US military lacks system for detecting erratic behaviour

Jan 16, 2010, 0:59 GMT

Washington - A Pentagon inquiry into the Fort Hood shootings in November found that the military lacks an adequate process for handling troublesome behaviour or identifying threats within the ranks.

Policies fail to provide commanding officers with the knowledge needed to determine if a soldier has behavioral problems or has become self-radicalized in a manner that could lead to violence, the report released Friday said.

'The report raises serious questions about the degree to which the entire Department of Defense is prepared for similar incidents in the future,' Defence Secretary Robert Gates said.

'It is clear that as a department, we have not done enough to adapt to the evolving domestic internal security threat to American troops and military facilities that has emerged over the past decade,' he said.

The inquiry took place after the November 5 Fort Hood, Texas shootings that left 13 people dead, 12 of them soldiers and one a civilian police officer.

The suspect, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, a 39 year-old Army psychiatrist, was a Muslim who had reportedly grow increasingly vocal about his religious faith and opposition to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Several of his colleagues were reportedly aware of his more radical behaviour, but the threat was not dealt with.

Gates has sent the report to the Army chief for possible disciplinary action against Hasan's superiors.