Jackson: No level of security will stop isolated tragedies

Comments (...)

E-mail this story

Print this story

Comments

Share

MARSEILLES — There’s virtually no way possible everything military can be protected, despite whatever safety measures are put in place, believes Illinois National Guardsman Sgt. Dan Jackson.

“There will always be somebody or something getting in,” Jackson, of the Marseilles ING Training Site, noted today in response to the shooting rampage Thursday at the Fort Hood, Texas, military installation.

“Because we’re a trusting society, and there are people who don’t have the same values that we hope everyone in this country has, they will always find a way to create havoc. There are a lot of mental issues in this country with people, and I don’t know how you defend against something like that.”

The Fort Hood incident left 13 people dead and 30 others wounded. The suspected shooter, Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan, was among the wounded and was hospitalized earlier today after being shot four times by a police officer.

Bolingbrook resident Pfc. Michael Pearson, 21, was among those killed in the attack, the Associated Press reported today.

Other published reports noted the motive for the shooting wasn’t clear, but Hasan was apparently set for deployment soon, and had expressed some anger about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Stationed briefly at Fort Hood at one time during his military career, Jackson wasn’t there long enough to comment on the base. Nor could he comment on security measures at other military installations.

He did note, however, the many times an incident occurs with someone who would never have been suspected of its creation.

“You always hear afterward that ‘He was such a nice guy.’ How do you defend against something like that?” Jackson said.

“The world is so different anymore. You could put tanks and machine guns at every gate (on military bases), and at what point do you stop letting people in? There are so many contractors who work for the military now that you can’t just let soldiers in.”

Americans have to be trusted, believes Jackson, who has been deployed overseas twice during his military career.

“You can put up as many precautions as you can, but you still have to function,” he said. “I’m still upset with what we’ve lost in this country since 9/11. We knew it would never be the same again.”

Armed guards are at the gates of military installations. Before he can enter a military base, Jackson must show his identification, as must anyone else accompanying him.

“We have armed guards - how much more can we do?” he said “We just can’t lock everybody up. We have great police who will do everything they can to protect us, but things still happen. There will always be people out there who don’t value life like us, or have some kind of mental illness and go off the deep end.”

Jackson is frustrated and saddened because Americans are starting to lose what they enjoy in this country.

“Because we’re so afraid of everybody. You can’t even talk to a child anymore because everybody’s so afraid they will take you or kidnap you. The country used to enjoy freedom, now we’re so afraid of each other,” he said.

“We’re so scared of everything now. What freedom do we have if we’re so worried about people in our own country?”

Jackson believes society has changed and evolved into something that is very sad.

“We used to be an open-arms people,” he noted.
 

Comments