Ft. Hood attack combat pay OK’d

Army orders survivors to receive traditional Purple Heart benefits.

A week after Fort Hood shooting survivors received their long-awaited Purple Hearts but not combat-related pay, Secretary of the Army John McHugh took steps to rectify the oversight Thursday, ordering the Army to provide them with “all possible benefits.”

McHugh directed that the victims receive hostile fire pay and combat-related special compensation for retired soldiers whose disability is connected to the Nov. 5, 2009, attack at Fort Hood, which left 13 dead and 31 injured. Such pay can total hundreds of dollars per month.

“After making the determination that the victims of the Fort Hood attack are now eligible for the Purple Heart, it seems only right and fair that these soldiers also receive the benefits it traditionally entails,” McHugh said.

After a lengthy congressional battle, members of the Texas delegation won Purple Hearts for survivors and family members of those killed in an amendment to the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act. McHugh awarded 36 medals to survivors and family members in a ceremony last week.

The legislation expanded eligibility for Purple Hearts to soldiers wounded in attacks away from the battlefield carried out by subjects inspired or motivated by foreign ter-

rorist organizations. Former Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan had been in contact with an al-Qaida-linked cleric before the shooting. He was sentenced to death after a 2013 court-martial at Fort Hood.

But the legislation did not include measures to ensure that medal recipients would receive the financial benefits reserved for soldiers wounded or killed in combat.

McHugh said victims may also be eligible for additional benefits and directed a review to determine if they should receive any more. A report is due back within 30 days.

Military victims of the 2009 attack on a Little Rock, Ark., recruiting station will also be eligible for the combat benefits, McHugh said, and the Army will determine if any other soldiers qualify.

U.S. Rep. John Carter, who represents the Fort Hood area, said the Fort Hood delegation sent a letter to McHugh on Tuesday, urging him to take quick action.

“I am pleased that the secretary of the Army is with me in this fight and has made it clear that the victims will receive their due benefits,” Carter said.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said the action would ensure victims received all “appropriate” benefits, as “Congress intended.”