After Purple Heart medals were awarded to soldiers who were wounded in the 2009 shooting at Fort Hood, several survivors said their struggle for full benefits is not over.
Several members of Congress, who were on post for the Friday morning ceremony, assured them they won’t rest until those benefits — mainly “combat-related special compensation” — come through.
“It’s been a long time making, a long time coming,” said former Staff Sgt. John Mayer, about 20 minutes after receiving a Purple Heart. “Unfortunately, our fight doesn’t appear to be quite over.”
Kimberly Munley, a former Fort Hood police officer who was shot while she exchanged gunfire with Hasan, said she was glad to see the soldiers receive the medals.
“However, there is speculation that they will not get the benefits they should receive,” she said.
The five-year path to get victims the Purple Heart and other benefits began not long after the shooting, which was designated as “workplace violence” by the Army.
U.S. Rep. John Carter, R-Round Rock, said he filed the initial paperwork for the Purple Hearts “less than three weeks after the shooting.”
But Carter said he and others tried to keep the “spotlight” off the issue “until we got the conviction.”
Gunman Nidal Hasan was convicted and sentenced to death in 2013.
Following Friday’s ceremony, Carter was joined by fellow U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Austin, as well as U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, both Texas Republicans, and other members of Congress, all of whom pledged to continue fighting for the benefits.
Act of terror
All of the lawmakers strongly disagreed with the original “workplace violence” designation.
“It was radical Islamic terrorism, and part of the war against radical Islamic terrorism this country is facing,” said Cruz, a 2016 presidential candidate.
Cruz said he and the other members of Congress spoke Friday morning to Secretary of the Army John McHugh, who awarded the Purple Hearts to the soldiers during the ceremony but did not talk to the media.
Cornyn said McHugh is “very focused on getting this done.”
A provision passed in the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act allowed the victims of the shooting to be eligible for the Purple Heart and the Defense of Freedom medals. The Army approved the awards in February.
“I knew we were dealing with something more than workplace violence,” said U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, who also attended Friday’s ceremony. “With the Purple Heart awards, we are recognizing that this was a combat zone.”
Cornyn said the benefits at issue hinge mainly on “combat-related special compensation.”
The program was created for disability and nondisability military retirees with combat-related disabilities, according to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service. It is a tax-free entitlement that pays veterans each month along with any retired pay they may already be receiving.
According to military.com, a website that specializes in explaining military benefits, combat-related special compensation monthly payments range from $117 to over $2,700. The amount received depends on “disability rating, number of dependents, and other factors,” mirroring VA disability compensation payment rates. Carter said “back pay” also will be considered for the shooting victims.
Lawsuit Pending
The lack of benefits since 2009 spurred a sweeping lawsuit filed in 2012 in which 125 plaintiffs accused the Army, FBI and Defense Department of negligence before the shooting.
The suit named Hasan as a defendant along with Anwar al-Awlaki, an al-Qaida operative Hasan contacted several times before the shooting, which left 31 injured and 13 dead. Al-Awlaki was killed in a U.S. drone strike in September 2011 in Yemen.
The lawsuit was filed after the government failed to respond to an administrative claim for damages. Of the numerous plaintiffs, 28 reside in Central Texas, according to previous Herald reports.
The suit asks for $75,000 for each plaintiff.
Following the awards ceremony Friday, Munley said the lawsuit has not been settled.