Shooter Become A Major?

One thing that has bothered me about the Ft. Hood massacre since I heard the first reports has been the rank of the shooter: Major.

I’m no expert on things military, but my impression is that becoming a Major in the Army isn’t no mean achievement.  It takes years of hard work to be promoted to Major, even in the non-combat side of the military.

Now, we know that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan had been in the military since 1988.  He joined directly out of high school and his education was paid for by the military.  According to Wikipedia, Hasan had been under investigation by military authorities for internet postings praising things like suicide bombings.  Also, during his internship at Bethesda medical facilities, Hasan had problems with patients that required additional supervision and counseling.  Also, according to reports, he’d been fighting with his fellow soldiers about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  But less than six months ago Hasan was promoted from Captain to Major.

That doesn’t seem right.  At the very least an inquiry into how someone who was clearly showing signs of having problems getting along with his fellow soldiers, and was actively praising the very enemy the military has been fighting in the middle east, gets promoted to Major.

Personally, I’m wondering if military authorities weren’t afraid to ask because Hasan was a Muslim.

It’d be a shame if a failure, thanks to political correctness, on the part of authorities to get Hasan help was at the heart of this tragedy.