Gen. George Casey: ‘This Is One Person Out of An Army of a Million’
EmailArmy Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey, in Fort Hood, Texas, to counsel troops in the aftermath of Thursday’s shootings, told Charles Gibson in an exclusive interview that the Army is stretched thin, but the ongoing drawdown in Iraq and Afghanistan will relieve rising stress levels.
“We are deploying at a rate that we can’t sustain. So we are stretched and have been stretched for about five years. However, we have been increasing the size of the army and we’re 40,000 soldiers bigger than we were just two and a half years ago, and that has a positive impact on us,” he said.
“As the drawdown in Iraq continues, our projections are that the time the soldiers spend at home is going to increase and stress will come down.”
Casey, who was the top U.S. commander in Iraq for three years, flew to Fort Hood, Tex., Friday morning, along with his wife Sheila, to visit with some of the victims. Thirteen people were killed and 34 more were shot when the alleged gunman, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire in a room crowded with hundreds of soldiers.
“I’m just unusually proud to be in charge of this Army,” Casey told Gibson. “The heroism that came out yesterday in that horrible incident really helps us draw strength from the adversity of this terrible event.”
He praised the heroic work of “medics who were running in their caps and gowns” to help those in need and soldiers who attempted to subdue the alleged shooter.
“It was buddies helping buddies, they went in there dragged their buddies out, helped them, got them to the hospital,” Casey said. “…It was soldiers helping soldiers and it was just remarkable, but that’s what happens across our army.”
Casey told Gibson that victims he visited were visibly stressed, but that the Army is standing by to ensure that families on the installation receive the best care.
“We’re moving large numbers of incident stress management teams here and behavioral health providers, because this is not going to be a quick fix here. …It’s going to take us some weeks here to get through,” Casey said. “But I want the folks to know here that the full resources of the Department of the Army and the Department of Defense are behind the community here at Ft. Hood.”
When asked how he to reassure soldiers overseas that families are safe here, Casey said: “This is one person out of an army of a million …I have great confidence in our soldiers and in times of crisis like this, this army family comes together and we’ll get through this.”
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General Casey need to expand his reading list. I’d suggest he read Les Damnés de la Terre by Franz Fanon. (Translation The Wretched of the Earth.) He could read Catch 22 by Joseph Heller or In the Penal colony by Franz Kafka.
Then he would understand that we are subjected our troops to a nighmare that is equal to those described Fanon, Heller, and Kafka. However in this case, we are not talking about sick, absurdist fantasies, we are talking about real life, that occur time and time again. With these conditions, insanity soon becomes the only way of escape.
For years we have had warning signs. Record numbers of suicides, alcoholism, domestic violence, but we have ignored them. I suppose I should not blame the General. I should blame us. We keep sending these troops out to nightmare landscapes time and time again.
Eventually a tragedy like this was bound to happen. And if we don’t get smart, it will happen again, again, and again.
Posted by: William Joseph Miller | November 6, 2009, 7:30 pm 7:30 pm
This interview does not belong on the nightly news. It made Gen. Casey and his wife look very stupid and was generally just drivel. Charlie is just dropping down to Katie Couric’s level. If Charlie is going to do interviews then ask tougher questions: Why was Hasan promoted to Major when he had such a bad performance review at Walter Reed?
Posted by: Nancy Kellogg | November 6, 2009, 8:17 pm 8:17 pm
I hate to inform Gen.Casey but there are A LOT more Muslim radical terrorists than 1 million and some of them, apparently, have infiltrated the US Army under the auspices of political correctness and/or “moral waivers”. Whether this latest incident is a result of outright 5th columnists or just of radical ideological mentoring via internet, preaching, or attending certain mosques remains to be seen but certainly the motivation is already known—by his own words, internet postings, associations, and actions. Not to the mention the dangers of other radicals and dangers as a result of “moral waivers” (resulting in gang-members, criminals, and other supremists in the military).
Posted by: Ed | November 6, 2009, 11:12 pm 11:12 pm
Of course, there’s no mention of the CIVILIAN DA Police officer that engaged this idiot. I’m sorry, but Casey, you’re an idiot. I’m a cop that works on one of your installations and quite honestly, with the thoughts and attitude like YOURS, it’s no wonder that the army still does police work like it’s living in the 70′s and additionally, you don’t even offer the law enforcement officers a 20 year retirement!! You’re lucky that Sgt. Munley was there yesterday to put an end to the shootings as it could have been much much worse!
Casey, get real! On the installation that I work at as a cop, we’ve had 2 officer involved shootings within the last year. Simple fact is that the army puts these people in, knowing there might be a questionable background and no one does anything about it. There was a guy not too far in the past where a copy of the kuran was found with chemical and bio weaponry information where the guy was only discovered after he attempted mixing something that caused a minor explosion in his barracks.
The army needs to open their damn eyes and start supporting the DA Civilian Police officers and realize that there is just as much a threat IN the army as there is anywhere else.
FYI, before I get commented on, I was in the military, I served my country and I still do. I support the troops, but not the stupid decisions that causes lives to be lost for needless reasons. Casey – wake the &&&& up!
Posted by: concerned officer | November 7, 2009, 6:54 am 6:54 am
Gen. Casey, WHY were your soldiers disarmed and unable to protect themselves? Why a “No weapons” rule? It obviously didn’t and can’t stop the criminal, the insane, the terrorists, from carrying theirs, so why not trust your troops and allow those who are “licensed” to carry weapons for protection? Would you prefer that self-defense not take place; are their lives so cheap that you will continue to disarm them the momemnt they enter a base? For that matter, will you uphold your oath to suport and defend the Constitution, including the Second Amendment?
Posted by: Retired 1Sgt | November 7, 2009, 9:11 am 9:11 am
I have 29 years in the Army. I am in a HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT with this sort of stuff happening. We refuse to police these idiots out because of political correctness. It’s killing us literally!
Posted by: MSG | November 7, 2009, 10:27 am 10:27 am
Yeah, this one in a million soldier just made it more dangerous to be on a US Military Base than in the middle of a war in Afghanistan!!!!!
Just think of what 2 in a million could have done!
Posted by: Brian | November 7, 2009, 10:32 am 10:32 am
The Tailhook Aviators did not kill anyone, yet for months we heard about how we had to get rid of them.
Posted by: Brian | November 7, 2009, 10:34 am 10:34 am
It is absurd and ignorant to believe he was only one in a million and there are no others. This will only breed more incidents such as this an on a larger scale. Islam is encouraged because of this. If the Army ignores it as an “isolated” one time incident it will happen again.
Posted by: Jimmy | November 7, 2009, 11:01 am 11:01 am
It’s time to weed out thjose who do not belong in the m ilitary. We once had standards that precluded someone from entering the military because of physical and mental reasons, listed as 4-F. Today we allow practically anybody who can breath into the military and have allowed those who are profiled as enemies as well, and now we learn that some are even promoted to the ranks of high office.
I am sure that even as an army psychiatrist that the “alleged gunman” Major Hasan, had been given extensive training in the use of a weapon during his training. (Why do we have to read that he was the alleged gunman?)
Any Muslim should be excluded from serving in the military; at least the United States military.
By the way, has our biggest Army base become a gun free zone? Why wasn’t there someone in the immediate proximity who was carrying at the time this all went down?
Posted by: Darrel | November 7, 2009, 11:09 am 11:09 am
Gen. Casey is nothing more than a career officer trying to save his own skin! One in a million can do a lot of damage when they put their mind to it. How does he think suicide bombers work? In thousands! If this is the mind set of today’s military, I would think twice before I would ever join again. Gen. Casey to enlisted, “you are expendable no matter where you serve”! I would be surprised if you can still smoke on this base.
Posted by: PO'd in Omaha | November 7, 2009, 1:13 pm 1:13 pm
st being policticaly correct
Posted by: granitecrag | November 7, 2009, 1:54 pm 1:54 pm
the left wanted tailhook pilots, drummed out, but ok to keep Muslums in? I would guess it is a lot more then a million to one if you hooked up a lie detecter to all the Muslums in the service, and asked them about Jihad, when ok to kill a non Muslum etc. polictically correct nin compoops in charge
Posted by: granitecrag | November 7, 2009, 1:58 pm 1:58 pm
the military thinks officers are god, and docters even more so. this guy was known to march around in his Muslum garb off base, and comments on the internet. should have given him a dishonerable discharge. just be glad he wasn’t in a bomber flying over your hometown.
Posted by: granitecrag | November 7, 2009, 2:04 pm 2:04 pm
The Army os becoming so politically correct that this “alleged gunman” and seemingly radical Muslim major will probably be awarded a medal and/or given an honorable discharge.
Posted by: Solid Citizen | November 7, 2009, 4:34 pm 4:34 pm
The major problem today is congress. When they tell our forces who they can or must have in service, what is their reasoning?
When they tell our front line troops who they can and can’t shoot, why aren’t they willing to go there and give them a prime example?
Congress has too much control over our military and it is obvious they don’t know what they are doing, or even talking about.
The times they are a changing, Folks. At the age of 79, it isn’t the nation I grew up in and it is not very good to look at its future.
Posted by: yogiman | November 7, 2009, 6:15 pm 6:15 pm
Gen. Casey: Resign if you can find the Honor you had when you first joined the Army. Before you go, have the balls to try to get rid of all muslims in our military. Diversity sucks and Our Constitution ( recall your oath, George? )ROCKS.
Posted by: Earl Hoffman, MD | November 8, 2009, 10:55 pm 10:55 pm
We had a tremendous war in 2003. Why do we have 40,000 more troops only now? We’ve been fighting these wars with one hand tied behind our backs and overexposing the hand in front – the troops given multiple and extended combat tours – and we wonder why we’re in no better shape now than right after 9-11. And the place where we put our emphasis, Iraq, was an enemy of al-Qaeda before we invaded them. What a mess!
Posted by: The_Mick | November 9, 2009, 9:36 am 9:36 am
This one person is still coming to light as a radical muslim, and there is no more dangerous religion on the planet.
Posted by: Rick McDaniel | November 9, 2009, 10:42 am 10:42 am
General Casey apparently refuses to acknowledge that Hasan is a Muslim terrorist. I presume he knows that but is afraid of Obama, Nancy Polesi, et al. Ah for the good old days when Generals had balls. I don’t know whether Nancy wear boxers or briefs, but I’ll bet Casey wears pink undies.
Posted by: Robert William | November 10, 2009, 10:54 am 10:54 am
Where is George Patton when you need him?
Mr Casey Please step down. You dont have the gut for this
Posted by: Johnny comes marching | November 11, 2009, 8:41 pm 8:41 pm
We don’t allow our servicemembers to carry loaded weapons on post because of Posse Comitatus, of course, which keeps our own armies from marching on the capitol and taking over the country. Happened all the time in Rome. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.
I’m a civilian, and I guard the gate to a military base. I carry a loaded weapon on duty, but if you have a weapon on your person or in your car, I have to deny you entry. That’s how it is, folks. I know because it’s my full-time job, not because I heard it on the news.
As for not allowing Muslims into the military, have you forgotten that our country cannot take away the individual’s right to worship however and WHOever you see fit? Discharging a Muslim for being a Muslim is a slippery slope, and our Bill of Rights ensures that the government never gains that power. What’s next, giving yellow Stars of David to all the Jews?
I agree that the political correctness of our leaders is galling to us, and that it emboldens our enemies, but if we forget what our country was founded for in our rush to protect it, then we’ve already lost.
As for letting anyone who can breathe into the military: Please, let me know where you found that waiver. I’m permanently disqualified because I was born with only one ear. I got a perfect score on the ASVAB, my APFT was 255, and half of all servicemembers come back from Iraq deaf in one ear anyway. But I can’t get in, no matter how hard I try. It’s all I ever wanted to do, and I’ve been denied.
So don’t make it sound so easy to enlist, will you? I promise you, it’s not.
Posted by: Ben | August 14, 2010, 2:16 am 2:16 am