Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, charged in the Fort Hood shootings, was too fat and "chronically" unprofessional during his psychiatric training, according to internal e-mails exchanged by his superiors.The communications are the latest in a series of early signs that showed officers had reason to suspend Maj. Hasan's training, and perhaps re-evaluate his suitability as a military physician, but failed to do so. Yet, his bosses at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington allowed him to complete his residency in 2007, enter an advanced fellowship program, win promotion to major and transfer to Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009.
| Boggles my mind that he was allowed to graduate his residency. Set aside Army-specific requirements, he failed to meet the minimum standard required of a competent psychiatrist. He should have been remediated and then separated from the program. |
| What work, exactly, does one do that allows one to correspond with an al-Qaeda affiliated radical imam? I think there are a few FBI guys and supervisors who need to be called onto the carpet. |
An Army inquiry released in January recommended the service look at disciplining Maj. Hasan's medical superiors who failed to raise red flags about his conduct, and instead passed him along to the next program and command. The e-mails reviewed by The Washington Times were among the report's restricted annex material not released to the public.
The e-mails show superior officers had plenty of problems with Maj. Hasan. In May 2007, as a then-Capt. Hasan approached a June 30 date to complete his residency in psychiatry, his direct supervisor warned higher-ups he had failed a physical by being overweight.
"He is a chronically somewhat unprofessional officer with a somewhat poor work ethic," Maj. Scott Moran, residency director, wrote in e-mail to a superior. Maj. Moran said he was preparing to put Maj. Hasan on probation and extend his residency.
| That was the minimum required; the probation would include a remediation plan that would be tailored to address specific concerns raised by faculty supervisors. That's not an Army requirement, it's a requirement of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the agency that certifies residency programs. |
| Sure would. Didn't want to do the work or didn't want to flunk out the only Army muslim psychiatrist? |
In addition to the weight issue, another development could have slowed or stopped Maj. Hasan's advancement.
"There is another twist," Maj. Moran wrote on May 11, 2007. He told a second superior that Maj. Hasan did not have sufficient months in a psychiatric clinic to complete his residency. "I am not trying to hose this guy, but keep everything on the up and up," Maj. Moran wrote.
| For any residency, there is a rather long list of requirements to meet. Miss one and you don't graduate. That Hasan didn't have enough clinic time suggests that either 1) Hasan didn't attend or 2) the faculty failed to ensure he got there and got the work done. |
Then came Maj. Hasan's research project that was required for completing the residency. Walter Reed calls the practice, "Psychiatry Scholarly Activity Oral Presentation at the Psychiatry Regularly Scheduled Conference." Maj. Hasan chose not a psychiatric topic, per se, but one titled, "Koranic World View as it Relates to Muslims in the U.S. Military." The slide presentation promoted Islamic law over the U.S. Constitution.
At first, Maj. Moran was appalled. "This is not scholarly project level," he e-mailed other staff members. "[We] are going to meet with him this AM and counsel him."
| It really sounds like Moran is trying to do his job as a residency director. |
Maj. Hasan e-mailed back, "Here are some revision [sic]." He eventually delivered the slide show June 20, and graduated 10 days later.
One staff supervisor was ecstatic. "Dr. Hasan does an excellent job speaking without 'reading' slides!" he wrote on a "resident evaluation."
"His balance of academic knowledge and personal awareness is remarkable."
But there was a dissenter among the graders.
"I must admit that I am confused as to how this is acceptable as a scholarly activity," the supervisor wrote. "While information about Islam, this seems to be a history/religious class report rather than a psychiatric scholarly activity. I would expect better academic efforts from a graduating resident."
Charles Gittins, attorney for Maj. Moran, said the e-mails show his client was trying to hold Maj. Hasan to Army standards. "He did everything he could to hold the guy to standards, and he was only with the guy for 14 weeks before Hasan graduated from the residency program," Mr. Gittins said.
The Army has yet to take any disciplinary action against Maj. Moran or other supervisors, as recommended by the inquiry.
The inquiry, led by former Army Secretary Togo West and former Chief of Naval Operations Vern Clark, concluded: "We believe that some medical officers failed to apply appropriate judgment and standards of officership with respect to the alleged perpetrator. These individuals failed to demonstrate that officership is the essence of being a member of the military profession, regardless of the officer's specialty."